Library of Heaven's Path

by Little Merger

Traversing into another world, Zhang Xuan finds himself becoming an honorable teacher. Along with his transcension, a mysterious library appears in his mind. As long as it is something he has seen, regardless of whether it is a human or an object, a book on its weaknesses will be automatically compiled in the library. Thus, he becomes formidable. “Emperor Zhuoyang, why do you detes

57. 1793

Library of Heaven's Path #Chapter 1793 - Ancient Sage Hao Xun - Read Library of Heaven's Path Chapter 1793 - Ancient Sage Hao Xun Online - All Page - NOVEL NEXT

Chapter 1793: Ancient Sage Hao Xun

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

"This is the Primal Lodestone Mountain!"

Worried that they might catch the attention of the two Sovereigns, Zhang Xuan and Wu Chen did not dare open a dimension rift and teleport over. Fortunately, the Primal Lodestone Mountain was relatively close to the capital, so it only took them two hours to arrive at their destination.

Despite bearing the name of a mountain, a more exact term would probably be 'abyss'. The abyss was dyed with the monotonous color of absolute darkness, and it covered all that they could see. A chilling and eerie air could be clearly felt from within.

"Allow me to give it a try!" Floating above the abyss, Wu Chen took in a deep breath and shouted, "Brother Hao Xun, Chen Yong has come to pay a visit to you!"

His voice manifested in the form of thin threads of zhenqi, which transmitted his voice into the depths of the abyss, echoing countless li below.

He shouted three times before something happened. Black clouds seemed to billow from the depths of the abyss, and slowly, rays of light began shooting up from the abyss, forming auroras in the sky.

As soon as the auroras surfaced, Zhang Xuan and Wu Chen immediately felt imbalance in their flight, and their bodies began to wobble nonstop. It was as if some power was interfering with the flow of their zhenqi, and it left them on the verge of plummeting from the sky.

Zhang Xuan's eyebrows shot up. This is the power of magnetism!

He could sense that something similar to a magnetic field had been set up in the area, but this magnetic field was designed in a manner to produce destructive fluxes against zhenqi, thus causing cultivators to lose control of their powers.

"Humph!"

Wu Chen could not be bothered to disguise himself anymore. Reverting to his regal appearance, he emanated powerful, concentrated Zhenqi of Slaughter, allowing him to finally regain balance of his body. However, as he had not recovered from his wounds yet, the act of tapping into his strength caused his face to turn sickly pale.

At the same time, Zhang Xuan flicked his wrist and brought out the Infernal Blacksaber. By standing on the Infernal Blacksaber, he managed to steady himself for the time being.

The magnetic field was designed with the intent to throw one's zhenqi into chaos, but as a weapon, the Infernal Blacksaber did not have any zhenqi. Naturally, it was unaffected by the effects of the magnetic field.

Grand rays of light shot up from the abyss once more, and soon, a silhouette dressed in a black robe rose along with the rays of light.

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"Brother Hao Xun!" Sovereign Chen Yong clasped his fist and greeted the other party.

Zhang Xuan also turned his gaze over to assess the other party.

Covered tightly by the black robe, the only thing that was visible of Ancient Sage Hao Xun was his blood red eyes. The aura that he emanated felt dense and immense, making it hard for one to gauge the limits of his prowess. In terms of strength, he was likely above even Old Geezer Yu and Zhang Hongtian.

It was no wonder that Wu Chen held the other party in such high regard.

"Sovereign Chen Yong, you should know that I have chosen to steer clear from the secular world. It makes no difference even if you pay a personal visit to me!" Ancient Sage Hao Xun remarked impassively as he hid his hands amid his black robe.

"I believe that you should be aware of the recent movements in the capital. Brother Hao Xun, I really require your help this time!" Sovereign Chen Yong said as he bent his back parallel to the ground.

Any cultivator could easily see that he was severely injured, and his life could come to an end at any moment. There was no need for unnecessary explanations.

"Sovereign Chen Yong, death is a natural process of life. Even a man as great as you will eventually meet his end. I'm honored that you were willing to pay me one last visit before the end of your life. If there's nothing else, please excuse me!" Ancient Sage Hao Xun replied coldly.

With a step of his feet, the rays of light around him began to fade. It seemed like he would return to the darkness of the abyss soon.

Seeing that Ancient Sage Hao Xun was going to return to the abyss, Sovereign Chen Yong anxiously added, "Brother Hao Xun, I was betrayed by others, and my life is hanging by a thread. My only wish now is to eliminate my enemies before meeting my end..."

If not to ask for your help, who in the world would be so free to come and pay you a visit before their death?

Do I seem very close to you?

Ancient Sage Hao Xun shook his head in response. "It has been many years since I have been in a position of authority, and I no longer desire to come into contact with that mess..."

With a wave of his hand, the rays of light submerged back into the abyss, and Ancient Sage Hao Xun himself also began descending back into the dark abyss.

"Please hold on a moment!"

Just as the other party was about to disappear, Zhang Xuan suddenly called out. At the same time, he raised his hand and tapped his finger lightly.

The rays of light beneath Ancient Sage Hao Xun suddenly went berserk, and the magnetic field in the area abruptly changed its target and focused around the black silhouette.

Huala!

Crushed by the magnetic field, it was as if the abyss itself was repulsing his presence. As a result, Ancient Sage Hao Xun was spat out from the black abyss.

"What in the world... Who are you? Why are you able to control the power of magnetism?" Ancient Sage Hao Xun could hardly believe what had just happened.

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The power of magnetism had never been an ability that cultivators were able to grasp. In order to achieve the impossible, he had spent more than three thousand years in the abyss before he managed to be able to achieve a basic level of control over this fearsome strength that even his peers greatly feared.

Yet, the young man was actually able to control the rays of light manifested through his power of magnetism and make them repulse him... How was this possible?

"I didn't really control the power of magnetism. Instead, through the flaws of your body, I infused the power of magnetism in the area into your zhenqi and forcefully harmonized it with the surroundings!" Zhang Xuan explained calmly.

At the same time, with a flick of his finger, he placed the Infernal Blacksaber beneath his feet back into his storage ring. Surprisingly, even without the Infernal Blacksaber to prop him up, he was able to remain floating in the air without any problems, as if he was impervious to the effects of the magnetic field in the area.

Given how the Heaven's Path zhenqi was able to imitate the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe's Zhenqi of Slaughter, it was not too difficult for him to be able to alter it such that it was impervious to the magnetic field around him.

Earlier, when Ancient Sage Hao Xun launched his first attack, he had already swiftly analyzed the ability with his Library of Heaven's Path and come up with a countermeasure against it.

"The flaws of my body? Harmonized my zhenqi with the surroundings?" Ancient Sage Hao Xun frowned.

"Indeed!" Zhang Xuan replied.

Taking a deep breath, he slowly raised his hands.

Huala!

The rays of light in the abyss swiftly rose up and gathered around him in the form of an aurora, making him look like a giant in the sky.

The properties of the Heaven's Path zhenqi could be altered at will, so naturally, he could change its properties to allow him to control the power of magnetism in the area. In his current state, the Primal Lodestone Mountain felt like a warm spring of energy to him, granting him the ability to bring forth fighting prowess far beyond his usual means.

"You are indeed able to control the power of magnetism!" Realizing that his control over the surrounding magnetic field was not as refined or strong as that of the young man, Ancient Sage Hao Xun's face warped in astonishment.

To think that despite devoting three thousand years of effort into comprehending the power of magnetism, he would actually lose to a young man who had only just arrived there!

Knowing that he had managed to catch Ancient Sage Hao Xun's attention, Zhang Xuan pressed his case forward. "If you are willing to help Sovereign Chen Yong's cause, I can impart the ability to control the power of magnetism to you!"

"This..."

As expected, Ancient Sage Hao Xun hesitated in the face of this offer.

For someone who had spent three thousand years living in seclusion on the Primal Lodestone Mountain to comprehend the power of magnetism, the offer that Zhang Xuan had made was truly seductive.

It was not on whim that Ancient Sage Hao Xun had chosen to seclude himself in this wretched land of desolation. It was out of his desire to pave a way to higher realms that he had attempted to comprehend the power of magnetism. If he could really gain the ability to control magnetic fields with ease, he was confident that his cultivation would surge, such that advancing beyond the Blood Reincarnation realm would become a distinct possibility!

Even though Ancient Sage Hao Xun was moved by the offer, he did not rush into making a decision. Instead, he turned to Sovereign Chen Yong. "Who injured you?"

Since the enemy was someone who could reduce even the number one Otherworldly Demon Emperor to such a state, he would have to think twice before accepting this offer. As confident as he was in his strength, he never allowed his ego to blind the rationality of his decisions.

If he was not absolutely certain of victory, he would not put himself in the path of danger even if to obtain the method to control the power of magnetism.

"It was Sovereign Chen Ling and Sovereign Chen Xing. They conspired with the humans to assassinate me!" Sovereign Chen Yong replied.

"They are the ones who injured you?"

Hearing that the culprits were the other two Sovereigns, Ancient Sage Hao Xun's complexion turned incredibly awful. "I'm afraid that I'm unable to help you in this matter. Please seek the assistance of others!"

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Chapter 1794: Assimilated by Magnetism

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

Neither of the two Sovereigns were weaker than him; in fact, due to their positions, they had countless protectors guarding them. Challenging the two of them was tantamount to suicide!

Even if he could acquire a technique to control the power of magnetism, he would need to be alive in order to enjoy the benefits of it!

"It can't be that Ancient Sage Hao Xun is afraid of the two Sovereigns, can it?" Zhang Xuan asked with a faint smile.

"I don't wish to involve myself in the power struggle within the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe, and I have no intention of putting myself in danger for the sake of it," Ancient Sage Hao Xun replied with a calm wave of his hand. "If you think of me as a coward due to that, so be it!"

"Since you have already said so, Ancient Sage Hao Xun, it wouldn't be appropriate for us to impose on you any further. However, before we take our leave, there is one thing that I would like to advise you on," Zhang Xuan said with narrowed eyes.

"The power of magnetism is a unique force that naturally occurs in the world. I can understand the rationale behind having chosen to tap into this power in order to surpass your limitations and reach the Dimension Shatterer realm, but such an action is no different from attempting to devour the power of the heavens. Your soul and physical body will suffer backlashes as a result of your actions...

"If I'm not mistaken, you have remained within the Primal Lodestone Mountain for the past three thousand years not because you are unwilling to leave the area but because it has become extremely difficult for you to do so, right?"

Despite Ancient Sage Hao Xun's powerful front, he was actually in a very precarious position. His act of devouring the power of magnetism could be viewed as defying the will of the heavens. If he left the Primal Lodestone Mountain, there was little doubt that a heavenly tribulation would swiftly fall upon him.

As a result, despite being a proud Blood Reincarnation realm cultivator, he had ended up holing himself up in that wretched place, not daring to leave at all.

Ancient Sage Hao Xun widened his eyes slightly after hearing those words from Zhang Xuan, but he swiftly refuted them with a cold harrumph. "With my current strength, do you think that I would fear a mere heavenly tribulation? If I wish to leave, there's no one who can stop me, not even the heavens!"

It was true that he was frightened of the heavenly tribulation, but as long as he gave it his all, he was confident that he would still be able to get out of it alive. It was just a matter of how much he would risk losing as a result of it.

"I see... I'm glad to hear that you are confident. Pardon me for being a little naggy, but I would just like to offer you one last piece of advice. The power of magnetism is an incredible source of strength, but it isn't a good idea to fuse it into your bloodline. Otherwise, you expose yourself to endless trouble in the future. You won't be able to predict how your meridians and body will mutate as a result of that!"

Shaking his head, Zhang Xuan turned to Wu Chen and said, "Let's leave!"

"Leave?" Wu Chen was stunned.

The reason that he had gone all the way there was to recruit Ancient Sage Hao Xun to his faction. They had barely traded a few words and had not even settled on anything, but they were already going to leave the area.

Engaging the help of Ancient Sage Hao Xun was not a choice but a necessity to them. If they could not get his help, their chances of success would be extremely slim, perhaps even non-existent!

Hu!

While Wu Chen was still deep in thought, Zhang Xuan had already left the area. He hesitated for a brief moment before deciding to follow the young man.

Having entered the ancient domain at the White Creek Mountain with him, Wu Chen knew that the young man possessed extraordinary capabilities. The young man probably had his reasons for choosing such a course of action.

After flying for a moment, the young man suddenly came to a halt. Floating quietly in the air, he gazed in the direction that he had just come from.

"What do we do now?" Wu Chen asked with a deep frown.

"We'll wait here. Who knows? Perhaps, Ancient Sage Hao Xun might just change his mind and join us!" Zhang Xuan replied with a mysterious smile.

Countless questions arose in Wu Chen's mind.

Ancient Sage Hao Xun had just confirmed that he would suffer a heavenly tribulation if he left the Primal Lodestone Mountain, so why would he suddenly change his mind and risk going all the way there just to join their faction?

However, Wu Chen also knew that Zhang Xuan would not have said such words needlessly. Thus, he stood quietly beside the latter and gazed in the direction of the abyss.

...

"How did that fellow know that I'm assimilating the lodestones in the abyss into my body?" Ancient Sage Hao Xun murmured in bewilderment.

The reason that he had been able to grasp control over the power of magnetism was not because of his extraordinary talent but because he had spent three thousand years in the depths of the abyss assimilating lodestones into his body.

Lodestones were a type of magnet that emanated a powerful magnetic field of their own. If one could manipulate the magnetic field of the natural world, one would be able to wrestle control of the zhenqi of one's opponent, thus rendering the other party powerless.

"Forget it! There's no point mulling too much over what that young man said. I'm just a step away from fully assimilating the lodestones into my body, so I should hurry up and accomplish it before any more trouble comes knocking on my door..."

Unable to make sense of the young man's words, Ancient Sage Hao Xun decided to ignore it altogether. He dived back into the darkness of the abyss, and before long, he had already reached the deepest region.

There was a five-colored stone right before him that emanated brilliant light. It seemed like it was the source of the overwhelming magnetic power in the area.

Placing his palm on it, Ancient Sage Hao Xun took a deep breath before circulating his power through the lodestone, attempting to assimilate it.

He had spent a thousand years trying to get close to this lodestone and another thousand years attempting to place his hand on it. Right now, as long as he could infuse the lodestone with his zhenqi, he should be able to successfully assimilate it!

All that was lacking was this final step.

Once he succeeded, he would be no different from a mobile Primal Lodestone Mountain. He would not have to fear any heavenly tribulation, and he would be able to crush any opponents with ease.

Gugugugu!

As he pumped more and more zhenqi into the lodestone, his body became more and more compatible with the power of magnetism. Before long, the lodestone began to cave in to his strength, and it gradually assimilated together with his palm.

"Success!" Ancient Sage Hao Xun's eyes glowed in excitement as he quickly channeled his energy to facilitate the assimilation process.

Tzzzzzzz!

As the five-colored stone became one with his hand, a brilliant light burst forth from his body, as if indicating his evolution to a higher being.

Feeling the power of magnetism coursing through his body, Ancient Sage Hao Xun laughed heartily in triumph. He attempted to drive his zhenqi to test out his new fighting prowess when his body suddenly stiffened. For some reason, the zhenqi in his body seemed to have been bogged down by some force, preventing him from driving it freely as he could before.

"What's going on?" Ancient Sage Hao Xun narrowed his eyes in shock.

He quickly inspected his own body, and the next instant, his face flushed white in horror.

He found that his meridians had lost their previous suppleness. Instead, they reflected a metallic glint as if they were made of steel. The change in the property of his meridian made it extremely difficult for zhenqi to pass through them.

"It's slowly turning into stone... Am I being petrified?"

This change was not limited to his meridians. His muscles and veins were starting to stiffen as well, and he could clearly feel his senses dulling. It was as if death was encroaching on him, slowly stripping him of his consciousness.

At that moment, there was no way that he could still be oblivious to what was going on.

While he attempted to assimilate the lodestone to convert the power of magnetism to his own, the power of magnetism had also discreetly been changing the structure of his body, wanting to convert him into a massive magnet!

In a sense, this was similar to how ferromagnetic materials would gain the properties of a magnet if they were exposed to a consistent magnetic field for extended periods of time.

Gradually, the insides of his body had been reconstructed without him noticing.

If he was a non-living being, such a change would not have made much of a difference. However, he was a living being! Once his body and meridians had all turned into stone, would he still be able to talk and battle? Would he still be able to retain his consciousness?

Even my soul is being assimilated by the power of magnetism, Ancient Sage Hao Xun thought in horror as cold sweat dripped from his forehead.

It was not just his meridians and body that were growing stiffer. Even his blood and soul were not spared! Was a powerful Ancient Sage like him going to meet his end just like that?

"Endless trouble, mutate... That young man must know something about this..." Knowing that he was already on the verge of death, Ancient Sage Hao Xun suddenly recalled the words that he had heard from the young man, and his fists suddenly clenched tightly together.

Not only did the young man notice that he was assimilating a lodestone, he even seemed to know the effects of doing so. If he wished to free himself from his current predicament, his best bet was to seek the young man's help!

Boom!

Knowing that his life was already on a countdown, how could he possibly hesitate? He immediately flew out of the abyss and dashed in the direction that Zhang Xuan and Wu Chen had disappeared.

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Chapter 1795: He's My Young Master

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

As Ancient Sage Hao Xun flew, he felt himself gradually losing control of his stiffening body, and it seemed like he would fall from the sky at any moment.

Just as he was reaching his limits, the silhouettes of Sovereign Chen Yong and the young man came into sight. It was as if they had known that he would come for them, so they had chosen to wait on the spot.

"Please, save me!"

Feeling his internal organs swiftly turning into stone, Ancient Sage Hao Xun could not have cared less about his pride and hurriedly kneeled before the young man in horror.

Blood Reincarnation realm experts boasted great regenerative abilities, and they were able to come back from the dead. However, if they completely turned into stone, it would be futile no matter how powerful their regenerative ability was. The only possibility that he would face was death!

While Ancient Sage Hao Xun had chosen to retire from the secular world, it did not mean that he was ready to meet his end.

"I'm only a mere Intuitive Impulse realm cultivator, so my capabilities are severely limited. The only one who can help you at the moment is Sovereign Chen Yong. However, he's bogged down by the vengeance of those who have betrayed him, so I'm not too sure whether he has the time to help you or not!" Zhang Xuan waved his hand calmly.

Since the other party had been unwilling to help them no matter how they pleaded earlier, they were not obliged to help him just because he was in need of assistance either.

"I..." Not expecting his words to come back and bite him so quickly, Ancient Sage Hao Xun's face turned pale. He hesitated for a brief moment before exclaiming, "Sovereign Chen Yong, as long as you are willing to save me, I'm willing to follow your orders!"

The situation was very clear. It would be utter death if he refused, but if he accepted, he might still have a chance at survival. If they succeeded by any chance, he would gain great wealth and power on top of that. The decision that he had to make was already very clear.

"Since you have agreed, I guess Sovereign Chen Yong should be able to spare some time to help you," Zhang Xuan replied.

Following which, he sent a telepathic message over to Wu Chen.

Hearing the telepathic message, Wu Chen's eyes widened in disbelief, "Is that really alright?"

Zhang Xuan nodded in response.

"Alright then..."

Taking a deep breath, Wu Chen flicked his wrist and took out a long saber.

Huala!

The saber tore through space and sliced down upon Ancient Sage Hao Xun's body. Due to the latter's stiffening body, a glaring laceration was inflicted on his chest before he could even react.

Fresh blood spurted out like a waterfall.

"What in the world are you doing?" Not expecting Sovereign Chen Yong to make a move on him, Ancient Sage Hao Xun narrowed his eyes menacingly.

"What else could he be doing? He's obviously trying to save you!" Zhang Xuan remarked impatiently. "If you don't trust us, we can leave right now!"

Hearing those words, Ancient Sage Hao Xun nearly plummeted from the sky.

Just who did I offend to have to deserve this saber strike?

Even though he was extremely stifled, he could only suppress his feelings and clasp his fist. "I beseech you to save me..."

"That's more like it!" Zhang Xuan nodded.

He walked up to Ancient Sage Hao Xun and placed a finger on the glaring laceration on his chest.

As soon as the blood came into contact with his fingertip, a brilliant five-colored glow shone into the surroundings. It felt like something was being extracted from Ancient Sage Hao Xun's body.

The light gradually grew more and more powerful. Under Zhang Xuan's continuously rotating finger, it was soon weaved into the shape of a stone.

It was the lodestone that Ancient Sage Hao Xun had assimilated not too long ago.

As the five-colored light began to fade, Ancient Sage Hao Xun could feel his stiffened body slowly regaining its senses.

At the same time, the lodestone in the young man's hand pulsated ceaselessly, emanating a terrifying intent. It was as if it was angered after realizing that someone had foiled its plan, and it wanted to wreak havoc. However, with the young man's zhenqi wrapped around it, it was unable to do anything.

"This lodestone... has its own will?" Ancient Sage Hao Xun's eyelids twitched in horror.

He had been with that lodestone for three thousand years, but he had never realized that it was a sentient artifact!

It was much more difficult to tame sentient artifacts than ordinary weapons. For sentient weapons, it was impossible to tame them with just one's zhenqi.

"It didn't possess sentience at the start, but as you attempted to assimilate it with zhenqi, it also instinctively used its own power of magnetism to assimilate it. As time passed, it eventually sprouted its own sentience," Zhang Xuan explained.

"You never noticed it because it only started to fully awaken while you were completing the assimilation. The moment that you are turned into a magnet would be the moment that it gains a body and a soul, thus marking your death..."

There had never been anyone on the Master Teacher Continent who had attempted such a feat, so it was inevitable that Ancient Sage Hao Xun had ended up overlooking the changes occurring to his body.

Naturally occurring treasures in nature like lodestones harnessed great power, but it did not mean that cultivators, including Ancient Sages, would necessarily be able to tap into their power easily.

Otherwise, the abyss of the Primal Lodestone Mountain would have been emptied out many years ago!

Of course, it might seem a little too coincidental that the lodestone had happened to awaken right after Zhang Xuan and Wu Chen had passed by the area. The truth was that the lodestone would have taken many more years to gain sentience, and the process that turned Ancient Sage Hao Xun into a magnet would have been a very gradual process... It was actually Zhang Xuan who had discreetly controlled the power of magnetism to spiritually enchant the lodestone.

This was a trick that he had learned from the Yellowsand Berserk Wood. As powerful as Ancient Sage Hao Xun was, he had still fallen for this little ploy in a moment of inattention.

It was true that Zhang Xuan's action had forced Ancient Sage Hao Xun into a corner, but there was no doubt that such a situation would eventually have happened. He was effectively resolving a potential threat that would occur in the future.

Ancient Sage Hao Xun's face paled in horror. He had never thought that he would almost lose his life at the hands of a mere rock.

"The power of magnetism is a unique force of nature. It's not a power that one can master that easily," Zhang Xuan remarked as he tightened his grasp on the lodestone in his hand.

The myriad of colors continued to seep out from Ancient Sage Hao Xun's body and converge back into the lodestone in his grasp. The lodestone pulsated furiously, but it was to no avail.

When the final sliver of light was pulled out of Ancient Sage Hao Xun's body, Zhang Xuan heaved a sigh of relief. With the power of magnetism fully extracted from the other party's body, he would not be in any danger.

Alright, let me see if I can tame it...

It would be extremely difficult and dangerous for Ancient Sage Hao Xun to tame this lodestone under normal circumstances. However, if he could alter the Heaven's Path zhenqi to emulate the power of magnetism, he might just be able to tame the lodestone.

With that thought in mind, Zhang Xuan swiftly entered the Great Codex of Spring and Autumn within his Library of Heaven's Path and began driving his zhenqi into the lodestone.

Tzzzzzz!

The brilliant light within the lodestone was swiftly converted into a surge of energy, which gushed frantically into his body.

As Zhang Xuan's consciousness was currently within the Great Codex of Spring and Autumn, he was cultivating at a speed ten times faster than usual. As a result, all Wu Chen and Ancient Sage Hao Xun could see was a brilliant curtain of light shrouding him, rendering them incapable of seeing what was truly happening.

"Is the lodestone trying to devour him?" Ancient Sage Hao Xun asked with a hint of worry.

It was just a moment ago that the lodestone had nearly converted him into its puppet. Could it have been furious at the young man for forcefully extracting it from his body, such that it wanted to exact vengeance?

If that was the case, what should they do? They had already witnessed the frightening prowess of the lodestone, and it seemed like they would suffer great damage if they charged in and saved the young man.

"This... I'm not too sure. However, since he was able to resolve the power of magnetism within your body, he might just be able to resolve the current quandary as well." Wu Chen was also a little bewildered by the current situation.

Given that the young man had been able to catch the eye of the Spirit God, it was certain that he possessed capabilities far surpassing the norm.

Hearing Wu Chen's words, Ancient Sage Hao Xun heaved a sigh of relief. He turned a perplexed look over and asked, "The young man... Is he the disciple whom you recently accepted?"

He had known Sovereign Chen Yong for quite some time, but he had never met this young man before. However, he had heard rumors that the latter had recently found himself a successor. Could this young man possibly be that successor?

But if the young man was truly Sovereign Chen Yong's successor, why did it seem like the young man was the one making the decisions? Furthermore, from the conversations between the two, it seemed like the young man's position was above that of Sovereign Chen Yong!

"Disciple? Brother Hao Xun, you are really thinking too highly of me. This young man is my Young Master!" Wu Chen hurriedly clarified the misunderstanding.

"Young Master?" Ancient Sage Hao Xun widened his eyes in disbelief.

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Chapter 1796: Ancient Sage Allfire

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

Sovereign Chen Yong's grandfather was the legendary Vicious, who had fought on equal terms with Kong shi. His name resounded throughout history, and he lived on as a figure whom none could hope to surpass.

As such, even though the two of them were Ancient Sages, there was a clear disparity in their standing. Even from a very young age, Sovereign Chen Yong had been guaranteed to become a future Sovereign of the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe.

Yet, despite his esteemed standing, Sovereign Chen Yong actually had someone whom he addressed as 'Young Master'?

The very notion of that was ridiculous!

Who in the world could be qualified to have the highest leader of the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe address him in such a manner?

"He's the lover of the Spirit God," Sovereign Chen Yong explained.

"The Spirit God?" Upon hearing that name, Ancient Sage Hao Xun subconsciously cowered back in fear.

The reason that the Spirit Tribe had remained as such a powerful force in the world was due to the existence and protection of the Spirit God. To actually be the lover of the Spirit God, that meant that the young man was a person of tremendous standing.

When Ancient Sage Hao Xun turned to look at Zhang Xuan once more, his eyes were filled with deference.

On the other hand, Zhang Xuan was currently in no position to bother about the gossip between the two. His entire heart and soul were devoted to assimilating the power of magnetism of the lodestone.

Great Sage 4-dan Sempiternal realm symbolized the indestructibility of one's physical body and soul. To reach that realm would require many years of cultivation and tempering, but through refining his body with the power emanated by the lodestone, he was able to slowly bring it toward a higher level.

Some time later, Zhang Xuan finally overcame the bottleneck limiting him. His muscles and soul emanated an overwhelming radiance that seemed to symbolize the inviolable authority of divinity.

Sempiternal realm!

Zhang Xuan had thought that it would take him a very long time in order to reach this realm, but who could have known that he would be able to tame the power of magnetism so quickly?

He did not rest right after achieving a breakthrough. Instead, he continued devouring the brilliant light around his body.

Considering how the lodestone was able to render even a Blood Reincarnation realm expert powerless, there was no questioning the immense energy that it harnessed. As energy continued to surge into Zhang Xuan's body, his cultivation grew at an astounding rate.

Sempiternal realm primary stage!

Sempiternal realm intermediate stage!

Within an hour, he had already reached Sempiternal realm consummation!

Gugugu!

Immense energy continued to billow within his body, but having reached his bottleneck, he found himself unable to absorb any more of it. Thus, he gradually opened his eyes.

He had finally reached the same level as his students and parents.

The breakthrough to the Sempiternal realm had vastly enhanced the strength that he could wield. With the Dragonbone Divine Spear in hand, even without the aid of the Infernal Blacksaber, he felt like he would be able to match even Ancient Sage 1-dan Bloodline Continuance realm cultivators in a battle!

Of course, the greatest strength of the Ancient Sages lay in their superior grasp of a certain law, as well as their all-encompassing comprehension of the world. Their immense strength only played a minor role in their overwhelming fighting prowess.

Zhang Xuan knew that he was still a long distance away from being able to slay a true Ancient Sage.

As long as I can find the right impetus, I should be able to push for a breakthrough to Ancient Sage soon! Zhang Xuan thought.

His current greatest goal was to push for a breakthrough to Ancient Sage as soon as possible.

He had already met the prerequisite for his Soul Depth, and he was in possession of the Aeon of Ancient Sage. As long as he could achieve the comprehension of a certain law beyond the level of the heavens, he would be able to push for a breakthrough to Ancient Sage.

Only as an Ancient Sage would he have the strength to rise to the top of the world, deal with the enemies that stood in his path, and seek out Luo Ruoxin.

Knowing that he needed some time to reinforce his cultivation, Zhang Xuan halted his cultivation. With a wave of his hand, the brilliant light in the surroundings converged back to form the lodestone, but this time around, it had shrunk to nearly half its original size.

Zhang Xuan had cultivated for more than an hour in the Library of Heaven's Path, but in terms of real-world time, roughly eight minutes had passed.

"Your cultivation..." As the light dissipated, Wu Chen swiftly noticed the difference in Zhang Xuan's strength, and his mouth opened wide.

A breakthrough again?

Had he not long achieved a breakthrough to the Intuitive Impulse realm?

All of a sudden, Wu Chen felt a strong sense of defeat. It was as if all of the years that he had devoted to furthering his cultivation could not even compete with several minutes of effort put in by the young man before him.

While others strained their bodies and wore down their spirits in the hope of a chance of achieving a breakthrough, it felt like it was all child's play to the young man.

It was so terribly unfair!

How could any cultivator remain sane after witnessing such injustice?

Paying no heed to the duo, Zhang Xuan turned to Ancient Sage Hao Xun and said, "I have already resolved your trauma and removed the will within this lodestone. You should be able to use it just like any other artifact. However, it'll be best for you not to attempt to assimilate it. Otherwise, the situation will repeat itself!"

After saying those words, he tossed the lodestone over.

It was through three thousand years of nourishing from Ancient Sage Hao Xun that it had come to harness such immense power. Considering that Zhang Xuan had already benefited greatly from it, it would be inappropriate if he tried to claim the lodestone for himself.

"Thank you for saving my life!" Ancient Sage Hao Xun heaved a sigh of relief as he caught the lodestone. Following which, he turned to Sovereign Chen Yong and asked, "May I know what plans you have in mind at the moment? I'll follow your command!"

Since he had already promised to help them earlier, he would not renege on his promise, especially not after hearing that the young man was the lover of the Spirit God.

"Sovereign Chen Ling and Sovereign Chen Xing have managed to rally eight Ancient Sages." Sovereign Chen Yong pondered for a moment. "We are too weak at the moment to deal with them, so I intend to pay a visit to Ancient Sage Allfire to have him lend us a hand!"

"Ancient Sage Allfire?" Ancient Sage Hao Xun frowned. "You are referring to that old ancestor of the Beast Tribe, right? If I recall correctly, you turned him against him when you attacked his tribesmen many years ago. If he sees you in your current state, he'll kill you!"

Ancient Sage Allfire was not an expert of the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe but an old ancestor of the Beast Tribe who lived in the otherworldly battlefield.

In terms of strength, Ancient Sage Allfire could be said to be even stronger than Ancient Sage Hao Xun!

However, Ancient Sage Allfire and Sovereign Chen Yong were on hostile terms with one another due to the war many years ago. It did not seem too likely that they would be able to convince Ancient Sage Allfire to help their cause; on the contrary, the latter might even add fuel to the fire!

"There are only so many Blood Reincarnation realm Ancient Sages living in the world. If I don't ask for his help, there's no way that we'll be able to win the war." Sovereign Chen Yong shook his head in exasperation.

He was confident that he could deal with the other eight Ancient Sages, but Sovereign Chen Ling and Sovereign Chen Xing were simply too strong for him to deal with in his current state. He would require the aid of experts of the same caliber in order to stand against them!

It would be meaningless for him to seek out the weaker Ancient Sages; they would be nothing but meaningless cannon fodder in the face of the two Sovereigns. He needed experts on the same level!

"Ancient Sage Allfire is from the Beast Tribe, is he?" Zhang Xuan asked curiously.

"His true form is a Fire Behemoth. In terms of strength, he doesn't pale too much in comparison to me. Back then, as he posed a great threat to the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe, I launched an assault against him and his tribesmen and drove them away. As such, there have been some conflicts between the two of us," Wu Chen said.

If he had any other choice, he would not have chosen such a course of action. Given the history between them, there was a good chance that making such a move could backfire on them.

"Young Master, if I'm not mistaken, you possess extraordinary beast taming skills, right? Is it possible for you to..." Wu Chen glanced over with an expectant look in his eyes.

Back when his Young Master was still at the Aureate Body realm, he had already been able to tame Sempiternal realm consummation beasts with ease. Of course, Sempiternal realm beasts could not begin to compare to the powerful Ancient Sage Allfire, but given that it was his Young Master they were talking about, it seemed to be hopeful.

Instead of answering the question directly, Zhang Xuan asked with a frown, "How severe is your conflict with him?"

If an irreconcilable conflict existed between Wu Chen and Ancient Sage Allfire, there would be nothing that he could do about the situation either.

"It's a racial conflict," Wu Chen said as he scratched his head. "He intended to lead his tribesmen to conquer one of the territories of the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe, but there's no way I would accept something like that. Thus, with my strength, I defeated him and evicted him and his tribesmen, driving them millions of li away!"

Young and reckless then, he did not hold back at all against Ancient Sage Allfire. Not only did he drive the other party and his tribesmen away, he even inflicted severe wounds upon them.

"You drove them millions of li away? The entire tribe?"

Just by hearing the description, Zhang Xuan realized that this was a deep-seated grudge that was nearly impossible to resolve. Shaking his head helplessly, he said, "I'm afraid that I'm helpless before this matter as well!"

"This..." Hearing that even his Young Master could not do anything about this situation, Wu Chen gritted his teeth tightly and said, "If it comes down to it, I'll just have to humbly seek his forgiveness. Once Sovereign Chen Ling and Sovereign Chen Xing are killed, I'll offer myself up to him and allow him to do whatever he wants to me!"

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Chapter 1797: More Dragon Blood

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

Zhang Xuan frowned. "It doesn't make a difference whether you offer yourself up to him or not. The Beast Tribe is particularly vindictive; this is not something that can be resolved just by apologizing!"

As a beast tamer, he knew that racial conflicts infringed on the very dignity of the Beast Tribe, and they were less than willing to compromise on such matters. In other words, this was not a conflict that could be resolved with an apology.

If Wu Chen had not been assaulted, with his prowess as the number one expert of the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe, his promise might still have been of value to Ancient Sage Allfire. However, it would be a blessing if the latter did not make use of this opportunity to stab a dagger in his back, let alone support his cause!

"What should we do then?" Wu Chen was well aware of this, but he had been holding onto a sliver of hope that his Young Master might have a solution.

"There's no other way around this," Zhang Xuan said grimly. "For the time being, we need to find the blood essence of a Pureblooded Dragon of the Dragon Tribe!"

"What?"

Wu Chen and Ancient Sage Hao Xun exchanged bewildered glances. The sudden leap in logic had caught them off guard.

"I don't think that Ancient Sage Allfire has anything to do with the Dragon Tribe," Wu Chen said.

It was true that the Dragon Tribe was famed to be the supreme leader of the Beast Tribe, and it was common knowledge that beasts who possessed purer Dragon Bloodlines were able to suppress those whose bloodlines were less pure.

However, this ability did not work against those who were not related to the Dragon Tribe, and Ancient Sage Allfire did not have the slightest hint of the Dragon Bloodline flowing through his veins. It did not seem possible to sway his mind just by procuring a bit of dragon blood.

Zhang Xuan's train of thought was truly hard to keep up with.

"The reason I need the blood essence of a Pureblooded Dragon isn't to suppress Ancient Sage Allfire but to remove the seal on the Dragonbone Divine Spear!" Zhang Xuan said.

If he wanted to use his Beast Pummeling Taming Method, he would have to possess superior fighting prowess to the beast that he wanted to deal with.

While he had improved quickly over the past few days, such that his cultivation had already reached Sempiternal realm consummation, he was still far from matching Blood Reincarnation realm Ancient Sages.

The fastest way for him to raise his fighting prowess at the moment was to release the seal on the Dragonbone Divine Spear, thus returning it to its peak strength.

There were two known ways that he could release the seal on the Dragonbone Divine Spear. Firstly, he would have to reach the Ancient Sage realm and nourish it with his Ancient Sage zhenqi.

Secondly, he had to find the blood essence of a member of the Dragon Tribe that possessed an even purer Dragon Bloodline than the Dragonbone Divine Spear.

The first method was something that was unlikely for him to do in the short run. It was true that he was just a step away from reaching Ancient Sage, but who knew when the impetus required for a breakthrough would come to him? It would not be reliable to count on that.

As such, the second method seemed much more viable and reliable. As long as he could remove the seal that Ancient Sage Ran Qiu had cast upon the Dragonbone Divine Spear, the latter would be able to swiftly regain its strength as a pinnacle Ancient Sage weapon!

With that, he would gain the strength to defeat Ancient Sage Allfire and force him into submission!

Of course, he could choose to tap into Vicious' strength as well. After assimilating the two arms, Vicious' cultivation seemed to be approaching the pinnacle of the Blood Reincarnation realm. However, brute strength itself was unlikely to be sufficient to make Ancient Sage Allfire submit to him.

Understanding the motive behind Zhang Xuan's instructions, Wu Chen shook his head and said, "Pureblooded Dragons, just like the Spirit God, are true gods. The Master Teacher Continent isn't strong enough to bear their powers..."

The Dragon Bloodline that was within the beasts of the Master Teacher Continent and the otherworldly battlefield was extremely sparse. In terms of purity, they could not even be considered wyverns or serpents, let alone Pureblooded Dragons.

It was precisely due to this that Zhang Xuan was able to suppress them easily through his Eight Notes of Heavenly Dragon.

All in all, it did not seem too likely for them to find the blood essence of Pureblooded Dragons.

At that moment, Ancient Sage Hao Xun suddenly spoke up. "I know where we can find what you need!"

Zhang Xuan immediately turned his gaze over.

"If I'm not mistaken, what you are looking for isn't the blood essence of a Pureblooded Dragon. Rather, what you require is the blood essence of a Dragon Tribe Ancient Sage in order to undo the seal on the Dragonbone Divine Spear, am I right?" Ancient Sage Hao Xun asked.

It was impossible to find any Pureblooded Dragons on the Master Teacher Continent, but it was still not completely impossible to find the blood essence of Dragon Tribe Ancient Sages around.

Zhang Xuan pondered for a moment before nodding.

Ancient Sages were already the top experts of the Master Teacher Continent. It should be possible to undo the seal on the Dragonbone Divine Spear if he had the blood essence of a Dragon Tribe Ancient Sage.

"If that's the case, I know where you can procure some!" Ancient Sage Hao Xun said.

A thought suddenly arose in Wu Chen's head as his complexion turned awry. "Are you possibly referring to..."

"Indeed. I am referring to that place!" Ancient Sage Hao Xun nodded. "A long time ago, the grandfather of Sovereign Chen Ling, Great Autarch Ying, slew an Ancient Sage Black Dragon. He harvested the blood essence from the Black Dragon and created a Blood Lake in his own sleeping chamber. Hoping to grow a new Black Dragon out of the Blood Lake and tame it, he used the blood essence of dozens of Ancient Sages to nourish it. However, for some reason, his plans failed. Shortly after Great Autarch Ying passed away, his sleeping chamber was sealed up, and no one was allowed to enter the premises. If I'm not mistaken, there's a good chance that the Blood Lake is still there!"

There was no living being who was not drawn to the immense power of the Dragon Tribe. If one could tame a member of the Dragon Tribe, one's fighting prowess would surely soar by leaps and bounds.

Sovereign Chen Ling's grandfather, Great Autarch Ying, was someone who had lived in the same era as Vicious, and he had been infatuated with the idea of taming a member of the Dragon Tribe as his subordinate. He had devoted his time and effort into finding a Black Dragon who had inherited the bloodline of a Serpentine Dragon and had gone to great efforts to slay it. After that, he had spent a great deal of his fortune and resources to purchase the blood essence of other Ancient Sages to nourish it, hoping to spawn a hatchling of the Dragon Tribe. If so, he would have had an opportunity to tame it while it was still young.

However, it seemed like something had gone awry in the end, and his plans had eventually failed to come to fruition.

"These are only legends of the past," Wu Chen said with a deep frown. "It has been so long that it's impossible to verify their authenticity."

It was true that this matter was recorded in the annals of the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe, but it had happened tens of thousands of years ago, so it was questionable whether the matter was even true or not. It was too much of a risk to sneak into the capital and creep into Great Autarch Ying's sealed sleeping chamber to seek the Blood Lake, which might not even exist in the first place.

"I think that there's a good chance that it's true. Before I came to the Primal Lodestone Mountain, I went to Sovereign Chen Ling's palace to request for some Dragonscale Grass. As you know, the Dragonscale Grass is a medicinal herb that only grows in environments where a member of the Dragon Tribe has once lived before. Considering how Sovereign Chen Ling has no Dragon Tribe experts under his command but has plenty of well-developed Dragonscale Grass in his inventory, I think that the legend recorded in the annals could very well be true!" Ancient Sage Hao Xun countered.

The Dragonscale Grass was a medicinal herb that was nourished by the aura emanated by members of the Dragon Tribe. It had the effect of strengthening one's physical body and purifying one's bloodline, which made it highly valuable to those of the Beast Tribe. As such, it was an invaluable commodity.

Back then, Ancient Sage Hao Xun had searched many places for the Dragonscale Grass to no avail. Eventually, his search had led him to the palace of Sovereign Chen Ling, and he had finally found what he needed there. At the same time, this matter had cast some doubts in his mind.

Hearing the conversation between the two, Zhang Xuan turned to Ancient Sage Hao Xun and asked, "Is Great Autarch Ying's bedroom located in the capital, near where Sovereign Chen Ling's palace is?"

"That's right!" Ancient Sage Hao Xun nodded.

Zhang Xuan fell into deep thought.

Wu Chen could tell that Zhang Xuan was moved by what Ancient Sage Hao Xun had said, and he anxiously advised, "Young Master, it wasn't too long ago that Sovereign Chen Ling suffered a huge setback, so his guard is bound to be up at the moment. His palace will surely be heavily fortified, and there will be countless experts patrolling around its premises. It will be near impossible for us to enter the area!"

"You're right. It will indeed be tough, but as long as we look closely, we should be able to find an opening that we're able to exploit!" Zhang Xuan remarked contemplatively as he stroked his lower jaw.

"But..."

"For the time being, the two of you should seek out other Ancient Sages and see if you are able to bring them over to our side. Meanwhile, I'll enter the capital to take a look. Rest assured, with my disguise capabilities, there's no way that they'll be able to catch me!" Zhang Xuan said.

The worst place that he could be at the moment was the capital of the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe. Given the limitations of his strength, it would be best for him not to take the risk. However, if he could really find the Blood Lake and undo the seal on the Dragonbone Divine Spear, he could potentially gain the strength to subdue even Blood Reincarnation realm experts. Thus, this was a risk that he would willingly bear!

"Sigh... I guess there's no choice then!" Seeing that Zhang Xuan's mind was made up, Wu Chen decided not to say anything more.

The disguise amulet given to them by the Spirit God was extremely powerful, so it was indeed unlikely that anyone would be able to see through his disguise. Furthermore, after the incident at the Master Teacher Pavilion headquarters, Sovereign Chen Ling and the others probably thought that his Young Master was dead. His Young Master might just be able to use those two edges to his advantage and pull this off.

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Chapter 1798: Liu Yang's Experiences

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

Knowing that he would not be able to change the mind of his Young Master, Wu Chen worriedly advised, "Young Master, you have to be careful!"

If any harm came to this young man, the Spirit God might just destroy the entire Spirit Tribe with a wave of her hand.

While others might be oblivious to Spirit God's prowess, he was well aware of the destruction that she could potentially bring to the world in a fit of rage. Even when she first descended upon the Master Teacher Continent, the entire dimension had nearly collapsed due to her overwhelming aura. If she really bore malicious intentions against the Master Teacher Continent, no one would be able to stop her.

"Rest assured!" Knowing what Wu Chen was worried about, Zhang Xuan waved his hand. "I'll prioritize my own safety and won't take unnecessary risks. Meanwhile, try to get as many Ancient Sages as possible to our side. I'll be looking forward to the results of your search!"

In the search for the Blood Lake, it would be easier for him to hide himself the fewer people there were. With the mystical effects of the disguise amulet, together with Vicious and the Infernal Blacksaber, even if he was discovered somehow, escaping should not be too difficult for him.

Having decided on their next moves, they swiftly divided into two groups and parted with one another.

Zhang Xuan returned to the capital of the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe and swiftly found Liu Yang.

As Liu Yang had been taken there by Sovereign Chen Yong, his current position in the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe was extremely awkward. The only reason that the two Sovereigns had not made a move on him yet was because he was one of the most notable figures among the younger Otherworldly Demons at the moment.

If not for the fame and popularity that he enjoyed, he would have already lost his life.

Sitting in a silent chamber, Zhang Xuan erected an isolation barrier around the area and asked Liu Yang, "What happened after you left the Qingyuan Empire?"

After his student departed from his side back at the Qingyuan Empire, he seemed to have suddenly vanished without a trace. Zhang Xuan had wondered many times whether he had fallen into a perilous position or gotten himself trapped in some perilous lands, but who could have known that he had found his way to the otherworldly battlefield and even become Sovereign Chen Yong's successor?

Under the personal tutelage of the number one Otherworldly Demon Emperor, Liu Yang had managed to keep up with his other direct disciples, reaching Sempiternal realm consummation as well.

Liu Yang did not respond to his teacher's question right away. Instead, he kneeled to the floor and kowtowed deeply. "Teacher, I have caused you to worry for leaving without bidding farewell. I deserve death for my actions!"

His teacher had done many things for him and was his greatest benefactor, but as a student, he had actually fled in the face of danger. That was truly an unfilial act from him.

"It's good as long as you're doing fine!" Zhang Xuan said as he hurriedly stepped forward to help Liu Yang up.

What Liu Yang had chosen to do was indeed wrong, but he could understand the feelings of his student.

Zheng Yang had become the Progeny of Combat and had a bright future ahead of him. Zhao Ya was the young court chief of the Glacier Plain Court, and she was on track to become one of the powerhouses of the Master Teacher Continent. The same went for Wang Ying, Yuan Tao, Wei Ruyan, Lu Chong... All of them had already found their own paths.

In contrast, he had nearly been put down by the Master Teacher Pavilion. The pressure that he had been under then was immense.

"Teacher, thank you for your benevolence!" Liu Yang was deeply relieved to hear that his teacher had no intention of blaming him, but he still did not intend to get up.

Instead, he began going through the events that had transpired after he left.

"Back when I left Qingyuan City, I thought that I was a good-for-nothing. Compared to the others, I had no particular strength, and I felt that my future was bleak. In a moment of inattention, I stepped into the lair of a powerful beast and was nearly killed. Pushed to a corner, I unintentionally drove the cultivation technique that you imparted to me in reverse, but I ended up releasing something reminiscent of the Otherworldly Demon's Zhenqi of Slaughter!"

"You drove the cultivation technique in reverse?" Zhang Xuan was taken aback.

"That's right!" Liu Yang nodded as he began driving his zhenqi.

As expected, Zhang Xuan felt concentrated killing intent crushing down on his body. It was an aura reminiscent of an Otherworldly Demon Emperor.

In terms of concentration, it was shockingly on par with even Sovereign Chen Yong himself!

Zhang Xuan's eyes lit up. It's possible for even the simplified Heaven's Path Divine Art to bring out such prowess?

All along, he had thought that imitating the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe's Zhenqi of Slaughter was a unique ability of the Heaven's Path zhenqi. Who could have known that it was possible to emulate the same effects through reversing the circulation of the Heaven's Path Divine Art?

Of course, this might also be something unique to Liu Yang. At the very least, Zheng Yang, Zhao Ya, and the others had cultivated the simplified Heaven's Path Divine Art as well, but they had never brought forth such an ability.

"Through reversing the flow of my zhenqi, I managed to kill the beast in the end. However, I also sustained severe injuries in the midst of doing so. Fortunately, the intensity of my killing intent ended up drawing Sovereign Chen Yong over. He noticed my talents and abilities, and he wanted to pass down his heritage to me!" Liu Yang fell into the passageway of memories as he recounted his previous encounters.

"I knew that your wish is to eliminate the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe. I thought that if I could get into their ranks, I might just be able to help your cause. So, I agreed to become his successor..."

Hearing those words, Zhang Xuan frowned.

The cultivation technique that Liu Yang practiced was the simplified version of the Heaven's Path Divine Art. It had already enhanced his constitution and his talents, such that the potential within him would not lose out to anyone across the entire Master Teacher Continent!

It might have been a stroke of luck that Liu Yang managed to reverse the flow of the Heaven's Path Divine Art and converted it into Zhenqi of Slaughter, thus receiving Sovereign Chen Yong's appreciation. However... was all of this not too much of a coincidence?

For the highest leader of Otherworldly Demonic Tribe to suddenly chance upon a 'highly talented Otherworldly Demon' on the Master Teacher Continent, was this not something very suspicious?

Given that Luo Ruoxin and I parted in the Qingyuan Empire, and that Luo Ruoxin is the Spirit God and Sovereign Chen Yong is her subordinate... could it be her doing?

A thought came into Zhang Xuan's mind, and he quickly asked, "Have you ever met Ruoxin while following behind Sovereign Chen Yong? I'm referring to Luo laoshi from the Hongyuan Master Teacher Academy."

Liu Yang, Wang Ying, and the others had met Luo Ruoxin while she was still a teacher at the Hongyuan Master Teacher Academy.

If the two of them had met one another, he would surely recognize him.

"I haven't seen Luo laoshi since leaving Qingyuan City..." Liu Yang shook his head.

Zhang Xuan frowned upon hearing those words.

Could he have guessed wrong?

If Ruoxin was not behind it, was Liu Yang not really lucky to have met Sovereign Chen Yong albeit the odds?

"Then... have you heard of the Spirit God?" Zhang Xuan pressed on further.

"Teacher, you mean the Spirit God of the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe? There's no one here who hasn't heard of the Spirit God!" Liu Yang replied.

"She's the faith of the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe, such that not even the Three Sovereigns dare to undermine her. Sovereign Chen Yong told me that he only found me through the guidance of the Spirit God. However, I have only heard rumors about the Spirit God so far, so I don't really know too much about it!"

"The guidance of the Spirit God?" Hearing those words, a smile crept onto Zhang Xuan's lips.

It seemed like he had guessed right.

Luo Ruoxin was indeed behind Liu Yang becoming the successor of Sovereign Chen Yong.

He was thankful to her for saving Liu Yang, but she should have met Liu Yang and known that he was a human. To bring him into the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe... what kind of intentions did she have in mind?

Zhang Xuan was getting more and more confused by the situation.

"Upon coming to the otherworldly battlefield, I realized that I could improve quickly by absorbing the power of the blood moon through driving my cultivation technique in reverse. Sovereign Chen Yong also treats me very well, going to the extent of conducting a ritual for me to raise my cultivation. As such, I managed to overcome the Great Sage bottleneck within a few months and reach my current level of strength!"

In the first place, as Liu Yang's body had been tempered by the simplified Heaven's Path Divine Art, his talent could be considered superior to most cultivators. On top of that, Luo Ruoxin had been caring for him from the side, and the number one Otherworldly Demon Emperor had been grooming him personally. It would be difficult for him not to become strong.

"As such, I managed to rise above the younger generation and make a bit of fame for myself in the capital. After that, Sovereign Chen Yong said that he had some matters he needed to leave for a while. Not too long later, Sovereign Chen Ling and Sovereign Chen Xing returned and proclaimed that Sovereign Chen Yong had been killed by the Master Teacher Pavilion. As a result of that, I'm also gradually being sidelined within the capital," Liu Yang swiftly explained his current situation.

Considering that he had been brought there by Sovereign Chen Yong and was viewed as the latter's successor, if not for the popularity that he enjoyed in the capital and his wariness, he might have been killed already, just like the other subordinates of Sovereign Chen Yong.

Of course, it might also have been because he did not wield any actual authority that Sovereign Chen Ling and Sovereign Chen Xing did not view him as a threat. If he truly wielded military power, he would probably have been killed by now.

Nevertheless, Liu Yang still moved around warily, fearing to even step out of his house. He was afraid that the slightest carelessness would bring him into the very jaws of the enemies.

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Chapter 1799: Offering Pointers to Liu Yang

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

"Sovereign Chen Ling and Sovereign Chen Xing have already thrown their all in and no longer have a path of retreat, so your current circumstances are very dangerous. However, if you flee right now, they'll place the title of a traitor above your head, making it impossible for you to return," Zhang Xuan said.

Knowing the current situation that his direct disciple was in, he fell into deep thought, but he was unable to think of any better plan at the moment. Thus, he flicked his wrist and said, "This is the blood essence left behind by Blood Reincarnation realm Ancient Sages. Hurry up and assimilate it. This way, you'll have an additional layer of protection even if they intend you harm!"

Liu Yang accepted the blood essence with gratitude. Without much hesitation, he took it and swallowed it.

The power of the blood essence immediately began billowing within Liu Yang's body. At the same time, Zhang Xuan walked to the latter's back and pumped surges of zhenqi into his body in order to facilitate the assimilation of the blood essence. Within a short hour, the latter had already fully absorbed the Ancient Sage blood.

After assimilating the blood essence, Liu Yang could feel his strength growing significantly. However, he was still some distance away from achieving a breakthrough to Ancient Sage.

"This is a portion of a land that I have sealed that contains Aeon of Ancient Sage. It should be able to help you in your breakthrough to the Ancient Sage realm. Also, I have a technique that allows you to cultivate your Soul Depth, and I'll impart it to you right now. Try your best to reach Ancient Sage as soon as possible!" Zhang Xuan instructed as he took out a painting and passed it over.

The circle of Otherworldly Demons was fraught with treachery and danger. If Liu Yang wanted to survive in such a circle, he would have to quickly reach the level of an Ancient Sage!

The fact that Liu Yang's disguise had not been seen through by Sovereign Chen Yong was something huge. If he walked down this route, he might be able to achieve something amazing in the future.

If he could establish his standing in the current internal struggle or perhaps even gain dominance over this seemingly uncontrollable race, it would definitely be a cause for celebration for mankind. There would be no better outcome than that.

"Thank you, Teacher!" Liu Yang said.

Even though he had only been in the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe for several months, he had already undergone many different trials and calamities. He was no longer the headstrong and egotistical young man that he had once been.

He knew that despite how easily his teacher was taking those things out, they were actually incomparably valuable treasures that would cause countless cultivators to vie over any one of them. Even Ancient Sages would dive right into the fight as well.

Despite his unfilial actions, his teacher did not blame him at all. Instead, the latter even bestowed such invaluable treasures. This left him deeply ashamed of himself.

As if seeing through Liu Yang's thoughts, Zhang Xuan said, "Everyone has their own encounters in life, so there's no need to envy others. Such emotions will only narrow the scope of your outlook and limit your state of mind, thus diminishing your future accomplishments."

His voice seemed to pierce right into Liu Yang's soul, striking his core.

Negative emotions such as envy, hatred, and resentment would only unnerve one's mind, rendering one incapable of finding inner peace. In the worst-case scenario, one might even become a slave to one's own emotions.

Of his many disciples, Liu Yang was not a person who particularly stood out, and he had unwittingly gotten himself into deep trouble, which had created an inferiority complex. That was also the reason for him simply turning around and leaving, hoping that he would be able to find a world that belonged to him. Ultimately, his hope was just to stand proudly on equal terms with Zheng Yang, Zhao Ya, and the others.

Such emotions could be a powerful pushing force, tempering one to be more resilient than ever. At the same time, it could also push one into a corner, causing one to lose sight of one's surroundings.

Zhang Xuan had neglected this back when Liu Yang was still by his side, so he felt that he should voice this advice to the latter right now so that he would not stray down the wrong path.

"I understand!" Liu Yang said grimly.

"In order to become a true expert, your heart must be broad. The reason that Kong shi was able to rise above the others is due to the vastness of his mind, which allowed him to see past differences to encompass all beings within him. No one else has achieved the same state of mind as him, which is why he remains the most respected individual in the world, remembered even after tens of thousands of years!" Zhang Xuan said.

It was only after entering the Temple of Confucius that he realized just how powerful and great Kong shi truly was.

It was true that Kong shi's strength had remained unrivaled ever since his era, but the world remembered him not for his might but his teachings. Just from that, it could be seen just how respectable a person he was.

Zhang Xuan could see the knot in Liu Yang's heart slowly unraveling as he thought things through, and he heaved a sigh of relief.

The greatest weakness of this student of his was that he was simply too competitive. Be it consciously or subconsciously, he would always pit himself against Zheng Yang and the others, comparing who was better.

The relations among those of the same lineage should be built upon mutual support. There was no doubt that rivalry was a powerful force of motivation, but a relationship should never be built solely upon rivalry. Otherwise, if those feelings were to intensify and exceed a certain point, they could become toxic and breed resentment.

"I understand!" Liu Yang nodded in realization. Having let go of everything that had been bogging down his mind, he turned Zhang Xuan and asked, "Teacher, is there some reason that you chose to come to the capital alone?"

"I plan to head to Sovereign Chen Ling's palace to find some dragon blood!" Zhang Xuan said, not hiding anything from his student.

"Sovereign Chen Ling's palace?" Liu Yang frowned. "Teacher, even though I have never been there myself, I have heard of how guarded the place is. It's impossible for outsiders to enter the premises!"

"I understand that, but I have a compelling reason for needing to enter that place at any cost!" Zhang Xuan nodded.

There were too many things that he wanted to achieve that required greater power, such as resolving the threat of the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe and looking for Luo Ruoxin.

To do that, unsealing the Dragonbone Divine Spear was definitely the fastest way to raise his fighting prowess.

From Zhang Xuan's attitude, Liu Yang could see that his teacher was determined to get into Sovereign Chen Ling's palace. He stood up, and with a deep frown on his forehead, he said, "Sovereign Chen Ling's palace has thirteen layers of defenses. Even soul oracles would have trouble entering the area! As for attempting to barge in forcefully, it is questionable whether even an Ancient Sage would be pull it off or not. Furthermore, we don't have a clear idea where the dragon blood is stored. If Sovereign Chen Ling discovers your aim somehow, it will be far more difficult to find it!"

Without a doubt, barging in forcefully was not an option. First and foremost, his strength was severely lacking. While he would still be able to escape from Otherworldly Demon Ancient Sages with Vicious and the Infernal Blacksaber, it was a wholly different matter if he was charging right into their midst. Furthermore, considering that nothing could be confirmed yet, it did not seem wise for him to make such a reckless move.

"I have to sneak in first!" In truth, Zhang Xuan had been thinking over this matter, and he already had a rough idea in mind. "First and foremost, I head toward Sovereign Chen Ling's palace to check out the area!"

It went without saying that the first thing he had to do was gather some information about the place that he wanted to break into. As long as he could come close enough to trigger the Library of Heaven's Path, the rest would not pose a problem.

"Liu Yang, I need you to help me look around for any opportunity to enter Sovereign Chen Ling's palace. For one, he was severely injured by Sovereign Chen Yong not too long ago, so has he tried finding any physicians to treat him?"

Vicious' arm had plunged right into Sovereign Chen Ling, and that had shaken the very foundation of his cultivation. Even without any news about Sovereign Chen Ling, it was clear that there was no way that he could have recovered from such severe injuries so quickly.

In other words, there was a good chance that Sovereign Chen Ling was still seeking treatment and required the help of physicians.

This could possibly be a good chance for him to sneak into Sovereign Chen Ling's palace.

"I'll go take a look!" Seeing that his teacher already had an idea in mind, Liu Yang turned around and left the room.

As the successor looked upon favorably by Sovereign Chen Yong, Liu Yang had already established his own intelligence network in the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe in the couple of months that he had been there.

In less than two hours' time, he returned to the room.

"Just as you guessed, Sovereign Chen Ling's palace is indeed recruiting. However, what they are looking isn't physicians!" Liu Yang said with a bizarre look on his face, as if he could not believe what he had just heard.

"They aren't looking for physicians? What are they looking for then?" Zhang Xuan frowned.

It had been his deduction that Sovereign Chen Ling was looking for physicians in order to receive treatment. Given the severity of his condition, it was unlikely that ordinary physicians would be able to treat him, so he would attempt to gather talents all around to diagnose him.

If that was the case, he could make use of this chance to sneak up.

"That's right!" Liu Yang paused for a moment before continuing. "They are looking for appraisers!"

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Chapter 1800: The Arrogant Appraiser

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

"Appraisers?" Zhang Xuan's eyebrows shot up.

He could understand why Sovereign Chen Ling would want to recruit physicians, poison masters, or even those with unique abilities, but appraisers...

What the heck was the other party up to?

The Master Teacher Pavilion had classified most occupations into the Lower, Middle, and Upper Nine Paths. In contrast, the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe did not have a clear classification for occupations, and there were no corresponding guilds. Nevertheless, they still had the heritages of occupations that were passed down from generation to generation.

Of course, it was nowhere near as detailed and thorough as the heritage on the Master Teacher Continent.

Appraisers served to identify artifacts and determine their value; they possessed no ability to cure or heal. Why was Sovereign Chen Ling bringing such people in?

Was there some kind of misunderstanding?

"I was skeptical about the news as well, so I made sure to verify the matter several times. Ever since Sovereign Chen Ling returned from the Master Teacher Continent, he has been cooping himself in the depths of his palace, but instead of rallying physicians, he has been bringing appraisers in instead," Liu Yang said.

"Despite being severely injured, he didn't seek the treatment of physicians. Instead, he went to look for appraisers... There's something really amiss here!"

The more unnatural something was, the more likely that there were treacherous currents that lay beneath the surface.

The entire matter simply sounded too ridiculous to be true.

Just thinking about a couple of appraisers standing by the ill Sovereign Chen Ling's side, appraising his wounds...

"Wow, this injury sure is amazing. It must be worth at least eight hundred pinnacle spirit stones!"

"That isn't just it. Take a closer look at this injury... It's caused by an Ancient Sage who lived tens of thousands of years ago, and the injury has a unique mark on it. It must be worth ten thousand pinnacle spirit stones at the very least!"

"You want to buy a treasure like this with just ten thousand pinnacle spirit stones? Dream on! Even the injuries inflicted by an ordinary Ancient Sage are worth this much, let alone something of such caliber..."

...

"Cough cough." Zhang Xuan realized that his thoughts had unintentionally wandered too far away, so he quickly dragged himself back to reality.

Zhang Xuan shook away the miscellaneous thoughts in his mind and said, "No matter what his motive is, I should head over to take a look for myself..."

"Teacher, what do you have in mind?" Liu Yang asked.

"Since he's bringing in appraisers, I reckon that there should be some kind of examination grounds for the appraisers, right? I'll head over there to have a look!"

After Sovereign Chen Yong's 'death', Sovereign Chen Ling had officially become the highest leader of the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe. As such, if he let out the news that he was recruiting appraisers, countless Otherworldly Demons would rush forward to fill the position.

Naturally, not everyone who applied for the job would be allowed to enter Sovereign Chen Ling's palace. There was bound to be some kind of exam to filter the capable from the mediocre. Since that was the case, it was a good opportunity for him to head over there and construct a new identity for himself.

"There's indeed an examination for the appraisers. Allow me to take you there!" Liu Yang quickly replied with a nod.

"There's no need for that. Your current identity is a little sensitive, and you'll draw too many gazes if we head there together. It'll be safer for me to head there alone, so you just have to point out the directions to me," Zhang Xuan said.

"Alright then!" Liu Yang did not insist on the matter.

As the successor that Sovereign Chen Yong had chosen, Sovereign Chen Ling and Sovereign Chen Xing would definitely be keeping track of every single one of his movements. If he was seen walking around with another person, it would cause a fair bit of trouble.

Thus, Zhang Xuan discreetly left the silent chamber and began heading in the direction that Liu Yang had pointed out to him.

The destination was a market that sold treasures of all kinds. If one wanted to enter Sovereign Chen Ling's palace, one would have to display true capabilities. It happened that there were innumerable rare and precious artifacts in the market, which made it an ideal location to hold the examination.

Disguising himself as an ordinary Otherworldly Demon, Zhang Xuan swiftly slipped into the crowd.

The market was bustling. While it was not as prosperous as the markets of major human cities, the treasures that were on display were truly exquisite. There were all sorts of precious herbs, skeletal frames of powerful beasts, and so on. Even Zhang Xuan had trouble naming some of the items despite the vast knowledge that he possessed.

It's no wonder so many people are drawn to the Subterranean Gallery despite the dangers. These medicinal properties of these herbs are far superior to what we have on the Master Teacher Continent... Zhang Xuan nodded as he walked across the vendors.

It went without saying that Wu Kuang and the others did not choose to enter the Subterranean Gallery for fun and games. While plants were much sparser in that extreme environment, the very fact that they were able to survive in the face of such dense killing intent already meant that they were extraordinary.

It was similar to how plants that could survive the arid heat of the desert tended to be far more resilient and tenacious.

However, while these things were invaluable to others, they meant nothing to Zhang Xuan. He simply spared them a glance before heading in the direction that Liu Yang had pointed.

"This thing is trash because I said so. Are you casting doubt over my judgement?"

Before Zhang Xuan could get far, he heard a particularly abrasive voice nearby. He turned around and saw an elder standing before a stall with his hands behind his back. The elder was glaring at the vendor with frosty eyes.

"Lord, I risked my life in order to obtain this Greenleaf Amber, and I even lost my arm due to that... I can swear on my life that it is true!" A middle-aged man flung his arms around anxiously.

Glancing over, Zhang Xuan saw that the middle-aged man had indeed lost his left arm, and the wounds had yet to recover.

"There's no vendor who wouldn't say that. They prepare a sob story for the artifacts that they have on display so as to give it some kind of amazing history, but I'll have to ask you to spare me such nonsense. Such trickery won't work on me!" The elder's face remained utterly cold.

He flung his sleeves coldly and said, "In terms of appearance, Greenleaf Amber looks nearly identical to Lostdictum Grass. It's clear that what you have here is a Lostdictum Grass, but you dare to pass it off as a Greenleaf Amber and hiked up its price... Shall I report you to the guards right now and have them put you away for selling fake medicinal herbs?"

Upon hearing those words, the middle-aged man's face paled in fright. "I really am not selling fake medicinal herbs!"

"Since you need to make a living as well, even though this fake medicinal herb of yours is completely worthless, I'll spare you my compassion and buy it for two Great Yong coins!"

As he said those words, the elder flicked two coins toward the middle-aged man.

Great Yong coins were the standard currency distributed by Sovereign Chen Yong. Their purchasing power was limited, such that ten Great Yong coins was only equivalent to a low-tier spirit stone. Two Great Yong coins was pretty much nothing.

"Two coins? But my Greenleaf Amber is able to sell for at least two hundred thousand Great Yong coins!" the middle-aged man exclaimed in agitation.

True Greenleaf Amber was worth at least two hundred thousand Great Yong coins, but he was only being offered two coins. This difference was simply too huge!

"Are you doubting the words of our Old Master?" The servant standing behind the elder harrumphed. "I'll have you know that our Old Master is an appraiser who has cleared Sovereign Chen Ling's examination! Since he says that what you have over there is Lostdictum Grass, it can't possibly be anything else. If you dare utter another word of complaint, I'll have someone destroy your stall. Just wait and see if anyone dares step in and lend you a hand!"

Appraisers were not highly regarded in the world, but the word of an appraiser was golden in the market.

If an appraiser said that an artifact was authentic, it would be seen as authentic regardless of the truth. The contrary applied as well.

Due to the strict rules of the Appraiser Hall that allowed appraisers to only make three mistakes in their lifetime, no appraiser would dare make an appraisal lightly on the Master Teacher Continent. On the other hand, such a restriction did not apply in the otherworldly battlefield, thus making appraisers an existence whom no one dared offend.

"It seems like that fellow doesn't wish to spend money and still wants to acquire that middle-aged man's Greenleaf Amber..." Zhang Xuan shook his head.

While he did not know too much about the medicinal herbs of the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe, as a physician, he was still able to see the spirit and medicinal properties of the herb with ease.

Based on the tremendous medicinal energy harnessed within the herb, it was definitely worth more than two Great Yong coins.

Clearly, the appraiser knew that as well, which was why he mislabeled it the Lostdictum Grass so that he could underhandedly snatch it.

To intentionally appraise an artifact incorrectly so as to purchase it at a lower price... such occurrences were, in fact, not too rare. He had often encountered such situations in his previous life, let alone here.

The crowd in the surroundings were also well aware of what was going on, but they dared not say anything about the matter.

They feared that the elder would resort to the same tactics on them, thus affecting their business and reputation.

"I happen to lack an identity at the moment, so I guess you'll be the perfect candidate for me to impersonate..."

Zhang Xuan had been planning to proceed to the place where the appraiser examination was held when he heard this commotion. A smile crept onto his lips as he halted in his tracks.

He would require a verifiable identity in order to get into Sovereign Chen Ling's palace. Since that fellow was openly bullying others, it would not weigh on his conscience to use him.

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Chapter 1801: Sovereign Chen Ling's Palace

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

After taking away the middle-aged man's Greenleaf Amber, the elder tilted his chin upward smugly before heading out. With a light chuckle, Zhang Xuan quickly followed behind him.

Leaving the market, the elder strolled along the streets for a moment before entering an alley.

Zhang Xuan swiftly flicked his finger, and that arrogant elder's vision immediately turned black. His body faltered before toppling to the ground.

With Zhang Xuan's strength as a Sempiternal realm consummation cultivator, dealing with a Saint 6-dan appraiser was a walk in the park.

"Soul Search!"

Without wasting any time, Zhang Xuan immediately invaded the other party's thoughts. In an instant, he had already fully grasped the other party's identity and background.

If he wanted to sneak into Sovereign Chen Ling's palace, he would require a legitimate and verifiable identity. The appraisers who had been recruited into Sovereign Chen Ling's palace would surely have to undergo rigorous identity checks in order to ensure that they were no threat before they were allowed onto the premises.

Thus, Zhang Xuan's first goal at the market had actually been to find a reputable appraiser and assume the other party's identity.

This way, no one would cast doubt over his identity.

"An appraiser from Kaiyong City, Wu Tao... He has already cleared Sovereign Chen Ling's appraiser examination and is intending to make his way over soon. Well, this sure worked out in my favor. I'll be spared a great deal of trouble this way..."

Zhang Xuan was able to find out about the appraiser's background swiftly through Soul Search. After gathering everything that he needed to know, he lightly waved his hand.

Huala!

That arrogant Otherworldly Demon appraiser and his subordinates were reduced to dust, vanishing completely from the face of the world. The items that could be used to verify his identity had all fallen into Zhang Xuan's hands.

"Alright, I should head over to Sovereign Chen Ling's palace!"

The disguise amulet glowed slightly in Zhang Xuan's hand, and his body began to transform. In the blink of an eye, he became identical to Wu Tao, such that even the latter's closest kin would be unable to tell the two of them apart. Heaving a sigh of relief, Zhang Xuan began making his way over to Sovereign Chen Ling's palace based on the directions that he had received from Wu Tao's memories.

The Three Sovereigns of the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe each had their own palaces, and they were spaced equally apart in the capital. Sovereign Chen Ling's palace was not too far from where Zhang Xuan currently was. Walking through roughly eight streets, he found himself standing before towering palace walls.

Zhang Xuan went up to the palace gates and passed the token representing his identity over to the guards. The identity token was inspected a total of eight times by numerous personnel before he was finally granted entry into the palace.

"Appraiser Wu Tao, please follow me," one of the guards ushered.

Zhang Xuan was unable to uncover the real reason for Sovereign Chen Ling's search for appraisers from Wu Tao's memory. Most likely, none of the appraisers had been informed of the true reason. Thus, he leaned in toward the guard and asked in a lowered voice, "May I ask why Sovereign Chen Ling has invited us here? I would like to make some preparations beforehand so as to perform well before him."

As he spoke, he discreetly passed a pinnacle spirit stone over.

The guard glanced at the pinnacle spirit stone before turning around to face Zhang Xuan with a wintry look on his face. "You just have to do whatever you are required to. Little schemes like this aren't required in Sovereign Chen Ling's palace!"

"Yes, yes!" Zhang Xuan nodded in a fluster. "I just wish to make some friends. I don't mean anything else by it. As compensation for my thoughtless action, please accept this little gift of mine!"

"Un!" The guard hesitated for a moment before taking the pinnacle spirit stone and placing it within his storage ring. With a stern voice, he warned, "Don't ever try this again in here!"

Following which, he turned around and continued proceeding ahead. There was a moment of silence before his hushed voice emerged. "You appraisers are being gathered in order to determine the exact value of a certain artifact. Sovereign Chen Ling has his eye on this matter, so no failures will be forgiven. If you dare overestimate the value, you could potentially lose your life. Don't say that I didn't warn you!"

Zhang Xuan hurriedly nodded in response.

The value of an artifact lay not only in its functionality but also its history. As such, appraisers would tend to append additional value to an artifact depending on the identity of its owner, but that could lead to some inaccuracies in the determined value.

Even if one imitated a work of art to the point where one could hardly tell the difference, the gap in the price between the original and the imitation would still be vast.

What the guard was saying was very simple. Regardless of the history of the artifact that he was going to appraise, he should determine its value based on its pragmatic functionality. There was no need to consider other factors.

"Keep that in mind, and it should be fine. I'll take you over right now. I'm just a subordinate, so I can't say for sure what kind of mission will be assigned to you. Nevertheless, I wish you the best of luck," the guard muttered quietly before falling silent.

It seemed like this was the extent of the intelligence that he had on hand.

"I'm truly indebted to you!" Zhang Xuan replied respectfully as he passed another pinnacle spirit stone over.

The situation was truly a little bewildering. To think that Sovereign Chen Ling had really brought appraisers into his palace in order to appraise an artifact.

He had seen with his own eyes how severely injured Sovereign Chen Ling was back at the Temple of Confucius. It was only due to his superior cultivation that he did not lose his life on the spot. Yet, after returning to his base, instead of seeking treatment for his injuries, he had chosen to bring appraisers in instead.

Zhang Xuan found this extremely difficult to comprehend.

Following behind the guard, he soon arrived before a splendid looking hall.

There were numerous shelves within the hall, and all sorts of treasures sat quietly on those shelves. A sizeable number of appraisers were wandering around the shelves, examining the treasures on them intently.

As soon as Zhang Xuan entered the hall, another guard immediately walked over and spoke with an authoritative tone.

"You are one of the recruited appraisers, correct? Your task right now is to appraise all of the artifacts in the room. You are to write down each of their values on a piece of paper and place them into the corresponding boxes. Start from the first artifact over there. Remember, you are not to interact with any of the other candidates; anyone caught talking will be killed without any hesitation!"

Knowing that this was another challenge that Sovereign Chen Ling had prepared to test the appraisers that he had recruited, Zhang Xuan nodded before making his way over to the shelves.

In front of the first artifact on the first shelf, there was a box that resembled the polling boxes from his previous life. There was a unique seal inscribed on the box that prevented anyone from taking out or peering into the contents of the box. In other words, it was impossible to read the answers of other appraisers through Spiritual Perception.

To have so many appraisers gauge the value of the same artifacts... Sovereign Chen Ling is really trying to filter the group down to the cream of the crop! Zhang Xuan thought as he looked around the room.

The appraiser who had come before him had already finished appraising the first artifact and placed his estimate into the box before proceeding ahead.

With no chance to communicate with one another, this test would really assess the capability of the appraiser to value artifacts.

Zhang Xuan walked up to the first artifact to take a closer look at it. It was a black ore with a slightly rough texture. Astonishingly, he was unable to tell what kind of material it was with a single glance.

Thus, he stretched his hand forward, and a book swiftly materialized in the Library of Heaven's Path.

"Stone of the Fallen Star, an ore that can only be mined from the Deep Abyss of Skynorth. It has the effect of calming inner demons..."

The book detailed the value and flaws of the black ore.

After browsing through the content of the book, Zhang Xuan did not rush to jot down the value of the black ore. Instead, he continued to examine it for a while longer before finally grabbing a blank piece of paper to write down the value that he had estimated.

The currency that he chose to use for his valuation was of course Great Yong coins and pinnacle spirit stones.

After slipping the paper into the box, Zhang Xuan moved on to the next artifact.

It was another rare ore that was of similar value to the Stone of Fallen Star.

Just like that, Zhang Xuan appraised five artifacts. He could not help but raise his eyebrows a little upon realizing that the artifacts that were on display on the shelf were all ores.

In truth, appraising ores was not too difficult. As long as one could correctly determine the properties of the ore, one would be able to easily estimate its value. But if it was a test, it did not make sense to use ores of similar values. Just what in the world was Sovereign Chen Ling up to?

After appraising ten ores, there was finally a change to the genre of the artifacts—medicinal herbs.

Some of the medicinal herbs on display were fresh whereas some were already dried and withered, making it extremely difficult to discern them properly. Keeping Wu Tao's limited capabilities as an appraiser into mind, Zhang Xuan intentionally slowed down.

For some plants, he acted as if he was unable to determine its value, such that he took out a book and began jotting down notes, seemingly attempting to make a clever deduction.

"Alright, we shall be ending the appraisal today. Please return and rest well. We shall continue the appraisal tomorrow!"

After some time, a voice suddenly sounded from outside the hall. Following which, a middle-aged man walked right into the very center of the room.

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Chapter 1802: Snooping Around Sovereign Chen Ling's Palace

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

Upon seeing the middle-aged man, Zhang Xuan's eyebrows shot up slightly.

The middle-aged man was actually a Sempiternal realm consummation cultivator just like him.

"It's finally time for a rest..."

"I really should take this resting time to brush up on my knowledge in preparation for tomorrow!"

"These artifacts are simply too difficult to appraise..."

...

Hearing that it was finally rest time, the crowd subconsciously heaved a sigh of relief. Gradually, silent mutterings began sounding here and there.

The artifacts on display in the room were progressively getting more and more difficult to appraise. Even though the crowd that had gathered were all the top-notch appraisers of the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe, they were already starting to feel the limits of their knowledge.

This rest time had really come at a timely moment. Even though it was called 'rest time', chances were that most of the appraiser would take the opportunity to read some reference books to ensure greater accuracy in their appraisals. Otherwise, they might just lose their heads after appraising one of the artifacts inaccurately.

"Everyone, this way please!"

Following which, dozens of guards dressed in monotonous black armor stepped forward. Each of them was assigned an appraiser to escort back to their living quarters, including Zhang Xuan.

Even though Zhang Xuan had many doubts in his mind at the moment, he knew that posing his questions would draw unnecessary attention to himself, so he chose to keep silent. Following quietly behind the guard, he maneuvered through corridor after corridor.

Soon, he arrived before a room. It seemed like each of the appraisers was assigned a room.

"You aren't allowed to visit or interact with one another. If you wish to access any reading material, you can make a request through me. If the palace has the reading material that you require, I'll bring it over to your room. Similarly, if you wish to cultivate or recuperate from your fatigue, you can request medicinal herbs or pills from me as well," the guard instructed as he opened the door to the room for Zhang Xuan.

"I understand!" Zhang Xuan nodded as he entered the room.

There was an isolation formation within the room that prevented him from using any Communication Jade Token. It seemed like they were really determined to stop any possible communication among the appraisers.

The moment that they started to exchange insights, the prices determined by each of the appraisers would become more similar to one another. If so, it would be hard to accurately gauge the true price of the artifacts.

Jiya!

The door creaked to a close as Zhang Xuan took a seat.

The silent chamber was not too big, spanning roughly forty square meters. Nevertheless, whatever one would typically require could all be found in the room, be it water, a table, chairs, or a bed. There were Spirit Gathering Formations fueled by pinnacle spirit stones set up within the room, supplying ample spiritual energy to those residing within. No matter how exhausted a person was, they would be able to recover to their full strength just by spending a short period of time within the room.

This is a good opportunity for me to look into the whereabouts of the dragon blood! Zhang Xuan thought as he took a seat on the floor.

Taking a deep breath, his Primordial Spirit slipped out of his body from his glabella.

The reason that he had gone to the trouble of getting there was not to serve as an appraiser for Sovereign Chen Ling but to find dragon blood in order to undo the seal on the Dragonbone Divine Spear. Since he had some free time to kill, it went without saying that it was an ideal chance for him to do some scouting.

His Primordial Spirit floated quietly in the room for a moment before discreetly heading out. As he tried to pass through the door, he suddenly felt a force pushing him back.

This formation actually hinders the passageway of souls! Zhang Xuan widened his eyes in astonishment.

Soul oracles had long vanished from the face of the Master Teacher Continent, resulting in the Master Teacher Pavilion and many other major powers neglecting to set up defenses against souls. However, the soul oracle occupation was still very much existent among the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe,

As a result, most major powers in the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe would still erect anti-soul oracle barriers to prevent them from snooping into their affairs.

If he attempted to forcefully barge through the barrier, it might bring him greater trouble.

Eye of Insight!

Through his sharp gaze, Zhang Xuan swiftly found openings in the formation that he could slip through with ease.

Hu!

A slight crack opened between the doors as he slipped out silently.

"This is where you'll stay for the night..."

Along the corridor, the black-armored guards were still settling the appraisers into their accommodations.

Zhang Xuan stuck close to the wall as he swiftly flitted away from the area.

As his Primordial Spirit had reached Sempiternal realm consummation as well, it was simply too easy for him to hide himself from those guards.

Leaving the accommodation, Zhang Xuan began to wander around the area. Considering that he was in Sovereign Chen Ling's palace, he dared not fly too high. It was not that he was afraid of the defensive formations that were around the area, but he knew that it was likely that there would be Ancient Sages lurking within the perimeter. If he was noticed by one of them, he would be in deep trouble.

The palaces of the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe are unlike those of the Master Teacher Pavilions. Perhaps landscaping isn't an occupation here, so they pay little heed to geography, fortune, and the sort. Nevertheless, through their runic inscriptions and formations, their palaces are practically no different from impregnable fortresses. Even with the severe injuries that Sovereign Chen Ling has sustained, as long he chooses to hole himself up in his palace, it would be nigh impossible for Sovereign Chen Yong and the others to corner him and take his life!

Zhang Xuan thought as he swiftly mapped out the palace in his mind.

On the Master Teacher Pavilion, it was convention to look for a land that was blessed by natural forces. This way, one would be able to make use of the surrounding geography to gather spiritual energy in the area.

Such a convention was not shared by the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe. What they did instead was inscribe their runes on the walls and floors. Despite not tapping into the geographical advantages of the land, they were still able to fill their living areas with spiritual energy, thus creating an environment suitable for cultivation.

Despite the striking similarities between the two, there was a vast difference in the outcome. The former gathered spiritual energy without harming the environment, thus laying the foundation for sustainable, long-term development. On the other hand, the latter devoured spiritual energy from the land, caring little about the life and death of others sharing the environment.

Perhaps, this could also be a mark of the differences between Otherworldly Demons and mankind.

"I don't sense dragon blood anywhere..."

By now, Zhang Xuan had already roamed around the palace for hours, having been to nearly every nook and cranny of Sovereign Chen Ling's palace. Yet, he could not find any trace of dragon blood. In fact, even the Dragonscale Grass that Ancient Sage Hao Xun had mentioned previously was nowhere to be seen.

Thinking back, the news that Ancient Sage Hao Xun knew of was three thousand years old, so was it possible that... the Blood Lake containing the dragon blood had already ceased to exist?

All that's left is that building...

After flying for a moment longer, Zhang Xuan set his sights on the final location—Sovereign Chen Ling's sleeping chambers.

Due to the aura of Ancient Sages lingering in the area, he had not dared enter the premises.

Since he had not sensed the presence of dragon blood anywhere else, if the Blood Lake was truly still existent, that was the only place left where it could be.

Regardless of whether there are Ancient Sages there or not, I'll have to drop by and take a look... Zhang Xuan took a deep breath and resolved himself.

From the moment that he chose to infiltrate Sovereign Chen Ling's palace, he had already known that he would face great danger in his undertaking. Without a doubt, sneaking into Sovereign Chen Ling's sleeping chambers was an extremely risky action, but he could not give up without at least giving it a try.

Thus, he reduced his presence to the bare minimum before activating his Eye of Insight to take a closer look at the sleeping chambers not too far away.

The entire building was shrouded by a unique seal that would swiftly detect any intruders attempting to snoop in, including soul oracles.

Knowing the dangers involved, Zhang Xuan did not rush to make any reckless moves. Instead, he bided his time for an opportune moment to strike. He hid himself in the midst of a massive tree and reined in his aura.

With his Soul Depth reaching a level comparable to Ancient Sages, he was already able to remain impervious regardless of the happenings around him. Since there was a good chance that he would be noticed if he tried to breach the seal, he chose to hold back his anxiety and forced himself to patiently wait.

As long as someone resided in the living chamber, there were bound to be people entering and leaving it. That would create the opportunity required for him to move in and out.

After waiting for nearly an hour, a voice finally sounded behind him. "How are the appraisers we have recruited this time around?"

Slowly turning his gaze over, Zhang Xuan saw the Sempiternal realm consummation middle-aged man whom he had met at the hall earlier walking behind an elder. The two of them were heading in the direction of the sleeping chamber.

The elder had reined his aura into his body, making it difficult to gauge the depth of his strength. However, the tremendous pressure that he exerted through his eyes felt as if he could see through any disguise and concealment with a glance.

"An Ancient Sage?" Zhang Xuan narrowed his eyes.

There was no doubt about it. The elder had to be an Ancient Sage cultivator.

As expected of Sovereign Chen Ling's sleeping chamber, it was indeed guarded by the cream of the crop.

Knowing the prowess of the elder before him, Zhang Xuan dared not move. Hiding amid the massive tree, he held his breath tightly and forced himself to remain completely stationary. He was afraid that he would unintentionally give away a clue that would reveal his presence.

"There are some appraisers who are nearly done appraising all of the artifacts, but they are still uncertain about the values of some of the artifacts." The middle-aged man sighed. "It's regrettable, but the appraisers of our Spirit Tribe are simply too lacking in comparison to those of the Master Teacher Continent!"

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Chapter 1803: You Found Me!

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

"Trust and rules are of the utmost importance on the Master Teacher Continent, so the principles imposed on the appraisers are much higher. On the other hand, the Spirit Tribe is a largely lawless area, so appraisers here tend to lie and exaggerate. As a result, the prices that they come up with are unreliable. How distasteful!" The elderly Ancient Sage shook his head, seemingly displeased with such circumstances.

The Otherworldly Demonic Tribe lived in an environment that could be described as 'survival of the fittest'. Most appraisers had devoted their lives to the pursuit of knowledge in order to refine their craft, and they were highly dependent on their eye of discernment and reputation for a living. In terms of strength, they could only be said to be subpar at best.

If their client was an ordinary cultivator, they could still speak the truth. However, if they were standing before powerful experts, speaking the truth could very well cost them their life.

After all, who knew when an expert would fly into a rage and slay them in the fit of their anger?

There were plenty of cases where powerful cultivators suffered a lapse in judgement while purchasing an expensive artifact, only to have their foolishness pointed out while consulting an appraiser. Often, the honest words of the appraiser would incur the wrath of the powerful cultivator, thus inducing the powerful cultivator to vent their anger on the appraiser.

As such, it had become a custom for appraisers to mince their words when making an evaluation.

Despite that, there were still many appraisers around due to market demand. Without appraisers to value artifacts, the market would swiftly descend into chaos.

"Did you inform them that we are interested in finding out the real value of those artifacts instead of inflated numbers?" the elderly Ancient Sage asked.

"I have made sure to relay those words to every single one of the appraisers, but there are still a handful who jotted down ridiculously inflated figures in their valuation!" the middle-aged man reported.

"Drag those people out and execute them. I trust that the other appraisers will know what's best for them once we make an example out of them!" The elderly Ancient Sage harrumphed as his killing intent burst forth.

In an instant, it felt as if the area had been plunged into the midst of a snowy mountain. Even the massive tree that Zhang Xuan was hiding on swiftly withered as a result of the overwhelming aura.

The might of Ancient Sage experts was not just for show. Even a mere sliver of their strength was enough to place one in great discomfort.

This aura... Zhang Xuan's heart jolted.

There was indeed a wintry edge to the aura emanated by the Ancient Sage's aura, but it was not due to coldness. Rather, there was an eerie undertone to the aura, reminiscent of the netherworld.

Such an aura was not foreign to Zhang Xuan, and he only knew of one occupation that was capable of exerting such an aura.

The soul oracles!

Could the elderly Ancient Sage possibly be a soul oracle?

"Hmm?"

As Zhang Xuan noticed the anomaly, the elderly Ancient Sage seemed to have noticed something amiss in his surroundings as well, and a momentary frown crept onto his forehead.

Noticing the anomaly on the elderly Ancient Sage's expression, the middle-aged man asked, "Ancient Sage Mo Ling, what's wrong?"

"It's nothing much." Ancient Sage Mo Ling waved his hand. "You can return for the time being. Do what I have just said. Kill a couple of appraisers and make an example of them to the others. The others should fall in line fast enough!"

"I understand!" The middle-aged man nodded.

He quickly turned around and left the area.

After the middle-aged man left, the elderly Ancient Sage remained on the spot for quite a while, not moving at all.

Hiding in the tree, Zhang Xuan's lips could not help but twitch in worry. Have I been noticed?

He did not dare claim that his ability to conceal himself was unparalleled, but with his Soul Depth exceeding 30.0, even Ancient Sages would have trouble sensing his presence.

A brief moment of bewilderment earlier had caused a slight fluctuation in his soul energy, but he had suppressed it quick enough. Under normal circumstances, not even Sovereign Chen Ling would have noticed his presence through something as subtle as that. Was it really possible for this elderly Ancient Sage to have noticed his presence?

Time ticked by slowly, but the elderly Ancient Sage remained rooted to the spot. It might just have been Zhang Xuan's imagination, but it felt like the spirit of the elderly Ancient Sage was locked upon him. He realized that if he did not flee, he might not have the chance to do so in the future.

Flee!

Without any hesitation, he immediately dived right into the ground.

"Lost patience, eh?"

Seeing that Zhang Xuan had finally moved, the elderly Ancient Sage, Mo Ling, suddenly opened his eyes, and a brilliant light shone forth from them, almost as if a crack of dawn illuminating the dark sky. Following which, he stomped his feet heavily on the ground.

Boom!

The earth immediately began shuddering as ripples of energy diffused beneath his feet like water undulations.

At that moment, Zhang Xuan's Primordial Spirit came into contact with the ground. He should have been able to dive underground with absolute ease, but he felt as if he had crashed into a metal board. The energy ripples were warding him away, causing him to fall weakly to the ground instead.

Seeing that a casual stomp from the other party was more than enough to block his passageway, Zhang Xuan's face warped awfully. "This is really bad..."

He was a simple soul. In order to hide his presence, he had not brought the Infernal Blacksaber, Vicious, the Dragonbone Divine Spear, and the rest with him. If the elderly Ancient Sage cornered him, he would no doubt die.

Hu!

Knowing that the surface had been sealed and that it was nigh impossible for him to escape underground, Zhang Xuan immediately shot into the air instead.

"If I allow you to escape, I will really be a failure of an Ancient Sage!" the elderly Ancient Sage scoffed as he raised his hand.

Hula!

A chilling aura swiftly shrouded the massive tree. Before Zhang Xuan could soar into the air, his Primordial Spirit froze once more. It was as if he had fallen into a bog and was unable to move.

"Break!" Zhang Xuan raised his finger and tapped it lightly.

Hula!

The surrounding space rippled, and cracks started to form on it.

Previously, he had still needed the power of the Dragonbone Divine Spear in order to break space and form a spatial passageway. However, with his cultivation reaching Sempiternal realm consummation, he could do it easily even with just a tap of his finger.

"Humph!"

Ancient Sage Mo Ling's lips curved upward, almost as if he had expected Zhang Xuan to make such a move. He raised his palms together and clapped them together midair.

The cracks in space swiftly mended back together. At the same time, the surrounding space swiftly fortified itself to the point that it was as tough as steel. Despite being able to tear open the space easily a moment ago, Zhang Xuan found that he was unable to even faze it anymore.

The strength of an Ancient Sage was simply too great. Without Vicious and the Infernal Blacksaber, Zhang Xuan really did not stand a chance.

Flaws!

Knowing that he could really lose his life if this continued, Zhang Xuan did not dare hold back.

Huala!

The Library of Heaven's Path jolted a little, and an additional book materialized in it.

With a hurried tap, the wisdom contained within the book flowed into Zhang Xuan's mind.

In the blink of an eye, the flaws of the sealed space appeared in his mind.

I see... Zhang Xuan nodded in realization.

The other party was using soul oracle arts to seal the surrounding space. Even though it seemed tough and impenetrable, the truth was that there were many openings.

Thus, he retreated slightly from the air before tapping his feet lightly on the space beneath him.

Huala!

The space that he had just tapped on lightly was where one of the flaws of the soul oracle art was located. Cracks began spreading throughout the surrounding space once again.

"Hmm?"

Not expecting a Sempiternal realm soul to be able to overcome his seal so easily, a slight frown formed between Ancient Sage Mo Ling's brows. He raised his hand and grasped at Zhang Xuan.

Zhang Xuan could tell with a single glance that there were eight flaws in this strike, so he continued charging forward without bothering to dodge the other party's attack at all.

Hula!

His silhouette entered the dimension rift, and it seemed like he would tread through space and disappear at any moment.

"Don't you dare!"

Seeing how the other party dared to ignore his attack and continue with escaping, Ancient Sage Mo Ling's face darkened further. He raised his hands and clapped them together forcefully.

The dimension rift began closing at a rapid pace once more. If Zhang Xuan failed to stand his ground, he could very well be crushed into bits.

Without the slightest hint of panic, Zhang Xuan exhaled a mouthful of turbid air before stretching his arm thirty meters away to tap at a certain point in space.

Deng deng deng deng!

Ancient Sage Mo Ling immediately felt his flow of energy being abruptly severed, and he retreated two steps in a fluster.

Hu!

Unable to take it any longer, he drew his soul out from his glabella.

In an instant, a furious gale blew across the entire area, and a sinister aura descended upon the land.

"Farewell!"

Hula!

Barely after Ancient Sage Mo Ling drew out his soul, a calm voice sounded in his ears. Following which, the dimension rift vanished, and the soul that had been present in the area just a moment ago vanished without a trace.

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Chapter 1804: Investigations

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

Ancient Mo Ling's body froze on the spot as he swiftly rose into the air with his massive soul to assess the surroundings. However, the various buildings around the area were completely silent, and the formations in the area did not seem like they had been touched at all.

It was as if no one had been there in the first place.

Has he escaped?

Ancient Sage Mo Ling's eyes narrowed menacingly as a frighteningly cold aura drifted from him.

As the strongest expert of the soul oracles, he possessed extraordinary cultivation. He had thought that he would be able to capture the other party easily, but who could have known that despite having drawn his soul out of his body, the other party would still manage to escape his sight?

This was as good as a crisp slap on his face!

There's no way he could have gotten far away from here, Ancient Sage Mo Ling thought.

With a thought, he activated the formations all around Sovereign Chen Ling's palace.

The other party might have managed to escape through the dimension rift, but with the immense pressure exerted from his soul energy earlier, there was no way that the other party would have been able to get too far. At the very least, he was definitely still in the palace!

Furthermore, based on his understanding of souls, the other party's main body was certainly in the area. Otherwise, he would have detected the other party's presence much earlier.

Huala!

Ancient Sage Mo Ling brought his soul back into his body before opening his tightly shut eyes once more.

"Just who in the world is he? His aura didn't seem to have the slightest yin aura to it, and he was able to escape even under my pressure..."

He knew all of the living soul oracles in the world, and even Ancient Sage soul oracles would be unable to escape from him in such a manner. He could not believe that someone had actually managed to slip past him.

Ancient Sage Mo Ling pondered for a moment but was unable to come to a conclusion. Thus, he turned around and shouted, "Men!"

"Ancient Sage Mo Ling!" A black-armored middle-aged man walked out from the shadows.

"Have any suspicious individuals entered the palace recently?" Ancient Sage Mo Ling asked.

"Reporting to Ancient Sage Mo Ling, ever since Sovereign Chen Ling's return, the palace has been completely sealed. Over the past month, the only ones who have been able to enter the palace are the appraisers. There is a total of 232 of them, and I haven't allowed a single one of them to leave the premises yet!"

"Appraisers?" Ancient Sage Mo Ling harrumphed coldly. "That fellow has to be among them. Bring all of their information to me!"

"Yes!" The middle-aged man nodded.

Just as he was about to take his leave, Ancient Sage Mo Ling's voice suddenly sounded once more. "Wait a moment. I'll go with you. I shall investigate this matter personally and root out that fellow with my own hands!"

...

Returning into his body through his glabella, Zhang Xuan's eyes shot open, and he heaved a sigh of relief.

That was a close call!

He did not think that he would encounter a soul oracle Ancient Sage. Due to the incredible sensitivity that soul oracles had toward pulsations of soul energy, the other party had noticed his presence in an instant.

It was fortunate that he had managed to exploit the other party's flaws, or else he would have died before he even knew it.

It was no wonder Sovereign Chen Yong, Liu Yang, and the others said that Sovereign Chen Ling's palace was fraught with danger. It seemed like he had really underestimated the forces that Sovereign Chen Ling had under his command.

Due to the elusive nature of soul oracles, they had an intrinsic advantage when it came to scouting ahead and escaping enemies. Nevertheless, that was not to say that their means were infallible.

Given that the elderly Ancient Sage has noticed my presence, it's very likely that he'll start investigating the appraisers. Should I play it safe and leave right away?

A conflicted look surfaced on Zhang Xuan's face.

Since the only guests that Sovereign Chen Ling had invited in recent days were the appraisers, the chances of the intruder being one of the appraisers were extremely high. If Zhang Xuan was in the other party's position, he would start investigating from the appraisers as well.

At this rate, it would not take long for the elderly Ancient Sage to get to him.

If he wanted to escape, he would have to quickly make up his mind.

Every second of delay meant a lower probability that he would be able to make a safe getaway.

But once I leave Sovereign Chen Ling's palace, the chances of me being able to return to the area are near zero...

It had not been easy for Zhang Xuan to pass off as an appraiser to get in there; this was a rare chance for him to find the Blood Lake and raise his fighting prowess swiftly. He was reluctant to leave empty-handed!

"Appraisers, step out of your room and gather over!"

As Zhang Xuan was still hesitating over the matter, he suddenly heard a bellow outside. Follow which, countless footsteps filled the air, and it seemed like a guard was stationed outside each of the room.

It's already too late to escape now... Zhang Xuan heaved a deep sigh as he got to his feet.

The elderly Ancient Sage was far more efficient than he had expected. He had managed to put the clues together and determine the next course of action in just a few moments.

However, this did not necessarily spell the end.

Unlike ordinary soul oracles, Zhang Xuan's soul was fully compatible with his physical body, making him appear no different from other Otherworldly Demons on the surface. Furthermore, his identity was clean. As such, the chances of the elderly Ancient Sage rooting him out were not high.

Walking out of the room, Zhang Xuan was welcomed by an army of cold-faced guards. One of them walked up to him and forcefully ordered him, "Get over here!"

With the escort of the guard, he was quickly taken to a hall that had soldiers standing at alert all around. The Sempiternal realm consummation middle-aged man and Ancient Sage Mo Ling were standing at the very center of the room, eyeing each and every one of the appraisers sharply.

Allowing a hint of confusion and apprehension to appear on his face, Zhang Xuan entered the hall behind the other appraisers.

As soon as he entered the room, he felt Ancient Sage Mo Ling's piercing stare falling on him, seemingly attempting to see through his soul. In response to the piercing stare, he continued walking forward as if he had not noticed anything at all. A short moment later, the latter retracted his gaze.

In less than five minutes, all two hundred or so appraisers had been brought into the hall.

The Sempiternal realm consummation middle-aged man presented a scroll to Ancient Sage Mo Ling.

Ancient Sage Mo Ling swiftly scanned through the scroll with his Spiritual Perception, and it did not take him long to finish browsing through its contents.

"We have done a thorough background check on every single one of these appraisers before bringing them in. They are reputable individuals in the region that they reside in, and there's nothing suspicious about their backgrounds. Also, we found no association between Sovereign Chen Yong and them. According to the intelligence that we have gathered so far, it doesn't seem like any of them are soul oracles..." The middle-aged man quickly summarized the report for Ancient Sage Mo Ling.

"There are no soul oracles among them? Are you telling me that the fellow from earlier appeared out of nowhere?" Ancient Sage Mo Ling sneered coldly.

He knew just how secure the defenses of Sovereign Chen Ling's palace were. Even Ancient Sages would not dream of being able to sneak into the palace without drawing anyone's attention.

Over the past month, other than those appraisers, there was no one else who had entered Sovereign Chen Ling's palace.

In other words, the soul oracle who had just escaped from him was definitely among the group of people before him.

The middle-aged man hurriedly clasped his fist and replied, "I apologize for my failure! It is possible that the culprit has concealed their identity as well!"

The two of them turned their gazes toward the appraisers before them once more.

There were confused and fearful looks on the faces of the appraisers. None of them seemed to have any idea why they had been summoned there in a hurry, and they seemed to be afraid that they had unwittingly done something that had incurred the wrath of Sovereign Chen Ling.

With a cold sneer, Ancient Sage Mo Ling spread his powerful soul energy across the area to enshroud all two hundred or so appraisers.

The next instant, Zhang Xuan felt as if his body had been shackled by an invisible rope. His zhenqi instinctively jolted in an attempt to retaliate against this aggression, but fortunately, he managed to suppress it in time.

Tzzzzzz!

Ancient Sage Mo Ling's soul threads crept into his acupoints and traversed through his meridians, seemingly heading for his soul.

Zhang Xuan could tell that this was a technique that allowed one to discern the very essence of one's soul. He knew that it would not cause him any harm, so he chose to remain still.

As someone who had comprehended Soul Quintessence and cultivated the Heaven's Path Soul Art, he was capable of altering the aura of his soul at will. He knew that the other party had sensed his soul aura, so he had made sure to disguise it as soon as he returned to his accommodation. No matter how Ancient Sage Mo Ling searched, there was no way that he would find anything that would suggest that he was a soul oracle.

Just as he had expected, after circulating through his meridians, the soul thread was extracted from his body.

"Ancient Sage Mo Ling..." The middle-aged man looked over with a concerned look on his face, wanting to know the results on the other party's inspection.

Ancient Sage Mo Ling replied with a shake of his head. There was a deep frown etched on his forehead, indicating his disbelief toward the results of his search.

He had thought that he would be able to root out the culprit swiftly through searching the souls of the appraisers. After all, there was a fundamental difference between the souls of ordinary cultivators and soul oracles! Who could have known that the results would be a negative for all of the appraisers!

Ancient Sage Mo Long closed his eyes and pondered for a moment. Soon, a thought emerged in his mind, and he opened his eyes once more. "Which appraisers arrived today?"

Gedeng!

Zhang Xuan's heart skipped a beat.

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Chapter 1805: I Am Being Suspected

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

Zhang Xuan had thought of many countermeasures to ensure that Ancient Sage Mo Ling was unable to figure out his true identity, but he had forgotten one crucial factor—time of arrival.

Considering that trouble had only happened a moment ago, the chances were that the one responsible was an appraiser who had arrived that day.

"Four appraisers came today. They are namely Wu Tao from Kaiyong City, Mo Fei from Huhai City..." The middle-aged man quickly took out a list and began reciting some names. Following which, he turned to the crowd and instructed, "The four of you, step out!"

Without any hesitation, Zhang Xuan walked out from the group.

The more hesitant that he was to step out at this moment, the more likely that he would be exposed. Thus, it would be much wiser for him to face the matter courageously instead.

In any case, the current identity that he had assumed, Wu Tao, had a clean background, so there was no need for him to fear anything.

"Am I right to say that the four of you only arrived at the palace earlier today?" Ancient Sage Mo Ling slowly walked up to the four of them and swept his gaze across them.

His gaze paused on Zhang Xuan for a moment, but it did not seem like he noticed anything peculiar about him.

A slight frown emerged on his forehead.

At that moment, Ancient Sage Mo Ling noticed the wary looks on the appraisers' faces within the room, so he calmly explained, "There's no need to panic. We are currently rooting out an intruder who snuck into the palace among you, and we have no intentions of hurting the rest of you. Thus, there's no reason for you to worry about anything."

Hearing that this was a procedure to root out an intruder, the crowd heaved a sigh of relief.

While they might be a little greedy at times, they were indeed real appraisers and had nothing to do with whatever intruder there was in the palace. That naturally meant that there was nothing for them to worry about.

Ancient Sage Mo Ling carefully observed the expressions of the appraisers in the room, but he was still unable to discern anything from the change in their emotions. The frown on his forehead tightened as he continued. "This intruder is a soul oracle, so it's inevitable that his soul won't be as compatible with his body as normal cultivators. I have an artifact that inspects the compatibility between one's soul and physical body, and I need each one of you to come up one by one. Through this, I'll be able to determine who the intruder hiding among you all is."

As he spoke, he snapped his fingers and brought out a round orb. It revolved quietly in the air, emanating a white glow.

"Why don't we start with the four guests who arrived earlier today?" Ancient Sage Mo Ling turned to Zhang Xuan and the other three as he spoke.

"Very well!" One of the appraisers among the group of four stepped out.

According to the name that the middle-aged man had called him earlier, he was Mo Fei.

He walked right up to the round orb, and the white light emanated embraced his body.

Weng!

A series of numbers appeared on the surface of the round orb.

Ninety-four!

"Any compatibility above ninety shows that one is not a soul oracle... You can head down now. Next!" the middle-aged man said.

Under normal circumstances, the compatibility between a person's body and soul would be the highest at birth, reaching one hundred most of the time. However, as one's soul developed through cultivation, it was inevitable that there would be some degree of incompatibility between one's body and soul.

Even so, as long as one was not a soul oracle, the compatibility level would still easily exceed ninety.

Of course, Mo Fei was not surprised to see such a result, so he turned around and returned to the crowd.

Following which, the second appraiser stepped forward and stood under the round orb.

ninety-two!

He also met the requirements.

The result for the third appraiser was a pass at ninety-six, and it was finally Zhang Xuan's turn to head up.

Taking a deep breath, he walked toward the center of the room.

As there were no soul oracles on the Master Teacher Continent, Zhang Xuan had never seen this artifact before. As such, he was not too sure what the compatibility between his body and soul would be. However, considering that his soul cultivation technique was the Heaven's Path Soul Art, even though he was able to draw his soul out from his body, the compatibility between his body and soul should not be much lower than an ordinary cultivator's.

Standing under the round orb, Zhang Xuan's body was bathed in a warm glow.

Hu!

A series of numbers appeared on the surface of the round orb.

One hundred!

"Hmm? Perfect compatibility?"

Ancient Sage Mo Ling and the middle-aged man were all taken aback.

Achieving a score of one hundred meant that one's body and soul were perfectly compatible with one another! Typically, it would only appear for cultivators who had yet to reach Saint 5-dan Leaving Aperture realm. Considering how the young man's cultivation was already at Saint 7-dan, it was hard to believe that his body and soul still remained so compatible with one another.

"In any case, the fact that his soul is perfectly compatible with his body means that there's no way he's able to separate his soul from his body. So, it's unlikely that he's the intruder..." Ancient Sage Mo Ling shook his head.

He was perplexed by this bewildering result, but there were all kinds of bizarre talents out there in the world. It was not too surprising to see some of them deviating from the norm.

The matter that he should be focusing on at the moment was catching the intruder, and there was no doubt that the latter was a real soul oracle. It was impossible for a soul oracle's soul to be too compatible with their body.

"Continue!"

He had checked on the four appraisers who had arrived that day, but there was nothing off about them. Thus, Ancient Sage Mo Ling could only shake his hand and indicate for the checks to continue.

Soon enough, all two hundred or so appraisers in the room had been put through the check, but none of them had a compatibility that went below ninety.

In other words, similar to the report that he had received earlier, none of the appraisers in the room were a soul oracle.

"Have I guessed wrongly?" Ancient Sage Mo Ling began to doubt himself.

The current situation was truly bewildering to him.

Ever since Sovereign Chen Ling returned from the Master Teacher Continent, the entire palace had undergone several purges to root out all possible spies and enemies hiding in their midst, so the intruder could not possibly be an insider. If none of the appraisers were the culprit... where in the world did that soul oracle appear from?

Seeing that the results were still inconclusive even after the checks, the middle-aged man asked, "Ancient Sage Mo Ling, what do we do now?"

Ancient Sage Mo Ling pondered deeply for a moment before saying, "Proceed with the appraisal as we planned for the time being, but make sure that none of them are allowed to leave the palace... Oh right! Pass me the results of their appraisal first."

"I understand!"

The middle-aged man quickly dispatched some of the guards to the main hall to retrieve the boxes containing the appraisers' valuations of the artifacts.

"Most of these appraisers were able to get quite close to the mark. Only a very small proportion of them have huge fluctuations in the accuracy of their valuations," the middle-aged man reported as he passed the boxes over.

Those who were able to clear the examination and be selected to enter the palace were the cream of the crop of the appraisers. It was still not too difficult for them to appraise the true value of ordinary ores and medicinal herbs.

"Of the Stone of the Fallen Star, the average valuation we have received is 120 pinnacle spirit stone. As for the Chillwater Rock, it's 250 pinnacle spirit stones..." The middle-aged man went through the prices of the artifacts one after another.

Ancient Sage Mo Ling nodded as he swiftly swept through the answers. All of a sudden, his body froze on the spot. He turned to the middle-aged man and asked, "Who is this Wu Tao? How are his answers all so precise?"

Even for two of the same ores, the prices could vary significantly depending on size, coloration, and location of production. As such, it was difficult to assess the objective price of the artifacts. Thus, the prices that the middle-aged man was reporting were based on the average of the valuations made by the two hundred or so appraisers after removing the outliers.

And shockingly, the estimates made by Wu Tao were extremely close to the average.

Most of the appraisers still had a handful of their estimates close to the average, but for the past few ores and medicinal herbs reported, Wu Tao's estimate was only one or two pinnacle spirit stones away from the average. This raised some doubts in Ancient Sage Mo Ling's mind.

"I was also rather perplexed about that," the middle-aged man replied. "I reckon that he must be exceptionally skilled in appraising."

"I can't deny that possibility, but... if I recall correctly, Wu Tao is the person who has a soul-body compatibility of one hundred, right?" A glint flashed across Ancient Sage Mo Ling's eyes.

It was true that appraisers specialized in the field of evaluating the value of objects, but to be able to achieve such high precision every single time was truly unimaginable.

Together with the fact that the other party had a bizarre soul-body compatibility of one hundred, it did feel like something was amiss.

"That's right!" The middle-aged man nodded.

He, too, had sensed that something was off.

Ancient Sage Mo Ling's eyebrows shot up as he commanded, "Bring me all of the information concerning this Appraiser Wu Tao!"

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Chapter 1806: I Have Been Discovered

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

It did not take long for the information regarding Wu Tao to be delivered to Ancient Sage Mo Ling.

Spanning ten pages, it contained a summary of Wu Tao's history in appraising.

A moment later, Ancient Sage Mo Ling placed the papers aside and narrowed his eyes.

Based on what he had just read, while it was undeniable that Wu Tao was a fairly capable appraiser, his proficiency was definitely not high to have achieved such results in the previous test. One time might still be attributed to luck, but for it to happen consistently across the many artifacts, it would be truly foolish to simply mark it off as sheer coincidence.

"Shall I bring that fellow in for interrogation?" The middle-aged man swiftly looked through the content of the papers, and a doubtful frown etched its way onto his forehead.

"There's no need for that. I'll head there personally!" Ancient Sage Mo Ling replied imposingly.

He was someone who had received the most complete heritage of the soul oracles. If he proclaimed that he was second in the occupation, there would definitely be no one who would claim that they were first!

But on that very day, he found his confidence wavering.

The intruder was just a Sempiternal realm soul oracle, but he had nearly overlooked the other party when the other party was hiding right beneath his nose. Furthermore, despite having confronted the other party, the other party had still managed to escape from him... This was a feat that he would definitely have been unable to achieve back when he was still at the Sempiternal realm.

If that was the case, did it not mean that the other party was a soul oracle who was even more skilled than him?

This realization had filled Ancient Sage Mo Ling with intrigue.

He quickly headed to the hall where the appraising was ongoing. Searching through the crowd, he swiftly locked onto Appraiser Wu Tao.

Looking at just his appearance, there was really nothing peculiar about Appraiser Wu Tao. At that moment, he was holding a medicinal herb in one hand while swiftly flipping through some research material with his other hand.

In terms of subtle movements, he did seem to be an appraiser through and through. There was nothing about him that one could fault.

Ancient Sage Mo Ling swiftly hid the livid look on his face before walking up to the other party and saying with a smile, "Appraiser Wu Tao, please hold on for a moment. I happen to have a treasure that I am unable to ascertain the value of. May I trouble you to take a look at it for me?"

In truth, Zhang Xuan had noticed Ancient Sage Mo Ling's presence as soon as he entered the hall, and he could clearly sense the latter's intent gaze upon him. When the latter approached him, his lips could not help but twitch a little.

His disguise should have been flawless, so why was the other party's attention so focused on him?

Did he somehow unintentionally give himself away?

Despite Zhang Xuan's doubts, he did not allow them to show on his face. With a hint of fluster typical of someone being abruptly approached by an esteemed individual, he hurriedly nodded and replied, "Y-yes! It'll be my pleasure to be of service to you!"

Ancient Sage Mo Ling flicked his wrist and took out something reminiscent of a golden ruler.

Even at the very first glance, Zhang Xuan could tell that it was a powerful artifact. However, until the abilities of the ruler were activated, he would not be able to assess the exact tier of the artifact.

Zhang Xuan took the ruler in his hand, and the next instant, a book materialized in the Library of Heaven's Path.

"Soulcrushing Ruler, Ancient Sage artifact. It's able to lock onto an individual's soul and render the other party incapable of escaping..."

It's an Ancient Sage artifact? But... why is it so light? Zhang Xuan was taken aback.

Similar to Ancient Sages, Ancient Sage artifacts harnessed a law of the world. Artifacts that had undergone the tempering of the heavens, no matter how small they appeared to be, were bound to be frighteningly heavy. Even with Zhang Xuan's current cultivation, he would face some trouble trying to lift an Ancient sage artifact up.

It was clear that Ancient Sage Mo Ling's ruler had reached such a level, but surprisingly, it felt light to Zhang Xuan, similar to most Great Sage artifacts out there. He could not help but feel a little perplexed about this peculiar situation.

Taking a closer look, Zhang Xuan's heart jolted in astonishment. No, that fellow is secretly propping it up with his soul energy...

It was not that the Soulcrushing Ruler was heavy—Ancient Sage Mo Ling was secretly lifting it up with his soul energy, which made it appear as if it was nearly weightless.

To invite him to appraise an artifact yet tamper with the true properties of the artifact... Could it be that Ancient Sage Mo Ling was onto something?

As expected of an Ancient Sage, he sure was not an easy opponent to deal with!

Zhang Xuan's mind swiftly churned into action as he attempted to identify possible routes of escape. However, he soon realized that due to his close proximity to the other party, unless he utilized the Infernal Blacksaber and Vicious, there was no way that he would be able to survive if they suffered a fallout at this very moment.

Watching as Zhang Xuan examined the Soulcrushing Ruler intently, Ancient Sage Mo Ling asked with a smile, "How is it?"

"I'm afraid that I can't really see through this ruler. In terms of the material and the energy it harnesses, this ruler far surpasses the means of typical Great Sage artifacts. Yet, its weight can't be compared to Ancient Sage artifacts..."

Halfway through his explanation, Ancient Sage Mo Ling abruptly interjected. "Oh? Does this mean that you have seen a real Ancient Sage artifact in person, Appraiser Wu Tao?"

Gedeng!

Zhang Xuan's heart skipped a beat. However, without the slightest fluctuation in his expression, he replied, "I have never seen an Ancient Sage artifact in person, but I have heard about them from the books. It's said that Ancient Sage artifacts are incredibly heavy, such that even an artifact of such size can weigh as much as a towering mountain..."

Before Zhang Xuan could even finish his piece, a cold sneer abruptly sounded in the air. Following which, the space around him distorted, and he was forcefully tugged into another dimension.

"You need not bother to disguise yourself anymore. You aren't Appraiser Wu Tao!"

"Elder..." Alarmed, Zhang Xuan retreated two steps in panic, seemingly terrified by what was happening around him.

"The heritage of appraisers in the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe isn't complete in the very first place. Under normal circumstances, they would have trouble appraising even Great Sage artifacts, let alone Ancient Sage artifacts. Yet, you are able to appraise all of the artifacts precisely and see through the tier of the Soulcrushing Ruler in a glance... If Wu Tao really possessed such abilities, his name should have long resounded across the entire otherworldly battlefield!" Ancient Sage Mo Ling placed his hands behind his back as he pointed out the flaws in Zhang Xuan's disguise with absolute confidence.

If he had still harbored a few doubts previously, at that very moment, he was extremely certain that the person standing before him was the soul oracle who had escaped his clutches.

It was not because of what the other party had said but because he was simply too calm.

Even though his eyes and body language suggested apprehension and fear, a response typical of an ordinary person, there were no fluctuations in his state of mind or soul at all. Unless the other party was acting, how could the other party possibly appear so frightened and yet keep his mind and soul completely placid?

If he still could not tell with that much information, he would truly be a failure of an Ancient Sage!

Ancient Sages were the most powerful beings in the world. There were no cultivators who did not hold deference toward them. Yet, the other party actually had the mood to examine and deduce the weight of the ruler... How could it not be clear that there was a problem?

"Elder, I don't understand what you are saying..." Zhang Xuan continued exclaiming in a fluster.

At the same moment, he hurriedly called for Vicious in the Book of Heaven's Path in preparation to make a move.

While he had not found the dragon blood yet, it seemed like the mission was already a failure. He could only attempt to flee for the time being.

"Let's not waste each other's time anymore!"

Paying no heed to Zhang Xuan's 'fluster', Ancient Sage Mo Ling pressed his hands together, and the entire area suddenly grew incredibly ominous. An overwhelming outpour of soul energy was crushing down from above, seemingly trying to imprison Zhang Xuan.

It seemed like Ancient Sage Mo Ling had learned from his previous lesson, so he wanted to subdue Zhang Xuan as quickly as possibly by going all out.

"Break!"

Knowing that it was meaningless to keep up his disguise, Zhang Xuan flicked his wrist and whipped out the Infernal Blacksaber. Gathering his zhenqi, he swung the saber forcefully toward the descending soul energy.

Sila!

The soul energy and the surrounding space were immediately severed as a burst of saber qi shot its way toward Ancient Sage Mo Ling.

"You are the spy!" Ancient Sage Mo Ling sneered coldly as he charged forward with the Soulcrushing Ruler in hand.

Ding ding ding ding!

The Soulcrushing Ruler clashed several times with the Infernal Blacksaber before the Infernal Blacksaber was jolted out from Zhang Xuan's hands.

Despite being Ancient Sage artifacts, the Infernal Blacksaber was clearly much weaker than the Soulcrushing Ruler.

Hula!

After the Infernal Blacksaber was sent flying, Ancient Sage Mo Ling immediately took the opportunity to press forward with his attack, using the Soulcrushing Ruler upon Zhang Xuan once more. In an instant, Zhang Xuan felt as if his soul had been locked in place, and a tremendous force was attempting to rip it apart.

The Soulcrushing Ruler was an artifact that could dissipate even the souls of Ancient Sage experts, let alone Sempiternal realm cultivators like Zhang Xuan.

"Stop him!"

Knowing that he would really lose his life if he continued preserving his trump card, Zhang Xuan swiftly took out a book and flipped it open. A pair of arms darted forth from the book and clawed at the Soulcrushing Ruler.

Against the might of the arms, the devastating Soulcrushing Ruler seemed to turn into a tame lamb. The incredible momentum that it had harnessed a moment ago seemed to vanish without a trace, and before it could even escape, it was already held firmly in place by a pair of hands.

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Chapter 1807: Paying Respects to the Guild Leader

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

"What?"

Seeing a pair of arms escaping from a book and catching his Soulcrushing Ruler in the blink of an eye, Ancient Sage Mo Ling felt goosebumps rising all over his body.

He caught a whiff of the scent of danger.

He instinctively realized that the arms in the book were much stronger than him, such that he would not be a match for them even if he utilized his full strength.

Hula!

Without any hesitation, he drew his soul out from his glabella, and a massive body made out of soul energy appeared. A sinister aura swiftly filled the surroundings, leaving one with a chilling sensation that pierced right into one's soul.

"Let go!" Ancient Sage Mo Ling roared furiously as he charged forward to grab the Soulcrushing Ruler, intending to pull it out of the grasp of the hands.

"Heh!"

However, Vicious had known that he would make such a move right from the start. With a flick of his wrist, the Soulcrushing Ruler ended up smacking heavily upon Ancient Sage Mo Ling instead.

Sila!

Struck on the head, Ancient Sage Mo Ling's massive soul staggered and fell from the sky. It was only an instant, but he had already sustained severe injuries.

After assimilating his arms, Vicious had already reached Blood Reincarnation realm consummation. If not for the fact that he had not grown his flesh and blood yet, his strength would have been comparable to Sovereign Chen Yong back when the latter was at his peak. There was no doubt that Ancient Sage Mo Ling was powerful, but it was insufficient to deal with Vicious.

Seeing that he had managed to land a blow, Vicious immediately pressed forward, wanting to make use of this opportunity to slay Ancient Sage Mo Ling.

However, Zhang Xuan suddenly raised his arm and halted Vicious. "Wait a moment!"

Of course, it would not be too difficult for him to kill Ancient Sage Mo Ling at that moment, but if it drew the other Ancient Sages over, it could lead to a great deal of trouble.

Vicious did not dare disobey Zhang Xuan's orders, so he quickly stopped his offense.

Zhang Xuan flicked his finger and swiftly created a dimension rift, intending to escape from the area. However, before he could make his leave, Ancient Sage Mo Ling suddenly stood up once more.

"Subordinate Mo Ling pays respect to the guild leader!"

"Guild leader?"

Taken aback by the remark, Zhang Xuan's footsteps trailed to a halt. He turned around and looked at Ancient Sage Mo Ling in bewilderment.

"If I'm not mistaken, you aren't an Otherworldly Demon but Zhang Xuan from the Master Teacher Continent, am I right? That also means that you are the guild leader of our Soul Oracle Guild!" Ancient Sage Mo Ling explained as he bowed deeply as a show of respect.

"You know of me?" Zhang Xuan was startled.

It was true that he had tamed the Seal of Souls of the Soul Oracle Guild, which effectively made him the guild leader.

However, he had already passed the Seal of Souls over to his student, Lu Chong, so it was not in his hand anymore.

"Jiang Fangyou has already informed me that there is a new guild leader for our lineage of soul oracles... A while ago, when Jiang Fangyou told me that you ended your life on the Master Teacher Continent, I thought that you might make your way over to the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe. From the looks of it, it seems like my guess was spot-on!" Ancient Sage Mo Ling explained respectfully.

Hearing those words, Zhang Xuan fell silent. He suddenly recalled the history of the Soul Oracle Guild.

From Jiang Fangyou, he had learned that the past leader of the Soul Oracle Guild had chosen to accept his death so as to convince the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe of his betrayal of mankind, thus successfully infiltrating their ranks.

This was one of the top secrets of the Master Teacher Continent, which perhaps even the current generation in the Master Teacher Pavilion headquarters was unaware of. However, as one of the Ancient Sages of the Soul Oracle Guild, it went without saying that Mo Ling knew of this secret.

It was probably due to this that Mo Ling had immediately made the connection upon hearing that he had ended his life at the Master Teacher Pavilion headquarters.

Zhang Xuan was silent for a moment before he swiftly fortified the isolation barriers in the area with a wave of his hand. Following which, he turned to Ancient Sage Mo Ling and asked, "What are you doing here at Sovereign Chen Ling's palace?"

"Sovereign Chen Yong is simply too powerful. As long as he remains alive, it's only a matter of time before mankind succumbs to him. Thus, I pretended to swear fealty to Sovereign Chen Ling and incited him to make a move against Sovereign Chen Yong!" Ancient Sage Mo Ling explained.

"You were the one who came up with the plan?" Zhang Xuan widened his eyes in astonishment.

"I knew from the very start that Sovereign Chen Ling is a person of great ambition. All I did was give him a little push on the back by helping him liaise with the Hundred Schools of Philosophers!" Ancient Sage Mo Ling replied.

Hearing those words, Zhang Xuan widened his eyes in realization.

Previously, he had thought that it was bizarre how the Hundred Schools of Philosophers had paid a visit to the Jiang Clan to liaise with the soul oracles. After all, the soul oracles were serving as the spies of mankind among the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe, and it seemed foolish to do anything that could potentially give them away.

However, from the looks of it now, it seemed like the soul oracles had been serving as the intermediary to relay messages between the Hundred Schools of Philosophers and the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe. It was probably through this means of communication that they had been able to coordinate together to launch an ambush on Sovereign Chen Yong.

"I see... I understand the rationale behind your actions, but have you thought that if Sovereign Chen Ling hadn't sustained severe wounds in his fight against Sovereign Chen Yong, you could have very well lost your life by now!" Zhang Xuan said grimly.

He had not really come into contact with Sovereign Chen Ling yet, but based on what he had heard so far, it seemed like Sovereign Chen Ling was an extremist who craved war.

It was true that Sovereign Chen Yong was a fearsome foe to deal with, but he was also the rational mind who had been keeping the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe from launching an attack of mutually assured destruction on mankind. If Sovereign Chen Ling really came to power, the situation would probably devolve into a bitter battle where both races fought down to the very last soldier until one side was utterly eradicated.

More importantly, the very fact that Ancient Sage Mo Ling was able to liaise with the Hundred Schools of Philosophers meant that the soul oracles were spies amid the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe!

The reason that Sovereign Chen Ling had not dealt with them yet was probably because he wanted to make use of their strength and connections to bring down Sovereign Chen Yong first. Once Sovereign Chen Yong was down, they would be the next in line to be purged!

"I understand all of that, but I also knew that Sovereign Chen Yong has a trump card that he would eventually use to deal with Sovereign Chen Ling and Sovereign Chen Xing if he was forced to a corner," Ancient Sage Mo Ling replied with a deep sigh.

Hearing those words, Zhang Xuan's eyebrows shot up in realization.

It was no wonder that the soul oracles were feared even among mankind. They were truly frightening opponents to deal with.

To actually be able to toy with the Three Sovereigns of the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe and move them as if they were pieces on a chessboard... this was truly unbelievable.

Tossing aside his astonishment for the time being, Zhang Xuan asked, "How is Sovereign Chen Ling at the moment? Are his injuries severe?"

"Sovereign Chen Ling and Sovereign Chen Xing have sustained severe injuries, and they haven't been able to recover from them yet. However, I'm not too sure about the exact circumstances. It seems like he is guarded against me, such that I haven't even been able to get close to him ever since his return from the Temple of Confucius!" Ancient Sage Mo Ling said.

"I see... What about the appraisers? Why did he suddenly gather so many appraisers at his palace?" Zhang Xuan continued asking.

"I'm not too sure about the details, but if my deduction proves right, he's probably intending to make an offering to the Spirit God!" Ancient Sage Mo Ling said with a grim look on his face.

"Make an offering to the Spirit God?"

"Indeed. With the severity of his injuries, it will take at least a thousand years for him to make a full recovery, but that's clearly impractical. As such, his only course of action is to make some offerings to the Spirit God in exchange for power!"

"Isn't the Spirit God on the same side as Sovereign Chen Yong?" Zhang Xuan asked in bewilderment.

Luo Ruoxin was the Spirit God, and she seemed to have a good relationship with Sovereign Chen Yong. If the other two Sovereigns dared make an offering to her, the chances were that she would kill them on the spot instead of granting them power.

"The Spirit God is an emotionless being. In her eyes, we are no different from insignificant ants. The only way that we can catch her eye is by making an offering to her, and she will bestow her favor upon the one who makes the greatest offering. It's true that Sovereign Chen Yong had close ties with the Spirit God in the past, but with Sovereign Chen Yong going missing, he has already become completely useless to the Spirit God. As such, why should the Spirit God continue looking after him?" Ancient Sage Mo Ling coldly remarked.

The gods were emotionless beings. If they truly had feelings, how could they sit and watch countless injustices unfolding in the mortal world?

"Besides, Sovereign Chen Ling has already begun preparing the offerings and valuing them. He must be confident in its success before going ahead with it. He has never been a person to waste his time on meaningless pursuits!"

Hearing those words, Zhang Xuan tightly clenched his fists.

He could not bring himself to believe that Luo Ruoxin was such a person, but with so much evidence to the contrary before him, he found his faith in her wavering a little.

No matter what, he had to find Luo Ruoxin once more and ask her in person!

"There are certain requisites that need to be met for the tributes offered to the Spirit God, so there's a need to value them in advance so as to avoid incurring the Spirit God's wrath. So, we still have some time on our hands... Speaking of which, guild leader, may I know why you were wandering around Sovereign Chen Ling's palace earlier?" Ancient Sage Mo Ling asked with a frown.

"I'm looking for dragon blood, and I heard that there is some of that in Sovereign Chen Ling's palace. Do you know where it is?" Zhang Xuan asked.

He had tried searching earlier but to no avail. However, if he could engage Ancient Sage Mo Ling's help, this matter could very well come to be.

"You are looking for dragon blood?" Ancient Sage Mo Ling fell into a short moment of silent contemplation before he continued. "I have heard some rumors about it. I don't know exactly where it is, but I have been to most parts of Sovereign Chen Ling's palace and haven't seen any signs of it thus far. If the rumors are true, it should probably be in Sovereign Chen Ling's sleeping chamber!"

"Sovereign Chen Ling's sleeping chamber..." Zhang Xuan narrowed his eyes.

That was what he had previously deduced. It seemed like there was no mistake about it.

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Chapter 1808: Ancient Sage Lan Ya

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

"I need to enter Sovereign Chen Ling's sleeping chamber to procure some dragon blood. Do you know any way for me to get in?" Zhang Xuan continued asking.

"I'm afraid that what you are asking for isn't too easy to pull off. After Sovereign Chen Ling returned injured, his sleeping chamber has become a place that even I can't enter easily. The only one who can walk freely in and out of his sleeping chamber right now is Ancient Sage Lan Ya, so he's also the only one who knows the details of Sovereign Chen Ling's current physical condition."

At this point, Ancient Sage Mo Ling paused for a moment to organize his thoughts before continuing. "Ancient Sage Lan Ya has been following Sovereign Chen Ling ever since he was very young, and he can be said to be Sovereign Chen Ling's most loyal subordinate. Even though he's only at the Bloodline Continuance realm, his standing within Sovereign Chen Ling's lineage is extremely high!"

Those words caused Zhang Xuan's eyebrows to shoot up as a glint flashed through his eyes. "Is there a way to lure him out and... get rid of him?"

Since Ancient Sage Lan Ya was able to move freely in and out of the sleeping chamber, he might be able to disguise himself as the other party and infiltrate the sleeping chamber, similar to what he had done with Wu Tao.

In any case, Ancient Sage Lan Ya was part of the belligerent Sovereign Chen Ling's faction, which bore malicious intentions toward mankind. The weaker Sovereign Chen Ling's faction was, the safer mankind would be.

"You wish to kill Ancient Sage Lan Ya?" Not expecting the new guild leader to be so decisive, Ancient Sage Mo Ling's lips twitched a little. He lowered his eyes worriedly for a moment before hesitantly speaking up. "I guess it's not completely impossible to kill him. However, if Sovereign Chen Ling senses anything, we will find ourselves facing the full wrath of the entire Sovereign Chen Ling faction..."

Given how highly Sovereign Chen Ling regarded Ancient Sage Lan Ya, if the latter really lost his life, there was no doubt that Sovereign Chen Ling would overturn the entire capital if that was what it took to weed out the culprit.

Zhang Xuan pondered deeply for a moment before saying, "No one will notice it as long as we make ample preparations beforehand!"

Stealing the dragon blood from Sovereign Chen Ling was as good as completely turning the other party against him. Since it was fated that he would be standing on the opposite side from Sovereign Chen Ling, there was no need for him to hesitate to draw the other party's fury.

"... I understand. I'll go and make preparations!" Ancient Sage Mo Ling nodded before returning his soul to his physical body.

Hula!

Zhang Xuan also swiftly placed Vicious and the Infernal Blacksaber back in place. Once that was all done, the space around him blurred, and he found himself standing before countless appraisers and guards once more.

The two of them had entered a unique folded space before carrying on with their fight, so those who were in the hall were painfully oblivious to the major fight that had just happened a moment ago.

As soon as he returned back to the hall, Ancient Sage Mo Ling immediately bellowed, "Men!"

The middle-aged man immediately stepped forward.

"I have checked Wu Tao's identity and verified that he's innocent. He isn't the person we are looking for. For the time being, I want you to continue with the investigation. Make sure to leave no stone unturned!" Ancient Sage Mo Ling ordered.

"Yes!" The middle-aged man quickly nodded before proceeding to relay orders to his subordinates.

While he found Wu Tao extremely suspicious, if even an Ancient Sage was unable to uncover anything about that man, it was unlikely that he would be able to find anything.

"Appraiser Wu Tao, I happen to have some treasures that I am still having trouble figuring out the identity of in my accommodation. If you have time, why don't you follow me back to my residence to enlighten me?" After dumping everything onto his subordinates, Ancient Sage Mo Ling turned to Zhang Xuan and extended his invitation.

"It would be my honor to be of assistance to you!" Zhang Xuan's face visibly beamed in delight as he hurriedly bowed in gratitude.

"I'll be troubling you then, Appraiser Wu Tao," Ancient Sage Mo Ling replied with a dignified air before turning to the middle-aged man. "I'll be taking this man away with me. It won't cause you any trouble, will it?"

"No, of course not!" the middle-aged man quickly replied.

It was just a single appraiser out of the army of two hundred that he had there. It would not affect the progress of the valuation going on.

"Good. As for the rest of you, I'll be counting on you to continue the investigation. I believe I need not explain what will happen if the intruder foils Sovereign Chen Ling's plans... Appraiser Wu Tao, follow me!"

After giving the guards a stern reminder, Ancient Sage Mo Ling waved his hand, and Zhang Xuan suddenly felt a force wrapping around him, pulling him up into the sky. Before he knew it, he was already standing before a stately building.

"This is the Hall of Sweetspring. It contains a natural spring that is rich in spirituality. Recently, Ancient Sage Lan Ya has been visiting this place at a fixed time every single day to fetch some water. My guess is that it has something to do with Sovereign Chen Ling's current physical condition!" Ancient Sage Mo Ling said.

Pushing the door open, Zhang Xuan entered the building. At the very center of the room was a massive spring.

Gu, gu!

The water in the spring splished and splashed.

The water in the spring was transparent and rich in spiritual energy. Zhang Xuan walked forward to try a sip of the water, and it carried a slight hint of refreshing sweetness.

"Not bad!" Zhang Xuan nodded in approval.

Even though this spring water was not as rich in spiritual energy as spirit essence, it was completely free of impurities. If it was used for the forging of pills, it could significantly boost the chances of success.

"Guild leader, are you intending to make a move here? This place is located in close proximity to the sleeping chamber, so there's a good chance that we might alarm others!" Ancient Sage Mo Ling said worriedly.

One should never underestimate the sensitivity of an Ancient Sage's senses. Even though Ancient Sage Lan Ya was not that powerful, such that it was possible for them to kill him in a single blow, if Ancient Sage Lan Ya managed to let out a distress call or something similar, it could render his countless years of infiltrating the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe futile.

It was true that Ancient Sage Mo Ling had pulled Zhang Xuan into a folded space and fought with him earlier without drawing the notice of others, but that was because Zhang Xuan had wanted to hide his identity as well and had no intention of causing a huge fuss. If Ancient Sage Lan Ya attempted something, there was a very good chance that everything could go horribly wrong.

"You're right. We're certainly too close to the sleeping chamber at the moment. I'll set up a formation right now to prevent anything from getting out!" Zhang Xuan said.

"You'll set up a formation now? Can you make it in time?" Ancient Sage Mo Ling asked with a frown.

Be it setting up a formation or inscribing runes, these were extremely time-consuming activities that required prior preparation. With formation blueprints, for example, one would have to study them for a very long time to thoroughly understand them. Furthermore, a formation that could trap even an Ancient Sage had to be at grade-9 pinnacle at the very minimum, and even the most capable 9-star formation master would require at least one month to pull it off.

It seemed a little too late to be thinking of it then!

"It's not late at all... Just give me a moment!" Knowing what Ancient Sage Lan Ya was thinking about, Zhang Xuan chuckled softly. He took a look around the room, and with a snap of his fingers, a few hundred formation flags immediately materialized and floated quietly in the air.

"Go!" Zhang Xuan raised his hand.

Hula!

The formation flags began flying in all directions like a loud gale. They pierced themselves into the ground all around the Hall of Sweetspring before vanishing all at once.

"You're already done? Just like that?" Ancient Sage Mo Ling widened his eyes in disbelief.

Even though he had never seen a 9-star formation master setting up a grade-9 pinnacle formation in person, he had heard things about it. Yet, the young man had managed to complete it just like that!

Everything had happened so quickly that it felt like the young man was just playing a cruel prank on him!

"It has been too long since I last set up a formation, and it seems like I have gotten a little rusty..." Zhang Xuan lowered his head in shame.

He had read quite a number of books recently, which had significantly deepened his understanding of formations. However, it had been quite a while since he had last set up a formation, thus resulting in significant inefficiency in the set-up process. Otherwise, he would have been able to send the formation flags out right away and finish the set up in a heartbeat.

"Rusty..." Hearing those words, Ancient Sage Mo Ling's cheeks twitched a little.

If this is how fast you are when you're rusty, just how fast were you when you were in tiptop condition?

Isn't this getting a little too exaggerated?

This newly appointed guild leader of ours... doesn't seem to be a very reliable person!

In the end, Ancient Sage Mo Ling still could not help but doubt the reliability of a formation that had been constructed so quickly. This was similar to how one would not trust a chef who simply tossed a ton of miscellaneous ingredients into a pot and left it to boil afterward!

Deng deng deng!

Just as Ancient Sage Mo Ling was about to raise his doubts regarding the reliability of the formation, footsteps suddenly sounded outside the hall. It sounded like someone was heading their way.

Ancient Sage Mo Ling quickly calculated the time and realized that it was the hour at which Ancient Sage Lan Ya visited the Hall of Sweetspring every day. He immediately sent a telepathic message to Zhang Xuan to warn him, "Ancient Sage Lan Ya is coming..."

Hearing the footsteps too, Zhang Xuan knew that there was no time to be lost. "Take seven steps back and rein in your aura. Make a move only when I tell you to!"

"Take seven steps back?"

Ancient Sage Mo Ling had no idea what Zhang Xuan was up to, but he decided to obey the other party's commands for the time being on the grounds that the other party was the guild leader.

Jiya!

Barely after they got into position, the door of the Hall of Sweetspring creaked open. A towering figure came into sight.

He was none other than Ancient Sage Lan Ya.

Ancient Sage Lan Ya habitually cast his gaze around the room before walking straight for the spring.

Seeing this, Ancient Sage Mo Ling could not help but narrow his eyes in shock.

He was simply standing still on the spot, not concealing himself at all... but it seemed like Ancient Sage Lan Ya could not see or even perceive his presence?

When had the other party become so blind?

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Chapter 1809: How Fragile Life Is

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

The shocked Ancient Sage Mo Ling swiftly turned his gaze toward Zhang Xuan, and what he saw left him even more flabbergasted.

At that very moment, Zhang Xuan was standing less than three meters away from Ancient Sage Lan Ya, but it was as if the latter could not see him at all. It was truly a baffling sight to him.

Ancient Sage Mo Ling quickly figured out what was going on.

It's the work of the formation...

Due to his high cultivation, it would have been understandable if Ancient Sage Lan Ya had been unable to detect his presence if he hid himself. But the fact that Ancient Sage Lan Ya was unable to notice Zhang Xuan—despite being in close proximity to one another—could only mean to say that the formation was really overpowered!

Ancient Sage Mo Ling carefully extended his Spiritual Perception, wanting to see the principles behind the formation that concealed their presence. However, when his Spiritual Perception swept across Ancient Sage Lan Ya and Zhang Xuan, he astonishingly received no feedback at all. In other words, it was as if the two of them were illusions that did not exist in the world!

He could clearly see them with his eyes, but he could not perceive them with his Spiritual Perception...

Is this... a Spatial Formation?

Ancient Sage Mo Ling narrowed his eyes in astonishment.

He had long mastered Soul Traverse, and he could even pull others into folded spaces together with him, showing that his comprehension of spatial laws was not low at all. However, the Spatial Formation right before him had far surpassed whatever he had seen before.

For even Ancient Sages like them to be unable to detect or see through the Spatial Formation... could it be that Zhang Xuan had mastered the legendary Spatial Quintessence?

No wonder he was so confident in his formation. It turned out that he had the capability to back up his words.

It was laughable how, a moment ago, he had been wondering if Zhang Xuan was exaggerating his claim.

"Now!"

While Ancient Sage Mo Ling was still deep in thought, a voice sounded in his mind. He immediately raised the Soulcrushing Ruler in his grasp and sliced it across the air to strike Ancient Sage Lan Ya.

But before his offense could strike its target...

Putong!

Ancient Sage Lan Ya had already collapsed to the ground.

He was dead.

Seeing this, Ancient Sage Mo Ling anxiously turned his gaze toward Zhang Xuan, only to see the latter standing with a sinister saber in his grasp. With an embarrassed look on his face, the latter said, "My bad. I didn't think that this fellow would be so weak, so I ended up killing him unintentionally..."

Knowing that the other party was an Ancient Sage, he had thought that it would require the collaboration of Vicious and Ancient Sage Mo Ling to slay the other party silently. Yet, who could have thought that all it would take was an Infernal Blacksaber to the other party's heart?

To die without uttering any lines at all... this had to be the most pitiful death ever!

"Ancient Sage Lan Ya is an Ancient Sage 1-dan Bloodline Continuance realm expert. How could he have been killed so easily?"

Zhang Xuan was not the only one pondering over the matter. Ancient Sage Mo Ling also bore some doubts toward this peculiar outcome.

Even though Ancient Sage Mo Ling had never fought Ancient Sage Lan Ya before, many years of acquaintanceship allowed him to know roughly how powerful the latter was. With Zhang Xuan's Sempiternal realm consummation cultivation, such a thing should not have been possible!

He could understand it if Zhang Xuan, paired with the Infernal Blacksaber, was able to escape or even put up a fight against Ancient Sage Lan Ya, but to actually kill the latter with a single strike... taking the life of an Ancient Sage was not such child's play!

Could Ancient Sage Lan Ya possibly be faking it? Should he step forward and deal the other party a few strikes of his ruler?

With such thoughts in mind, Ancient Sage Mo Ling came out of his concealment and rushed over to Ancient Sage Lan Ya's side. Scanning the latter's body with his Spiritual Perception, his lips began twitching once more.

Ancient Sage Lan Ya... was indeed dead. His soul had dissipated, such that there was not the slightest bit of vitality left in his body.

"This is really bizarre..." Ancient Sage Mo Ling rubbed his glabella in frustration as he found himself unable to rationalize the situation before him.

Ancient Sages were beings who stood at the very top of the world, be it the Master Teacher Continent or the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe. While Zhang Xuan had indeed landed a critical hit on the other party's vitals, the other party should not have died that easily. To breathe his last breath without even saying a word or letting loose a scream...

It almost felt like a supernatural case.

"Could he possibly be a fake?" Zhang Xuan asked.

"No. I have known him for several thousand years now, and I would recognize him even if he was reduced to ashes. My guess is that he might have suffered some severe injuries that shook his foundation prior to this, such that he didn't even wield a tenth of his usual strength," Ancient Sage Mo Ling replied contemplatively.

Taking a closer look, he realized that Ancient Sage Lan Ya's body was extremely feeble. It was faint at this point in time, but he could sense the scent of deterioration from the other party's body.

It was apparent that the other party's foundations had already been shaken. Even if they had not made a move, the other party was unlikely to have been able to live for long.

But... when he met Ancient Sage Lan Ya not too long ago, the latter had still been overflowing with energy. According to the other party's triumphant bragging, it seemed like he was close to reaching Ancient Sage 2-dan too... How did he land himself in such a state all of a sudden?

Unable to figure out the cause behind the deterioration, Ancient Sage Mo Ling could only shake his head and turn back to Zhang Xuan. "What should we do now?"

"I'd planned on capturing him alive and conducting a Soul Search so that I could figure our Sovereign Chen Ling's current condition and the location of the dragon blood. But since he's already dead, I guess I have no choice but to drop the initial plan," Zhang Xuan said bitterly.

He felt disappointed. He had prepared so many ways to deal with whatever Ancient Sage Lan Ya threw at them, but everything had been concluded so quickly that it felt like his diligence had gone to waste.

What a letdown!

"Do you still intend to disguise yourself as him?"

"Of course! How else am I going to get into the sleeping chamber?" Zhang Xuan replied.

With a thought, his bones and muscles began warping. Even his soul aura started to change into the likeness of the collapsed Ancient Sage Lan Ya.

Then, he took off Ancient Sage Lan Ya's clothes and put them on himself. He did not forget to take Ancient Lan Ya's storage ring and place it on his finger.

When Ancient Sage Mo Ling looked at Zhang Xuan once more, his heart could not help but jolt in amazement.

He had thought that the other party's disguise would only stop at identical outer appearances, but it was far more elaborate than that. Be it in terms of gestures, disposition, soul aura, or even the state of mind, the person standing before him was Ancient Sage Lan Ya. If not for the naked corpse lying right next to them, he would have really been fooled by the disguise!

This was truly an eyeopener!

Paying no heed to Ancient Sage Mo Ling's astonishment, Zhang Xuan calmly asked, "Where would Ancient Sage Lan Ya normally take the spring water?"

"He would usually enter the sleeping chamber. As for exactly where he would go and what he would do, I'm afraid that I don't really know," Ancient Sage Mo Ling replied.

"I see. I should head over to the sleeping chamber and take a good look at it!" Zhang Xuan said as his eyes lit up in excitement.

Since it was part of Ancient Sage Lan Ya's daily routine to enter the sleeping chamber, he could walk right in without any fear.

With a wave of his hand, he took out the gourd that Ancient Sage Lan Ya had prepared in his storage ring and filled it with the clear spring water.

After that was done, Zhang Xuan turned to look at Ancient Sage Mo Ling and said, "It'll be too dangerous for you to follow me into the sleeping chamber, so I'll just head in alone!"

As Sovereign Chen Ling harbored some doubts toward Ancient Sage Mo Ling, it would be hard for the latter to enter the sleeping chamber together with him. Since that was the case, it would be more convenient for him to proceed alone.

Otherwise, it was likely that they would be doubted and dealt with as soon as they entered the sleeping chamber.

"But that's too dangerous! Something might happen to you!" Ancient Sage Mo Ling exclaimed worriedly.

Zhang Xuan's cultivation was only at Sempiternal realm consummation. Based on what he knew about the sleeping chamber, there were at least three Ancient Sages stationed in the area. If someone noticed that Zhang Xuan was an impersonator, he would be killed without any doubt!

"Don't worry. If anything really happens, I'll send a signal for you to rush in and save me," Zhang Xuan said with a smile as he threw Ancient Sage Lan Ya's body into his storage ring.

The body of every Ancient Sage was a treasure, so he could not allow it to go to waste.

Ancient Sage Mo Ling also knew that his current position was a little awkward, and attempting to forcefully tag along would only bring them greater trouble. Thus, he hesitantly agreed with a slight nod.

Putting aside the fact that Zhang Xuan was the guild leader of the Soul Oracle Guild, just on the very basis that he was the most talented master teacher of the Master Teacher Continent, he could not allow any harm to come to the other party.

"Un!"

Having made his decision, Zhang Xuan took a deep breath and walked out of the Hall of Sweetspring. He quickly recalled the outline of the palace before heading in the direction of the sleeping chamber.

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Chapter 1810: Is the Dragon Blood Here?

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

Previously, Zhang Xuan had roamed all around the palace with his Primordial Spirit, allowing him to commit the outline of the entire area to memory. Thus, it did not take him too long to arrive at the sleeping chamber.

He took out a token from his storage ring and pressed it lightly against the entrance. An opening slowly appeared in the seal, and he lifted his feet and made his way in.

The first thing that came into Zhang Xuan's sight was a vast courtyard with all kinds of lush plants growing. Taking a closer look, he realized it was a herb garden, and every single one of the plants growing out was an invaluable medicinal herb.

Zhang Xuan discreetly extended his Spiritual Perception around the courtyard to take a look, and soon, a slight frown emerged on his forehead.

There were several hundred different kinds of medicinal herbs in the herb garden, and every single one of them boasted incredible medicinal energy. However, the Dragonscale Grass that Ancient Sage Hao Xun spoke of was nowhere in sight.

Could it be that there was really no dragon blood there?

Instructing the Dragonbone Divine Spear, which was wrapped around him waist disguised as a belt, to carefully sense for the presence of any dragon blood in the area, Zhang Xuan slowly walked along the paved path while carefully scanning the area.

"Lan Ya, what are you dilly-dallying for? Hurry up!"

Just as Zhang Xuan was slowly checking the area with his Spiritual Perception, a voice suddenly reverberated in the herb garden. Turning his head over, he saw an elder looking at him with an infuriated look on his face.

This elder appeared to be in his sixties, and as if reflecting the many years that he had lived, his eyes were a little murky. While the aura that he emanated did not seem to be too powerful, the pressure that he commanded seemed to seep right into one's soul, commanding the obedience of others.

Ancient Sage 2-dan Great Philosopher realm... Zhang Xuan could immediately see through the other party's cultivation.

Back at the Temple of Confucius, Zhang Xuan had met dozens of Ancient Sages, and his storage ring had plenty of Great Philosopher realm Ancient Sage corpses. He was already well-versed with the various realms of Ancient Sages.

Despite the unflattering appearance of the elder, he was actually stronger than Lan Ya in terms of cultivation.

Such thoughts flashed through Zhang Xuan's mind in an instant as he hurriedly nodded and walked over. "Yes!"

Noticing that something was amiss with the other party's behavior, the elder stared at Zhang Xuan intently with a deep frown on his face. However, there was no mistake about it—the person standing before him was indeed Lan Ya. Thus, he lowered his voice and sternly reminded, "Today is the very last day. Nothing can go wrong, or else our heads will roll!"

"I understand!"

Even though Zhang Xuan had no idea what the elder was talking about, he was not dumb enough to ask about it. Thus, he nodded before following the other party into the main hall.

The main hall had neither Night Illumination Pearls nor candles or the sort for lighting, so the area appeared to be peculiarly dark. Stepping into the room felt like stepping into another world; everything around him seemed to vanish all of a sudden, be it auras or sounds.

What a powerful seal! Zhang Xuan thought as he discreetly scanned his surroundings with a stoic expression.

As expected of Sovereign Chen Ling's true nest, there were literally runic inscriptions everywhere that isolated this space from the rest of the palace. It was almost like a fortress within a fortress.

Had he not walked through the door, not even an Ancient Sage 3-dan Blood Reincarnation realm expert would have been able to peer through the seals to see what was happening inside.

At the very center of the hall was a round altar with a blazing flame burning menacingly above it. Over a hundred black-armored Otherworldly Demons were seated around the altar, and they were all Great Sage experts.

Seeing this elaborate set up, Zhang Xuan's eyebrows shot up as an ominous feeling weighed on his heart.

Even though Great Sage cultivators were not as rare as Ancient Sages, they were still considered the top experts of the world. Even among the army of 110,000 that had planned to invade the Master Teacher Continent back then, there had only been dozens of Great Sage cultivators. Yet, over a hundred of them were gathered at that very moment.

Did Sovereign Chen Ling really have so many cards up his sleeves?

"Where is the spring water?" Seeing that Lan Ya had fallen into a daze, the elder berated furiously him. "What are you waiting for? Hurry up and pour it in!"

"Ah, here is the spring water!" Zhang Xuan took out the gourd with a flick of his wrist and passed it over to the elder.

"Why the heck are you giving it to me?"

The elder was caught off guard by the unexpected response from the other party, but he still instinctively caught the gourd.

"You can put it in instead!" Zhang Xuan said.

He had no idea what he was supposed to do with the spring water. If he made a mistake, he might just give his identity away. Since that was the case, he might as well dump the responsibility on the elder.

"Sovereign Chen Ling personally instructed you to do it. It will be inappropriate for me to do it in your place!" the elder said with a frown.

"It's fine! His Majesty won't mind such trivialities," Zhang Xuan said with a dry laugh.

You must be joking! If I knew how I was supposed to use the spring water, do you think that I would waste my breath on you?

"You..." earing those words, the elder immediately flew into a rage. He was just about to give Lan Ya a good lecturing when the ground suddenly tremored, and the altar began to sway violently.

"There's no time to waste..."

Seeing that, the elder's eyes widened in alarm. He hurriedly uncorked the cap of the gourd and lightly shook the gourd.

Hula!

The spring water flowed onto the altar and traced the uniquely patterned grooves onto its surface. Very quickly, it formed an insignia.

Xiong xiong xiong!

As soon as the flame came into contact with the flowing water, it immediately released a burst of astonishing heat as it crackled with greater fervor than before.

With the intensification of the flame, the insignia began to transform.

"Begin!" the elder ordered.

The Great Sage Otherworldly Demons around the altar immediately made incisions on their fingers and flicked their blood into the flame.

Weng!

With the blood tribute, the temperature of the flame immediately shot up, such that the surrounding space started to distort under the immense heat.

Only at that moment did Zhang Xuan realize that there was a puddle of fresh, crimson blood being burned above the flames. It seemed like it was being refined through some kind of unique method.

This puddle of blood was roughly the size of a fist, and an indignant energy was roaring furiously from it. It felt as if a massive dragon was circling around it.

Just as a thought came into Zhang Xuan's mind, an anxious voice sounded in his mind. "Master, that's the dragon blood... They seem to be refining the dragon blood!"

The Dragonbone Divine Spear trembled in agitation around his waist.

"That's the dragon blood?" Zhang Xuan widened his eyes.

He had thought that it would take a great deal of effort to find the dragon blood, but who could have known that it would be presented right to him?

The only problem was that there were too many people surrounding the altar at the moment. Given the current circumstances, it would be nigh impossible for him to steal the dragon blood and get away safely.

It's good that I have managed to locate the dragon blood... but what are they doing? Zhang Xuan wondered silently.

To place the dragon blood on top of the altar and use the blood of Great Sage Otherworldly Demons to fuel the flame, it was clear that the other party was trying to refine the dragon blood. However, what were they trying to refine it into?

"It's our turn, Lan Ya. Hurry up and get over here!" the elder yelled.

Turning around, Zhang Xuan saw the elder creating an incision on his finger and flicking a droplet of blood essence toward the altar.

He knew that he would be suspected if he delayed at all, so he quickly squeezed out a droplet of blood and flicked it into the altar as well.

Tzzzzz!

As soon as the altar devoured the elder's blood, the elder began withering as if someone was sapping him dry. His face turned ghastly pale, and his cheeks sunk inward.

Zhang Xuan hurriedly turned his gaze toward the other Great Sage Otherworldly Demons. They were also trembling intensely as energy was swiftly drawn from their bodies.

Not only does the altar consume blood, it's also able to devour one's spirit, vitality, and psyche through tracing the blood!

Zhang Xuan narrowed his eyes in horror. He finally understood why he had been able to kill Ancient Sage Lan Ya so easily.

Just by contributing a droplet of blood, his spirit was already feeling extremely withered, and a great deal of his energy had been consumed. From the looks of it, it was apparent that Lan Ya had been sustaining the altar all that time, contributing his blood essence to it every now and then. With such depletion, it was inevitable that his physical state had depleted to the point where he had become far weaker than a typical Ancient Sage.

To encounter a surprise assault from a Sempiternal realm consummation expert wielding an Ancient Sage artifact while being in such a condition... no wonder Lan Ya had collapsed after a single attack!

Roar roar!

After devouring Zhang Xuan and the elder's blood essences, the dragon avatar within the dragon blood grew clearer and clearer. At the same time, its vague cries grew into distinct roars, and it seemed as if it would soar into the air at any moment.

"This..." Seeing that, the Dragonbone Divine Spear trembled in agitation as it cried out, "They aren't just refining the dragon blood! Rather, they are trying to use a special method to nourish the dragon blood so as to enhance it by a tier!"

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Chapter 1811: Enhancing the Tier of the Dragon Blood

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

"They are raising the tier of the dragon blood?" Zhang Xuan asked with a frown.

"There is a strict hierarchy within the Dragon Tribe, so there's a difference in the purity of a dragon's blood," the Dragonbone Divine Spear replied.

Zhang Xuan nodded.

Based on what he had seen thus far, it seemed like the Dragon Tribe worked in a manner similar to the Sage Clans on the Master Teacher Continent. The purer a dragon's bloodline was, the more talented and powerful it would be.

With the Netherworld Azure Dragon Beast, for example, even though there was the word 'dragon' in its name, the truth was that the purity of its dragon blood was extremely low. To put it in terms of Sage Clans, it would be like a member of the side family, hardly worth a mention at all. It was due to this that it had swiftly succumbed to the Eight Notes of Heavenly Dragon and submitted to him.

The puddle of dragon blood before him was likely to be the same one that Ancient Sage Hao Xun had told him about, the one that belonged to an Ancient Sage black dragon. As expected, it was much purer than the bloodline of the Netherworld Azure Dragon Beast.

"Raising the tier of dragon blood is usually impossible. However, they have added the blood essence of many Ancient Sages and cultivators into the dragon blood while using the cleanest water to remove impurities and catalyze the fusion. It's hard to tell right now, but I feel like they might just be able to pull it off," the Dragonbone Divine Spear said in agitation.

Just as the Dragonbone Divine Spear had said, it was usually impossible to raise the tier of any bloodline. What the group was doing was effectively dumping everything nourishing in the dragon blood, hoping to force an upgrade. That, as well, would usually be an impractical course of action, but with two Ancient Sages and many Great Sage cultivators devoting their lives to this upgrade, they might just succeed.

Hong long!

All of a sudden, a resounding roar echoed in the air. After fusing Zhang Xuan and the elder's blood into the mixture, the aura of the dragon blood grew stronger and stronger, such that it was starting to show signs of running amok.

"It's working!" The eyes of the elder lit up in agitation. He hurriedly stood up and looked at Zhang Xuan. "Lan Ya, we are on the verge of success. Hurry up and make the offering!"

"Make the offering?" Zhang Xuan scanned the surroundings, but there was no offering to be seen.

He had no idea what he was supposed to do right now, and that left him with a splitting headache.

He had witnessed one of the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe's rituals before back at the Temple of Confucius, but he had never hosted one before. There was no way that he would know what the typical steps of their rituals consisted of. At that rate, he was really going to be exposed!

After all, no matter how convincing his disguise was, he was not a real Otherworldly Demon. If he was really able to conduct the ritual to summon the Spirit God by himself, he would not have followed Sovereign Chen Yong over to the otherworldly battlefield.

His previous action of tossing the gourd to the elder had already incurred the latter's suspicion. If he continued delaying the ritual, the elder might just make a move on him.

Thus, Zhang Xuan stiffened his body up and directed his blood up his throat, causing his cheeks to redden.

"Pu!"

Fresh blood spurted out of his mouth, and his entire body wobbled weakly for a moment before collapsing to the ground.

"You..." Not expecting Ancient Sage Lan Ya to give in at a crucial moment like that, the elder's face puffed red in fury. "I'll surely report this matter to Sovereign Chen Ling afterward. Just wait to be punished!"

Following which, he turned his gaze away from Zhang Xuan and raised his hand up.

Hula!

In the blink of an eye, countless surges of sword qi appeared above him. Following which, he abruptly brought his hand down.

Puhe! Puhe! Puhe!

The sword qi whizzed through the air, slaughtering the hundred Great Sage cultivators seated around the altar.

Along with the decapitation of hundred heads, a stream of fresh blood flowed steadily into the altar.

Seeing that, Zhang Xuan's eyebrows shot up.

To slaughter a hundred Great Sage cultivators just like that... No wonder he had been unable to find any offerings earlier—the offerings were actually the lives of those Great Sage cultivators!

This was truly an abominable ritual!

Weng weng weng!

As the blood filled the uniquely patterned groove on the altar, a thunderous howl echoed in the air. Countless fragments of light descended from the sky and gathered around the elder.

"O noble god, I humbly offer these lives to you. All I wish for is to purify this dragon blood..." The elder's voice echoed resoundingly in the air.

He spoke in the primordial language of the Spirit Tribe, which carried a sinister vibe that seemed to permeate one's body.

A voice spoke slowly from amid the congregation of light. "I shall grant your wish!"

Zhang Xuan quickly traced the light up into the sky, wanting to see if the person was Luo Ruoxin. Yet, the blinding radiance of the light rendered him unable to see any silhouette at all. At the same time, the voice sounded exceptionally rich, making it difficult to discern whether it belonged to a male or a female.

Boom!

Right after the voice had given its answer, the light abruptly intensified. A surge of unique energy descended from the sky and fused into the dragon blood, causing it to billow furiously.

As if having devoured some kind of nourishment, the size of the dragon avatar in the dragon blood expanded in an instant. At the same time, the aura that the dragon avatar emanated seemed to grow significantly denser and more powerful.

While it might have been impossible for ordinary cultivators to raise the tier of dragon blood, such a feat was not beyond the means of the gods!

To think that the other party had gathered so much energy together and sacrificed so many lives all to summon the gods!

Gugugugu!

As the avatar of the dragon bulked up, the puddle of blood diminished in volume. Despite being around the size of a fist initially, it was only roughly the size of a fingernail at that very moment.

While its volume had reduced considerably, the energy that it harnessed had become much denser and more powerful, and it emanated an imposing pressure in its surroundings. It felt as if its power was on the verge of exceeding the limits of the world, and it would depart to a higher world very soon.

He had felt such a sensation from Luo Ruoxin once before.

Back in the Temple of Confucius, as her strength had far exceeded what the Master Teacher Continent could endure, she had been left with no choice but to turn around and leave.

Clearly, the dragon blood before him had also surpassed the bottleneck of the Blood Reincarnation realm to reach a higher level!

"Master, if I can devour that dragon blood, not only will I be able to undo my seal, I'll even be able to advance a step further and push for a breakthrough to Ancient Sage 4-dan!" the Dragonbone Divine Spear exclaimed in agitation.

Zhang Xuan's face also reddened in agitation, but he took a deep breath to calm himself before instructing the Dragonbone Divine Spear, "Hold on for a moment. We'll make a move after the power from the gods dissipates!"

He had thought that it would be a great blessing if he could unseal the Dragonbone Divine Spear, but who would have thought that he would happen upon the other party's ritual of enhancing the tier of the dragon blood?

If the Dragonbone Divine Spear was able to devour the assimilated dragon blood, it would surely undergo major transformative changes and ascend to a greater level!

In that case, as long as he had the Dragonbone Divine Spear in hand, Sovereign Chen Ling would be no threat even if he returned to his peak!

Even the strongest experts would be destroyed by a jab of his spear!

However, if he wanted to devour the enhanced dragon blood, he would have to wait for the power from the gods to recede first. Otherwise, if the gods flew into a rage over his impatience and punished him, the consequence was not something that he could bear.

"Un!" The Dragonbone Divine Spear agreed, and it trembled uncontrollably around Zhang Xuan's waist. It was hardly able to curb its excitement.

It had never chanced upon such an opportunity before even back in those days when it was pursuing Ancient Sage Ran Qiu.

With such dragon blood along with his superior fighting prowess, even if he was still unable to match the almighty Kong shi, he would at least be able to put up a fight against Vicious.

Hong long!

While the two of them were communicating with one another, the aura of the gods retreated from the atmosphere. Following which, the glow on the altar was beginning to dissipate as well.

Amid the blazing flame, there was only a single droplet of the dragon blood left. With a scarlet color reminiscent of fire, this single droplet of blood harnessed so much power that it felt as though it had become a sentient being. Out of instinct, it attempted to charge out of the altar and leap into the endless sky.

However, with a powerful formation swiftly closing in on it, there was no way that it would be able to escape.

The eyes of the elder reddened as he cried in agitation, "We've succeeded!"

After nearly an entire month of hard work, their efforts had finally come to fruition. The elder suddenly felt exhaustion assaulting his entire body, threatening to pull him down to the ground.

"Invite Sovereign Chen Ling over!" the elder bellowed loudly with tightly clenched fists.

"Now! We need to snatch the dragon blood right now!"

Upon hearing the elder's words, Zhang Xuan's face immediately warped in horror. Once Sovereign Chen Ling appeared, it would be impossible for him to lay his hands on the dragon blood anymore.

With a slap of his hand, the Dragonbone Divine Spear immediately darted forth from his waist.

It seemed to know the urgency of the current situation as well, so it warped into a black skeletal dragon without any hesitation and bolted right for the altar.

Seeing the black skeletal dragon and recalling the bizarre actions of the other party throughout the ritual, the elder widened his eyes as he exclaimed in disbelief, "Y-you... You aren't Ancient Sage Lan Ya? Who the hell are you?"

He immediately raised his arm to stop the black skeletal dragon from reaching the altar.

Huala!

The power of an Ancient Sage poured forth. It swiftly gathered in midair to form a barrier so as to block the black skeletal dragon from reaching the altar.

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Chapter 1812: And the Dragon Blood Goes to...

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

"Break!"

Seeing that the elder had managed to stop the Dragonbone Divine Spear, Zhang Xuan's face turned grim. At such a moment, he could not afford to hide his identity any longer. Taking out the Infernal Blacksaber, he raised his arm and slashed at the barrier.

Even though the elder was at Ancient Sage 2-dan Great Philosopher realm, he had expended himself greatly while trying to purify the dragon blood. As a result, his strength paled far in comparison to before.

All it took was an instant for the Infernal Blacksaber to tear through the barrier.

"Pu!"

Fresh blood spewed from the elder's mouth, but the elder firmly stood his ground. His eyes turned crimson as he raised his palm once more.

He released a tremendous amount of zhenqi to stop the Dragonbone Divine Spear from reaching the dragon blood despite the poor physical state that he was in. His desperate act worked, and in a moment's time, he actually managed to halt the Dragonbone Divine Spear once more.

"Persistent b*stard!"

Not expecting the elder to be so stubborn despite being in such a weakened state, Zhang Xuan's face reddened in fury as he swung the Infernal Blacksaber once more.

As long as he killed the elder, the barrier that the latter had formed around the Dragonbone Divine Spear would dissipate.

"Humph!" Knowing that Zhang Xuan would launch such an attack, the elder slid his palm forward.

Something reminiscent of a woven piece of silk darted forth and encircled itself around the incoming saber.

It was an artifact—a Half-Ancient Sage artifact. Even though it was not a true Ancient Sage artifact, it was tailored purely for hypnosis and binding. As a result, Zhang Xuan immediately felt the zhenqi in his body slowing down, as if something was blocking it. Even exerting his zhenqi felt incredibly arduous.

Hula!

An Otherworldly Demon Ancient Sage suddenly appeared right before Zhang Xuan and blocked the woven piece of silk. It pulled its arm backward before launching a powerful punch aimed right at the woven piece of silk.

It was none other than the Otherworldly Demon Ancient Sage corpse that Zhang Xuan had forged a while back!

Si la!

Despite only being a corpse, it possessed superior physical abilities as a Soulless Metal Humanoid. That single punch caused the space in its path to collapse, and the crimson silk was swiftly torn into shreds.

Pu!

A second mouthful of blood was spewed from the elder's lips.

In the first place, he was in no state to fight given his current physical condition, and it was only sheer willpower and desperation that had been driving him on. His frail body was sent flying by the impact, and he landed heavily on the ground amid a cloud of dust. From the looks of it, he would be incapacitated for quite a while.

Zhang Xuan swiftly swung the Infernal Blacksaber once more to tear down the barrier set up by the barrier before bellowing, "Go!"

"Yes!"

The Dragonbone Divine Spear immediately bolted forward as fast as lightning.

In the blink of an eye, the massive skeletal dragon arrived before the dragon blood, and it widened its mouth to devour the dragon blood.

Hu!

Just as the dragon blood was about to flow into the body of the skeletal dragon and assimilate together with it, its movements suddenly froze in place. It was a bizarre sight—a completely motionless skeletal dragon with a droplet of dragon blood floating quietly in the midst of its mouth.

"Sh*t!" Zhang Xuan narrowed his eyes in alarm.

He quickly lifted his head and saw a figure drifting right above them. The figure was pointing one of his fingers toward the skeletal dragon.

It went without saying that it was the figure who had frozen the surrounding space to limit the Dragonbone Divine Spear's movements.

Sovereign Chen Ling!

They were still a step too slow in the end!

At that moment, Sovereign Chen Ling's face was still a little pale, which indicated that he had not fully recovered. Despite that, there was still no denying that he was a Blood Reincarnation realm expert. There was no way that the Dragonbone Divine Spear could be a match for him!

After halting the movements of the Dragonbone Divine Spear, Sovereign Chen Ling turned his gaze upon Zhang Xuan. His eyes reflected the raging anger that was burning within him. If looks could kill, everything in the area would have disintegrated in the blink of an eye.

"Are you Zhang Xuan? I didn't think that you would have the guts to sneak into my palace and kill my trusted subordinate. You are really courting death!"

The Dragonbone Divine Spear and the Infernal Blacksaber were artifacts unique to Zhang Xuan. No matter how ingenious his disguise as Ancient Sage Lan Ya was, those artifacts would still give him away in an instant.

"Vicious!"

Sensing great danger from the figure floating above him, Zhang Xuan brought out his strongest trump card without any hesitation.

The Book of Heaven's Path materialized, and one of Vicious' arm reached out from the book and flicked its finger.

Si la!

The sealed space immediately began flowing once more, and the massive mouth of the skeletal dragon swiftly clamped shut.

Kacha!

The sound of the skeletal dragon's teeth clamping shut echoed throughout the entire room. However, the skeletal dragon did not experience the feeling of immense power coursing through its body as it had anticipated.

"A human actually managed to make it in here?" A provocative feminine voice echoed in the room. "Sovereign Chen Ling, it seems like your palace isn't as safe as you thought..."

Following which, a young lady with a seductive figure appeared in the room. Rotating slowly at the tip of her finger was the droplet of dragon blood.

Clearly, she had stolen the dragon blood from the skeletal dragon's mouth in the moment that it tried to devour the dragon blood.

This young lady appeared to be in her early thirties. At first glance, her cultivation felt unfathomable, giving off a similar sensation to the elder presiding over the ritual earlier. In other words, she was an Ancient Sage 2-dan Great Philosopher realm cultivator.

Zhang Xuan's eyebrows shot up in astonishment.

He had known that there would be several Ancient Sages standing on guard in Sovereign Chen Ling's sleeping chamber, but he did not think that they would come so quickly.

"Get the dragon blood back!"

Knowing that the danger would only worsen with every passing second, Zhang Xuan hurriedly issued another order to Vicious.

Sou!

The arm coming from the Book of Heaven's Path darted right toward the Great Philosopher realm young lady with lightning speed.

The young lady was caught off guard from the unexpected agility of the arm. Before she knew it, the space around her was already sealed, rendering her unable to move at all.

Peng!

A palm thrust landed squarely on the young lady's chest, and the latter was immediately sent flying into the distance.

"Take it!"

Knowing that she would unable to retain possession of the dragon blood in the face of such a powerful enemy, the young lady anxiously flung the droplet of dragon blood toward Sovereign Chen Ling.

Sovereign Chen Ling swiftly flitted forth to grab the droplet of dragon blood, but the arm in the Book of Heaven's Path was not slow in its reaction either.

Thus, the two powerhouses collided with one another, causing a devastating shockwave to ripple into the surroundings. Under the humongous force, the formations in the area reached the limits of their durability and shattered.

"What happened?

"Sovereign Chen Ling seems to be fighting with someone else..."

Huala!

The collapse of the formations meant that they were no longer fighting in an isolated environment. Hearing the commotion, another two Ancient Sages swiftly flew over to inspect the situation.

Just like the young lady, they were Great Philosopher realm experts. Individually, they might not be a threat to Vicious, but when coordinating with one another, there was no doubt that they were a force to be reckoned with.

Due to Sovereign Chen Ling's injuries, Vicious clearly held the upper hand in the clash, and he was on the verge of obtaining the droplet of dragon blood. However, with those two Ancient Sages joining the fray and supporting Sovereign Chen Ling, the scales were balanced. Vicious found himself unable to take a single step forward no matter how much he exerted himself, almost as if someone had nailed him to the spot.

Even though Vicious was unable to reach the droplet of dragon blood, he was able to prevent the others from reaching it as well. Desperate, Sovereign Chen Ling clenched his teeth together and bellowed, "Formation, activate!"

Weng!

The formations that were set up all over Sovereign Chen Ling's sleeping chamber began churning into action. Innumerable shimmering beads of light materialized in the area, and they swiftly converged on Vicious in the blink of an eye.

Sovereign Chen Ling had spent innumerable years carving the inscriptions and setting up the formations within his sleeping chamber so as to ensure that he would have a trump card to deal with Sovereign Chen Yong if they ever fell out with one another.

While Vicious had recovered to Blood Reincarnation realm consummation, it was still beyond his means to breach the formation quickly.

Seeing that Vicious had been trapped within the formation, Sovereign Chen Ling heaved a sigh of relief.

"I have paid a heavy price in order to refine this droplet of dragon blood, so how could I allow an outsider like you to snatch it from me?" he harrumphed coldly.

With a grasp of his hand, the droplet of dragon blood fell right into his hand, emanating rampaging energy.

Sovereign Chen Ling tapped his finger lightly on the droplet of blood, and the dragon avatar shrouding it released a deep, pained moan. It was as if someone had just slain its will.

Without any hesitation, he opened his mouth to swallow the dragon blood.

He had sustained severe injuries that had devastated his very foundations, and it was only a matter of time before he lost his life. The only way that he could recover was through the nourishment of the refined dragon blood.

"No! It's mine!"

Seeing that a rare opportunity to achieve a breakthrough was about to slip right through his fingers, the Dragonbone Divine Spear roared desperately. It charged right toward Sovereign Chen Ling without any hesitation, intending to take the dragon blood back by hook or by crook.

It rammed heavily into Sovereign Chen Ling, causing the latter to stagger. The dragon blood also slipped past the latter's finger to fall to the floor.

"You're courting death!" Sovereign Chen Ling spat as he thrust his palm toward the Dragonbone Divine Spear.

Padah!

How could the Dragonbone Divine Spear possibly withstand the attack of a Blood Reincarnation realm expert? It was planted right into the ground with a huge hole around it.

"Humph!"

After knocking away the Dragonbone Divine Spear, Sovereign Chen Ling raised his hand and summoned the dragon blood back into his grasp. After that, he brought his hand to his mouth, ready to drink the dragon blood, when he suddenly felt a chill on his fingers. It was as if a gust had just blown through his fingers.

Before he knew it, the dragon blood had vanished from his hand once more.

"What?"

Sovereign Chen Ling's head nearly blew up in that instant. He hurriedly turned his head to look where the gust of wind had departed to, only to find himself faced with a floating gourd. The body of the floating gourd caved inward to form a depression as the dragon blood was drawn into the depression to be assimilated into its body.

Just like that, the dragon blood was devoured.

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Chapter 1813: Ancient Sage Mo Ling Makes a Move

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

"You..."

Sovereign Chen Ling was immediately rendered dumbstruck.

Similarly, Zhang Xuan was rooted to the spot as he felt countless divine beasts stampeding through his mind, leaving a cloud of dust obscuring his thoughts.

That gourd was the Dongxu Gourd, which had once hidden in his dantian. After he fed it a meteorite piece, the other party had been resting in his storage ring, hardly moving at all. Why would it suddenly leap out to join the commotion at a time like this?

Not to mention... it had even devoured the droplet of dragon blood!

That was the crux to removing the seal on the Dragonbone Divine Spear! Without it, the Dragonbone Divine Spear would not be able to regain its true strength, and with just the prowess of Vicious, it would be impossible for him to get out of there safely. In the worst-case scenario, he might even meet his end there!

"My blood... My dragon blood..."

The collapsed Dragonbone Divine Spear twitched in horror upon seeing this sight, and tears flowed freely down its sunken eyes.

That was the key for it to return to its prime, but it had been swallowed by a mere gourd.

Ridiculous! A gourd did not have a mouth, so how could it swallow anything at all?

"Urp!"

After devouring the dragon blood, the Dongxu Gourd burped loudly before heading back in Zhang Xuan's direction with a satisfied shake of its bottom.

Sovereign Chen Ling finally returned to his senses, and insanity overwhelmed his rationality. He charged over furiously as his palm large swathes of space around him.

"Give my dragon blood back!"

Seeing that, Zhang Xuan nearly fainted on the spot.

With his current strength, getting involved in a fight between Ancient Sage 3-dan Blood Reincarnation realm experts was as good as committing suicide. Thus, it had never crossed his mind that he could charge forward to snatch the dragon blood.

As a result of that, he had been observing the battle carefully the whole time. If the situation ever turned against him, he would immediately turn tail and flee. Yet, who could have thought that the gourd would snatch the dragon blood and return to his side, not neglecting to pull Sovereign Chen Ling's aggression to him in the meantime?

You b*stard! Just what in the world did I do to you for you to do this to me?

It was out of goodwill that I allowed you to stay in my dantian and nourished you. I even gave you the meteorite... but this is how you repay me?

Profanities that would leave even the most foul mouthed of individuals reddening in shame flashed through Zhang Xuan's mind. Of course, his body did not freeze in space. He swiftly moved to distance himself from the Dongxu Gourd so as to avoid Sovereign Chen Ling's wrath, but before he could make a move, the Dongxu Gourd had already dived back into his dantian and found a comfortable spot to rest.

"You..." Zhang Xuan's head nearly burst apart from frenzy in that instant.

However, this wasn't the moment to confront the Dongxu Gourd. He quickly activated the Zhang Clan bloodline, causing time to slow down. At the same time, he executed the Heaven's Path Movement Art and darted forward with incredible agility, reaching Vicious' side within a heartbeat.

The only reliable card that he had against Sovereign Chen Ling was this fellow.

"Die!"

Seeing the gourd that had stolen the dragon blood disappearing into Zhang Xuan, Sovereign Chen Ling immediately realized that the gourd was one of the other party's possessions. With his lips twitching in rage, he pulled both of his hands downward forcefully.

The next moment, it felt as if the surrounding air had been sapped dry. Zhang Xuan felt his stiffening body flying in Sovereign Chen Ling's direction, as if he was offering his life up to the other party.

"Master!"

Seeing such a sight, Vicious could not possibly continue allowing himself to be tied down by those two Ancient Sages. His other arm flew out of the Book of Heaven's Path to grab Zhang Xuan's shoulder, thus preventing the latter from flying toward Sovereign Chen Ling.

At the same time, the other arm pushed against the Book of Heaven's Path, dragging out an incomplete skeletal frame from within.

Given that he was bound to Zhang Xuan by a soul contract, if Zhang Xuan died, he would lose his life as well. As such, he had to save Zhang Xuan regardless of the cost.

Huala!

As soon as the skeletal frame appeared, spiritual energy began surging over, creating a hurricane in the room. The skeletal frame lifted its palm and pressed it downward onto the incoming Sovereign Chen Ling.

Leaving the Book of Heaven's Path had boosted Vicious' fighting prowess significantly. As soon as he collided with Sovereign Chen Ling's offense, the latter was sent flying into the distance.

Perhaps, Sovereign Chen Ling might not have feared the unrecovered Vicious prior to him getting injured, but in his current state... he simply did not stand a chance at all!

Seeing that Vicious was indeed able to stop Sovereign Chen Ling, Zhang Xuan heaved a sigh of relief. He focused his attention onto dantian and berated, "Didn't you agree not to enter my dantian?"

Previously, he had given the meteorite to the Dongxu Gourd in exchange for this condition, and the latter had given its word. Who could have known that the latter would renege on its promise at such a vital moment?

Furthermore, it had even provoked Sovereign Chen Ling and drawn the latter to him!

What the heck was with that?

If not for his swift reaction to activate the Zhang Clan bloodline and escape to Vicious' side, Zhang Xuan would have already lost his life.

"There's no need to sweat over minor details. I'm just resting in here for a moment." The Dongxu Gourd shook its bottom leisurely, as if it was completely unbothered by the situation.

Gritting his teeth angrily, Zhang Xuan was just about to continue giving the darned gourd a good tongue lashing when he suddenly felt a chill behind his back. Knowing that danger was approaching him, he activated the Zhang Clan bloodline once more and charged forward.

Boom boom boom!

A moment after he stepped away from his original spot, the space where he had been standing suddenly collapsed inward, leaving behind an empty void in its place. The shockwave from the abrupt collapse of space struck his back, causing fresh blood to spurt from his mouth.

He hurriedly turned around and saw the two Ancient Sages who had been holding down Vicious a moment earlier standing not too far away from him.

They might barely have been able to hold their ground against the powerful Vicious, but if they could not even get rid of a Sempiternal realm consummation cultivator, they would truly be worthless to Sovereign Chen Ling.

"Manipulation of temporal laws? He's indeed that darned human fellow. Let's rip him to shreds!" Seeing that his assault did not work, one of the Ancient Sages frowned slightly before raising his palm once more.

The other Ancient Sage swiftly launched a punch in coordination with his partner.

Before the palm strike and punch could land, the surrounding space began warping inward to Zhang Xuan. It was as if he was standing in the eye of a hurricane; he could not run away even if he wanted to.

Knowing that Vicious had his hands full dealing with Sovereign Chen Ling, Zhang Xuan flicked his wrist as he spat through gritted teeth, "Tsk. You really think I'm a pushover, don't you?"

Hula!

Two Ancient Sage corpses appeared before him, blocking the palm strike and punch.

Back at the Temple of Confucius, when Sovereign Chen Yong was battling with multiple Ancient Sages at once, Zhang Xuan had taken away quite a number of Otherworldly Demon corpses with him. He had not been able to forge them into Soulless Metal Humanoids as he had been severely injured over the past few days, but they could still act as temporary shields.

Peng! Peng!

The two attacks ended up landing on the corpses instead and sent them flying.

Even though Zhang Xuan had survived the ordeal for the time being, he knew that this was not a long-term solution. It was just a matter of time before he ran out of shields, and by then, he would be a goner. As such, he was prepared to bring out his final golden page to kill at least one of the two Ancient Sages when he suddenly heard a hurried gust of wind coming from behind him.

Following which, a chilling aura wrapped itself around him like a rope before forcefully tugging him out of Sovereign Chen Ling's sleeping chamber.

"Guild leader, hurry up and leave!"

It was Ancient Sage Mo Ling.

He had also noticed that something was amiss, so he had drawn his soul out from his body and dashed right in.

"Where do you think you're going?"

How could the two Ancient Sages within Sovereign Chen Ling's sleeping chamber allow Zhang Xuan to get away so easily? They immediately flitted over to pursue him.

In response, Ancient Sage Mo Ling retaliated with a powerful palm strike.

The clash between the two sides caused a powerful shockwave to ripple through the sleeping chamber, tearing down the resilient building. A cloud of dust rose into the air, obscuring everything from sight.

After pushing away the two Ancient Sages, Ancient Sage Mo Ling made use of this momentary reprieve to grab Zhang Xuan and flee from the sleeping chamber.

Being a Blood Reincarnation realm expert, he was far stronger than the two Ancient Sages. As long as Sovereign Chen Ling did not make a move, it would be impossible for those two to stop him.

After escorting Zhang Xuan out of the sleeping chamber, Ancient Sage Mo Ling hurriedly instructed, "Guild leader, I have already activated the formation outside, so you'll be safe for the time being. You should quickly leave. I'll block those two for you..."

"The Dragonbone Divine Spear and Vicious are still inside," Zhang Xuan replied anxiously. "If I leave now, they won't be able to get away."

The Dragonbone Divine Spear had sustained significant injuries whereas Vicious was held down by Sovereign Chen Ling and the formation. Considering that they were in Sovereign Chen Ling's palace, the situation would only turn against them as more reinforcements arrived. If he fled, those two would be doomed!

Putting aside everything else, those two were his strongest trump cards. He could not afford to lose them!

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Chapter 1814: I'll Set Up a Formation

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

"Guild leader, I hate to say this, but you'll have to let them go. It won't be long before the other Ancient Sages in the capital arrive in the palace. Once that happens, we'll all go down together!" Ancient Sage Mo Ling advised anxiously.

Of the Ancient Sages siding with Sovereign Chen Ling, there were still another five of them who were not there yet. The only reason that they still were not there was because the formation around the sleeping chamber had prevented any pulsation of energy from slipping out. However, with the collapse of the formation, there was no doubt that all of the Ancient Sages were already on their way here.

Once they arrived, it would be impossible for them to escape!

As powerful as Ancient Sage Mo Ling and Vicious were, there was no way that they would be able to survive an encirclement of so many experts. Even Sovereign Chen Yong had nearly lost his life, let alone them!

Exhaling deeply, Zhang Xuan forced himself to calm down before swiftly going through the situation once more. "If I make a getaway right now, I'll only be put in an even more disadvantageous position against Sovereign Chen Ling, especially without Vicious and the Dragonbone Divine Spear. Furthermore, given that they have learned that I have come to the capital, they will spare no effort in rooting me out. That might undo all of my earlier preparations. The only reason for Sovereign Chen Ling being so docile at the moment is that he has not recovered his strength yet. Once he has recovered, it'll be a calamity for mankind. We don't have any time to spare..."

There were many defensive mechanisms within the capital, such as formations on the city walls. Of course, given Zhang Xuan's means, he would be able to circumvent them easily. If he wanted to, he could even disguise himself as one of the civilians, and it would be difficult for anyone to uncover his true identity.

However, the issue was that he was not the only one around. Sovereign Chen Ling would surely conduct a massive investigation operation after this matter, and that could possibly root out Sovereign Chen Yong and Ancient Sage Hao Xun. Liu Yang might even be held hostage to deal with Sovereign Chen Yong.

Understanding the intentions behind Zhang Xuan's words, Ancient Sage Mo Ling asked, "What should we do then?"

Zhang Xuan pondered for a brief instant before replying, "Hold them back for ten breaths, and you can leave the rest to me."

"Ten breaths?" Ancient Sage Mo Ling was taken aback. However, he eventually nodded. "Leave it to me!"

Huala!

Driving his soul energy, Ancient Sage Mo Ling pulled the surrounding spiritual energy and wrapped it around him like a vortex before charging toward the two incoming Ancient Sages. As the powers of the three collided, the surrounding space shattered layer after layer.

As Ancient Sage Mo Ling fought, he shot occasional glances toward Zhang Xuan, curious to see what plans he had in mind. What he saw was the latter floating into the sky and bringing out several thousand formation flags.

They were some of the treasures that Zhang Xuan had harvested from the Temple of Confucius. Every single one of those formation flags had reached the level of grade-9 pinnacle.

Seeing Zhang Xuan's actions, Ancient Sage Mo Ling nearly plummeted from the sky. "Is he intending to set up a formation right now? Is he certain that he will be able to make it in time? Furthermore..."

It was true that Zhang Xuan's prowess in formations was formidable; he had witnessed it with his own eyes. However... they were not in any ordinary location.

They were in Sovereign Chen Ling's palace!

The entire area was filled with inscriptions and formations, and all of them were hindering factors. If Zhang Xuan wanted to set up a formation there, he would have to take all of those formations into account and deduce a feasible way to fit his formations among them all.

Putting aside ten breaths, even if there were a hundred 9-star formation masters, they might not even succeed even if they had a year's time!

The calculation that was required for this compound formation to work was simply too great—well beyond a human's ability!

Hu hu hu!

Before Ancient Sage Mo Ling could recover from his shock, the young man in the sky waved his hand, and the formation flags shot off in all directions.

In less than three breaths, the several thousand formation flags were planted all around Sovereign Chen Ling's sleeping chamber and disappeared from sight.

After doing all of that, Zhang Xuan turned to Ancient Sage Mo Ling and exclaimed, "I'm done. Retreat!"

"Alright!" Ancient Sage Mo Ling hurriedly flew toward Zhang Xuan.

Of course, the other two Ancient Sages fighting him would not allow him to leave as he pleased, so they quickly followed up with a barrage of attacks, attempting to tie Ancient Sage Mo Ling down.

Wuuuuu!

At that moment, a resounding bellow sounded in the air.

"Oh? Sovereign Chen Ling, who are these people? They seem to be quite formidable to be able to corner you to such an extent."

"Hahaha! I trust that you'll give us what you promised us for helping you. After all, a person as great as you won't renege on your promise, right?"

Following which, several wills swiftly suffused the sleeping chamber, and an incredible pressure pushed down from above.

The five remaining Ancient Sages had arrived together!

"Cut the cr*p. I want them alive. Make sure that none of them escape here... If you can do that, I'll do what I promised all of you. If a single one of them manages to slip away, our previous deal will be struck off!" Sovereign Chen Ling roared.

He was able to stand against Vicious' skeletal frame for the time being with the assistance of the formation in the sleeping chamber, but his injuries were already starting to burden him. He would only continue to grow weaker.

At that rate, he might really lose his life!

Thus, he was willing to pay any price to keep Zhang Xuan and the others there. If he could not, he would really suffer a huge loss!

If he could not get back the dragon blood that he had refined with great difficulty, who knew how long it would take him to recover?

"That isn't any trouble at all!"

The Ancient Sages lowered their heads to look at Vicious and Ancient Sage Mo Ling with smirks plastered on their faces.

Seeing this, Ancient Sage Mo Ling felt his heart turning cold. He muttered in desolation, "It's too late. There's no way we'll be able to get away now..."

Against just the two Ancient Sages before him, he might still have stood a chance at escaping, but against so many Ancient Sages at once... it was certain death for him.

With a pale complexion and a faint smile, Zhang Xuan remarked, "What are you talking about? I intentionally waited for them to come here. Otherwise, we would really be unable to get away..."

To plant so many formation flags at once, even if he had the Library of Heaven's Path and nearly unlimited zhenqi, he still could not help but feel depleted from such exertion.

"You were intentionally waiting for them?" Ancient Sage Mo Ling was taken aback.

Is this really the time to be joking around?

Our lives are at stake!

Paying no heed to the panicking Ancient Sage Mo Ling, Zhang Xuan raised his head to address the figures in the sky. "You are the Ancient Sages assisting Sovereign Chen Ling? I am Sovereign Chen Yong's friend, and I can tell you for certain that he isn't dead yet. Sovereign Chen Ling colluded with the humans to assassinate him, but the plan eventually failed, and Sovereign Chen Ling ended up incurring severe injuries..."

It might be a futile attempt, but it would be best if he could rally any of them over to their side.

"Don't listen to his nonsense. He's a master teacher, a human spy. Hurry up and kill him!" Sovereign Chen Ling bellowed furiously, cutting off Zhang Xuan's words.

He had planned on keeping Zhang Xuan alive to interrogate him, but he no longer cared that much.

It might have appeared that those Ancient Sages were loyal to him, but their loyalty was based on a relationship of mutual benefit. If Sovereign Chen Yong promise them even greater benefits, there was no saying whether these Ancient Sages would turn against him.

"He's a master teacher?"

The Ancient Sages looked at one another with livid looks on their faces. It was unthinkable to them that a master teacher would actually go to their capital and infiltrate Sovereign Chen Ling's heavily fortified palace.

"I am a master teacher? Sovereign Chen Ling, do you even believe the words that are coming out of your mouth? Given my pure Zhenqi of Slaughter and my noble bloodline, how dare you claim that I'm a master teacher! Watch your mouth!" Zhang Xuan sneered coldly as he furiously drove his zhenqi.

In an instant, a killing intent so concentrated that it was comparable to even the Three Sovereigns' poured out of Zhang Xuan's body.

"This..."

"What concentrated Zhenqi of Slaughter! Is a human really capable of emulating something like this?"

"If they were able to disguise themselves in such a manner, our Spirit Tribe would have already been destroyed a long time ago."

The other Ancient Sages frowned doubtfully.

The main identifying factor of an Otherworldly Demon was their Zhenqi of Slaughter. The more concentrated one's Zhenqi of Slaughter was, the purer one's bloodline was. There was no doubt that the Zhenqi of Slaughter exerted by the person before them was far more concentrated than theirs. Could such a person really be a master teacher?

Noticing the hesitation among the Ancient Sages, Sovereign Chen Ling gritted his teeth and bellowed, "Kill him, and I'll double what I previously promised you!"

"Are you certain?" Hearing those words, the eyes of the five Ancient Sages widened in astonishment. "Since that's the case, there's nothing for us to hesitate over. Kill him!"

The society of the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe was very different from that of the Master Teacher Continent. Rules and principles were held in high regard on the Master Teacher Continent, but among the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe, rules were only social constructs that were followed when it was convenient to them.

Ultimately, all that drove them was benefits.

Whether the other party was friends with Sovereign Chen Yong or a master teacher, it made no difference to them at all.

What Sovereign Chen Ling was promising them was something that Sovereign Chen Yong would never be able to give them.

Since that was the case, why would they hesitate?

The path that they should take was clear.

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Chapter 1815: Escape

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

Boom!

Incredible might swept over the area and crushed Zhang Xuan.

With the five Ancient Sages exerting their prowess simultaneously, it felt as if the apocalypse had come. The world turned pitch black as the surrounding space dissipated into dust. If one got close, one would be torn apart by the massive force that they were exerting and vanish from the world.

Seeing such force, Ancient Sage Mo Ling's face paled as he trembled in fear. "We need to leave now..."

It was apparent that the five of them had practiced some kind of collaborative formation, or else it would have been impossible for them to exert such immense strength.

It was questionable whether or not Blood Reincarnation realm consummation experts would be able to survive that strike, let alone him.

He had been thinking that the tables were starting to turn in their favor now that a new guild leader had appeared in their Soul Oracle Guild. They would be able to return to their original identity and allow their descendants to stand proudly on the Master Teacher Continent once more. Yet, who could have known that this fellow was actually so unreliable?

They had only met a moment ago, but this fellow was already charging into the gates of hell!

What the heck?

Ancient Sage Mo Ling hurriedly rushed to Zhang Xuan's side and grabbed the latter's palm, hoping to pull him to safety. However, the latter shook his head and flung his arms to shake free from his grip.

"Come at me then!"

Perplexed, Ancient Sage Mo Ling turned to look at the young man, only to see the latter looking at the five Ancient Sages in the air with a provocative smile on his lips.

"..."

Ancient Sage Mo Ling felt his hair standing on end.

Just what the heck did their soul oracles do to deserve such an unreliable guild leader?

Ancient Sage Mo Ling felt so stifled that he could have imploded on the spot. He hesitated for a moment, but he still could not let the future hope of the soul oracles lose his life. Thus, he gathered his strength to grab Zhang Xuan once more, but before he could come into contact with the latter, the latter had already raised both of his arms and bellowed, "Activate!"

Boom!

At the same time, the black force also crashed into Zhang Xuan. However, contrary to what Ancient Sage Mo Ling expected, the latter did not dissipate into dust. Instead, just as the attack reached less than two centimeters away from him, it suddenly split into five portions and was assimilated into the surroundings.

"This is... the effect of his formation?" Ancient Sage Mo Ling narrowed his eyes in shock.

Sensing an incredible energy protecting the young man, Ancient Sage Mo Ling hurriedly turned his gaze downward, only to see that all of the inscriptions had lit up simultaneously. In other words, all of the formations had come to life at once to protect Zhang Xuan.

An unimaginable amount of spiritual energy had gathered above the young man to form a five-sided energy barrier.

The attack launched by the five Ancient Sages was absorbed by this very energy barrier and into the formation.

"This is... a barrier that absorbs any force as energy?" Ancient Sage Mo Ling was stunned.

He knew just how powerful the five Ancient Sages were when they were collaborating with one another. Even if there were three of him working together, it would still be impossible for him to withstand their might.

But not only did the young man manage to withstand their attack, he even absorbed their energy. Was this really a formation that was set up within ten breaths?

It was already tough enough to construct a formation on top of all of the miscellaneous formations in the area, but the massive formation that he had constructed actually complemented all of the other miscellaneous formations in the area to boost its prowess.

This was a feat that could only be described with the word 'miraculous'!

Oblivious to Ancient Sage Mo Ling's shock, Zhang Xuan turned his palm toward the five Ancient Sages and uttered, "Return!"

The five-sided energy barrier immediately gathered the energy that had just been absorbed to form an energy prison around the five Ancient Sages before swiftly closing in on them.

"This..."

"Cr*p, this is really bad..."

The five Ancient Sages did not expect their collaborative offense to be undone that quickly. Not only so, the young man had even returned the favor to them in his own way.

Their faces paled in horror, and they quickly put their strength together once more to deal with the energy prison that was swiftly shrinking toward them.

Boom!

The forces of both sides collided with one another. The five Ancient Sages spurted blood simultaneously as they retreated under the impact.

In the first place, the formations in Sovereign Chen Ling's sleeping chamber were designed to withstand an attack from even the strongest Blood Reincarnation realm experts. Put together with Zhang Xuan's formation, the prowess that the formations harnessed was far beyond anyone's expectations. Even the collaboration of the five Ancient Sages was insufficient to overcome it.

"Vicious, get the Dragonbone Divine Spear and come with me!"

Even though Zhang Xuan's attack had worked, he did not press on with his offense. Instead, he turned to Vicious, who was still fighting with Sovereign Chen Ling, and beckoned him over.

At the same time, a streak of black light gathered at the corner of the five-sided barrier before zapping Sovereign Chen Ling.

Vicious successfully freed himself from Sovereign Chen Ling's relentless offense. With a wave of his arm, the Dragonbone Divine Spear and the three Ancient Sage corpses on the ground flew into his hands.

"Let's go!"

After that was done, Zhang Xuan waved his arm once more, and the five-sided barrier created a spatial passageway. Vicious, Ancient Sage Mo Ling, and Zhang Xuan leaped into the spatial passageway and vanished without a trace.

Seeing that Zhang Xuan had gotten away, Sovereign Chen Ling nearly exploded on the spot. He turned to the five Ancient Sages and bellowed, "What are you all doing? Quick, chase them!"

"You'd better look into how he's able to control the formations in your sleeping chamber first!"

"Given how powerful this formation is, we'll get injured if we try to breach it forcefully!"

The five Ancient Sages replied impassively, showing no interest in pursuing Zhang Xuan.

As tempted as they were to obtain what Sovereign Chen Ling had promised them, they would not put their lives on the line for him. In any case, they knew that Sovereign Chen Ling still needed them, so there was bound to be some other way that they could get it from him.

As such, after they were knocked back by the formation, they halted their offense and stepped back. It was not because they were unable to win but because they were not willing to put themselves at risk.

"Humph!"

Sovereign Chen Ling's face turned white with rage. He knew that his relationship with the other Ancient Sages was more like an alliance than one of subordination. It was not bad that they had been willing to help him stall Zhang Xuan; to make them risk their lives to pursue Zhang Xuan was indeed expecting too much of them.

The Otherworldly Demonic Tribe was born with superior strength and longevity. Given the natural advantages that their race wielded over mankind, it should have been very easy for them to reconquer the Master Teacher Continent. The only reason they had not been able to succeed even after the passing of tens of thousands of years was that each of them was simply too selfish!

Given that none of them were willing to put themselves at risk, there was no way that they could unite!

This did not apply just to the Three Sovereigns but the many Lords under them as well. If they had been able to join together to fight valiantly alongside one another just like the master teachers, they would not have remained confined to the otherworldly battlefield for so many years.

Of course, what was even more important was that they lacked a decisively strong leader who could unite all of them under the same flag, like Vicious in the past.

Even though Sovereign Chen Yong was known as the strongest expert in the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe, his strength was only slightly above that of the other two Sovereigns. As a result, he was unable to get the other two Sovereigns to submit to him.

Sovereign Chen Ling took out a pill and swallowed it. When his complexion finally recovered a little, he finally turned his gaze back to the formation beneath him.

The formation of the sleeping chamber was something that he and his predecessors had devoted much time and effort to. Only Sovereign Chen Ling and those who obeyed him were granted the ability to control it, so why would it follow that fellow's commands to block the five Ancient Sages?

Furthermore, the prowess that it had displayed was beyond ordinary.

Unable to figure anything out, Sovereign Chen Ling cut his finger and squeezed out a droplet of blood.

The key to controlling the formation was his bloodline. As long as he brought out his blood, he would be able to re-establish full control of the formation.

Weng!

As soon as he squeezed out his blood, the formation beneath began whirring into action. Surges of energy shone brilliantly as they converged swiftly at the center.

Just as he was able to control the energy to form a huge protective dome around him as he recovered from his exertion, a loud grinding noise suddenly rumbled from below. It was so loud that it sounded as if it would pop one's eardrums.

Boom!

All of a sudden, a tremendous amount of energy burst forth from the center of the formation. Countless historical buildings in Sovereign Chen Ling's palace, which had stood for tens of thousands of years, collapsed in the face of the tremendous burst of energy, turning into rubble.

The formation beneath had run out of control and self-exploded!

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Chapter 1816: Spit It Out!

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

"My palace..."

Looking at the collapsed palace, Sovereign Chen Ling finally came to his limits and spurted blood.

He and his predecessors had spent many millenniums building that palace, but to think that it was blown to smithereens just like that...

Can anyone tell me what's going on?

"Sovereign Chen Ling..."

The two Ancient Sages who had been fighting with Ancient Sage Mo Ling earlier flew over. One of them whose face was exceptionally pale lowered his head and reported, "Your Majesty, the person named Zhang Xuan set up a formation with over a thousand formation flags. When he activated his formation, the formations in the palace came to life as well. Could the explosion also be his doing?"

"Wait a moment... he managed to set up a formation here?" Sovereign Chen Ling was stunned.

The whole of Sovereign Chen Ling's palace was filled with tens of thousands of inscriptions and several hundred formations of different sizes. It was due to these formations that he had been confident in going against Sovereign Chen Yong and the others. Its destruction effectively meant that his final defense line had been breached, and he was exposed to the public.

The fact that he was severely injured at the moment only made the situation far worse than it was. At this rate, if Sovereign Chen Yong really made a comeback, would he not be powerless?

Sovereign Chen Ling clenched his jaws and bellowed, "Bring all of the artifacts that the appraisers have valued over!"

"Your Majesty, we have yet to verify the actual value of the artifacts," the pale-faced Ancient Sage replied anxiously.

In response to that, Sovereign Chen Ling waved his hand impatiently and exclaimed, "There's no time for that anymore! I will have already died by the time they are done appraising everything!"

"But... Your Majesty, you are also aware of the rules. If we fail to value the artifacts properly, I fear that not only will your injuries not recover, we might even end up placing ourselves in a worse predicament..."

"Cut the nonsense and bring the artifacts here. We don't have time anymore! Our survival banks on this final gamble!" Sovereign Chen Ling roared furiously.

Since the dragon blood had been stolen from him, he had no choice but to resort to the riskier method. It had not been easy for him to come so close to victory, and he would do anything to ensure that he was the last one standing.

The five Ancient Sages might look as if they were on his side, but if he really became powerless, there was a good chance that the first ones to make a move on him would be them!

"Yes!" Hearing that Sovereign Chen Ling was adamant on the matter, the pale-faced Ancient Sage hesitated for a moment before nodding slightly. He quickly turned around and left the area.

"I won't lose this fight. There's no way I can lose this fight..." Sovereign Chen Ling clenched his fists tightly as a vicious glint flashed across his eyes.

...

Weng!

Some distance away from the capital, the space suddenly wavered before a crack materialized. From the depths of the crack, Zhang Xuan rolled out and crashed heavily onto the floor.

"Guild leader!"

A soul oracle swiftly rushed to his side to support him. Following which, the soul oracle scanned his surroundings, and an incredulous look appeared on his face. He could not help but turn to Zhang Xuan with a look of awe.

Despite only being at Sempiternal realm consummation, he had actually managed to create such a huge commotion and flee from so many Ancient Sages...

He was probably the only one who had the ability to perform such a feat.

Zhang Xuan suddenly recalled something and asked in alarm, "Where's your physical body?"

"One of the greatest weaknesses of a soul oracle is the risk of having the physical body assaulted while the soul is drawn out. Thus, I specially crafted a small space that my soul can carry around," Ancient Sage Mo Ling replied with a smile.

It was only then that Zhang Xuan realized that there was a spatial ring made out of soul energy on Ancient Sage Mo Ling's finger.

Hu!

With a thought, Ancient Sage Mo Ling brought out his physical body before diving right into it.

"Not bad!" Zhang Xuan's eyes lit up.

He had never thought of doing something like that before. If he could bring his physical body around with him, he would indeed be in a much safer position.

"Judging from our surroundings, we should be at the Battlefield of Firefeather, which is roughly about a million li away from the capital. I don't think that Sovereign Chen Ling and the others will be able to track us here... Guild leader, what do you intend to do now?"

Ancient Sage Mo Ling had already turned against Sovereign Chen Ling, so there was no way that he could return anymore. Thus, all he could do was follow the new guild leader.

"For the time being, let's rest and recover our strength before deciding on our next course of action!" Zhang Xuan said with a wave of his hand.

Setting up and activating the formation earlier had depleted him greatly, so he needed to rest and recover his strength. More importantly, now that he was out of danger, he really had to have a good heart-to-heart with the gourd about their future.

Otherwise, if that fellow appeared at random moments and made shocking moves each and every time, it was only a matter of time before his heart popped from the immense stress.

"You're right. We should take a rest first!"

Hearing Zhang Xuan's words, Ancient Sage Mo Ling also felt exhaustion setting into his body. He quickly set up an isolation barrier in the area before sitting down to replenish his depleted soul energy.

Seeing that Ancient Sage Mo Ling had started to cultivate, Zhang Xuan also quickly placed the Book of Heaven's Path back into the Library of Heaven's Path and the Otherworldly Demon Ancient Sage corpses back into his storage ring before diving into cultivation.

Through using the Great Codex of Spring and Autumn in the Library of Heaven's Path, he was able to speed up his recovery rate by ten times. As a result, all it took was several minutes for him to be fully revitalized.

With that done, he took a deep breath before turning his consciousness toward his dantian.

At that moment, the gourd was lying leisurely inside in a seeming comfortable position. It did not seem like it had any intention to leave at all.

Seeing how the gourd had been resting lazily after messing around and putting him in great danger, Zhang Xuan suddenly felt rage surging into his head. He roared angrily, "Hurry up and spit out the dragon blood!"

Even though the gourd did manage to snatch the dragon blood away from Sovereign Chen Ling's hands, the problem was that it was of no use to him even if the gourd did assimilate the dragon blood!

If the Dragonbone Divine Spear had swallowed it, there would be no need for him to escape anymore. He might have been able to defeat everyone in the Sovereign Chen Ling's palace, and even Sovereign Chen Ling could have been killed with a single pierce.

"Calm down, young lad... The zhenqi in your dantian is really comfortable. Don't worry, I'll leave after I finish assimilating the dragon blood..." The gourd shook its bottom slightly as it replied lazily.

"Get out right now! Back then, when I gave you the meteorite, didn't you promise me that you wouldn't enter my dantian anymore? Are you reneging on your promise?" Zhang Xuan was so furious that it felt as if his carotid artery might just burst.

This is my dantian! Why are you lazing around in here? Get out!

How in the world did a person so prim and proper like me end up taking in a shameless treasure like you?

"Fine, fine! I'll go out then, happy? I, the Great Dongxu Gourd, am a gourd that honors its promises!" Seeing that Zhang Xuan was on the verge of losing his temper, the Dongxu Gourd murmured in displeasure before leaving his dantian.

"Where's the dragon blood?" Glaring down at the Dongxu Gourd, Zhang Xuan questioned coldly. "Spit it out right now!"

The Dongxu Gourd shook its bottom lazily and replied, "I have already assimilated it!"

"Assimilated it? Didn't you say a moment ago that you'll only leave my dantian after you finish assimilating the dragon blood?"

"This... Well, I have already assimilated a portion of it at least. Besides, I was the one who swallowed the dragon blood, so there should be no question that it's mine," the Dongxu Gourd replied indignantly, as if Zhang Xuan was a bully trying to steal sweets from a young child.

"No matter how much you have assimilated, spit out whatever's remaining and give it to the Dragonbone Divine Spear. Otherwise, don't blame me for getting nasty with you." Zhang Xuan harrumphed coldly.

"But I was the one who snatched it away from that tall fellow back then! Do you have any conscience threatening a weak plant like me like this?"

At this point, the Dongxu Gourd suddenly straightened its body, and its voice changed from a whiny one to a solemn one. "But I think what you have just said makes perfect sense. The dragon blood isn't of much use to me. It's just that I found it particularly hateful, so I wanted to eat it. I'll spit it out for you right now... Here you go. So, can you move the saber away now?"

With a cold harrumph, Zhang Xuan finally pulled the Infernal Blacksaber away from the Dongxu Gourd.

Humph! Continue spouting nonsense, and I'll sever you into two!

With a look of pity on its face, the Dongxu Gourd's body protruded outward before a tiny droplet of dragon blood was squeezed out from within.

Just like the Dongxu Gourd had said, it had already assimilated a large portion of it, such that there was not even a fifth of it remaining.

Even though there was less than a fifth remaining, due to the enhancement ritual conducted, the pressure that it emanated was still impressive. Zhang Xuan quickly waved his hand and took out the Dragonbone Divine Spear.

"Go and swallow the dragon blood. Let's see if it's enough for you to undo your seal!"

While it was a pity that there was much less dragon blood, it was still better than nothing.

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Chapter 1817: A Breakthrough

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

"Yes!"

Seeing that there was still some dragon blood remaining, the Dragonbone Divine Spear trembled in agitation. It swiftly warped back into a skeletal dragon and swallowed the remaining dragon blood.

As soon as the dragon blood surged into its body, the massive body of the Dragonbone Divine Spear began quivering in agitation. It looked as if there were countless streaks of lightning flowing on its surface, and its aura swiftly grew stronger. It was only a matter of time before it broke free of its seal to recover its strength as a true Ancient Sage artifact.

Knowing that it would take some time for the dragon blood to be fully assimilated, Zhang Xuan turned his attention back to the gourd with a doubtful frown.

He had known that this Dongxu Gourd was exceptional for possessing sentience and being able to speak human speech, but to think that it would even be able to snatch the dragon blood from Sovereign Chen Ling's grasp...

There was no doubt that it was an extraordinary being!

Could it be a Great Sage artifact... or perhaps even an Ancient Sage artifact?

Unable to stand the suspense any longer, Zhang Xuan asked, "What in the world are you?"

Given that the other party possessed sentience, there was a chance that it knew of its true identity.

"I am a gourd!" the Dongxu Gourd replied with a shake of its bottom.

Black lines streaked across Zhang Xuan's face. Somehow, whenever he spoke with the Dongxu Gourd, he felt like pummeling the latter!

It took a moment of deep breathing to keep his impulse to draw his saber under control before he continued his questioning. "What I'm asking is, what tier of artifact are you?"

The Dongxu Gourd paused for a moment after hearing those words. "I don't know."

"You don't know?"

"I have barely gained sentience, such that my self-awareness is at the level of a child... I need to eat a lot of things in order to recover. Un, that's right. As long as you give me sufficient food, I'll know what tier I am as soon as I recover!" The Dongxu Gourd shook its bottom as saliva seemed to drip from its cork.

"..." Zhang Xuan.

Where's my saber?

I should just slice this darned fool in two and spare myself the trouble!

That fellow had eaten two things so far, the meteorite and the dragon blood. Given that it was unaware of the tier of the meteorite, there was no reason to talk about it. However, the dragon blood was something that could potentially allow the Dragonbone Divine Spear to reach Ancient Sage 4-dan Dimension Shatterer realm, such that even the severely wounded Sovereign Chen Ling would have been pushed to his limits in order to protect himself.

Yet, swallowing such a valuable treasure isn't even enough for you to recover your strength?

Really, I should just toss you away and forget all about you!

However, as Zhang Xuan's rage subsided, curiosity began to get the better of him.

Based on what the Dongxu Gourd had said, it seemed like only things on the tier of the dragon blood could catch its interest. If so, just what kind of formidable artifact could the other party be?

He had not thought much about it before, but thinking back, it was indeed weird that someone as powerful as Ancient Sage Qiu Wu would set up a folded space and use the spiritual energy of the world to nourish a mere Dongxu Gourd for tens of thousands of years.

From the looks of it, nothing was as simple as it seemed.

Perhaps the Dongxu Gourd was even an artifact on the level of the Nine Hearts Lotus!

Zhang Xuan stretched his hand out to touch the Dongxu Gourd, hoping to compile a book on it in the Library of Heaven's Path. But contrary to his expectations, nothing appeared at all.

Perhaps, it might have been because the Dongxu Gourd was considered a living being that the Library of Heaven's Path was unable to analyze its information. Unless the Dongxu Gourd executed a battle technique or had its consciousness destroyed, it would be impossible to compile a book on it.

In the end, Zhang Xuan had no choice but to shake his head.

Regardless of what tier the Dongxu Gourd was, it was relieving to hear that it might still be of some use in the future, even though it still was not reliable.

"Alright. You should take a rest for now..." Seeing that it was impossible to get anything out of the Dongxu Gourd, Zhang Xuan could not be bothered to waste his breath. He stowed the other party into his storage ring before taking out the remaining Otherworldly Demon Ancient Sage corpses.

The two corpses that he had used as a shield against the two Ancient Sages earlier were already filled with cracks, so they could not be used anymore. However, there were still a couple that were completely undamaged. This was a good time to start forging them.

Zhang Xuan drew out his soul and dived right into one of the Great Philosopher realm consummation corpses.

In less than an hour, he had successfully forged it.

After that, he moved on to the next one...

In four hours, he had already managed to turn all of the Otherworldly Demon Ancient Sage corpses into Soulless Metal Humanoids.

The strongest of the four corpses was at Ancient Sage 2-dan consummation whereas the weakest was at Ancient Sage 1-dan consummation. With them, he would not have to panic as much if he encountered the same situation as before.

After forging the last corpse, he heaved a sigh of relief. Looking at the sky, he noticed that dark storm clouds had gathered in the area. The surrounding space had begun warping, and it felt like a storm was going to descend upon the world very soon.

"This is the Ancient Sage Ordeal! The Dragonbone Divine Spear is going to achieve a breakthrough..." Ancient Sage Mo Ling also halted his cultivation and stood up.

Looking over, Zhang Xuan noted that flesh and blood had grown on the skeletal dragon, and pitch-black scales were starting to form on its body. Looking at those scales was like staring into the abyss, and it felt like one would sink into it.

"Even releasing its seal brings a heavenly tribulation?" Zhang Xuan was perplexed.

The Dragonbone Divine Spear was already an Ancient Sage artifact, just that its strength had been sealed by Ancient Sage Ran Qiu. Why would there be an Ancient Sage Ordeal when it was just returning to its true strength?

"Under normal circumstances, the seal should only have been released when you achieved a breakthrough to Ancient Sage. However, the fact that flesh and blood are growing out of its skeleton means that it is not its seal that had been undone but that it had managed to achieve a real breakthrough!" Ancient Sage Mo Ling said.

"It achieved a real breakthrough?" Zhang Xuan was stunned.

That made sense as well.

Even in its sealed state, the Dragonbone Divine Spear was already stronger than the Infernal Blacksaber before its breakthrough to Ancient Sage. With the nourishment of such formidable dragon blood, even if its seal was not undone, it was perfectly normal that it would achieve a breakthrough to Ancient Sage!

As for Aeon of Ancient Sage... in the first place, the Dragonbone Divine Spear was an Ancient Sage artifact. Even though its strength was sealed, there was bound to be some Aeon of Ancient Sage harnessed within it. As such, it did not require Zhang Xuan's help to break through.

While the two of them were chatting with one another, the heavenly tribulation descended upon the world. It was a devastating force consisting of a mixture of heavenly flames and lightning bolts.

In the face of such power, the skeletal dragon—perhaps it should be called a black dragon now—roared furiously and charged toward the heavenly tribulation. Its massive body swam freely amid the destructive forces, allowing the lightning bolts and heavenly flames to temper its body. Gradually, its scales grew more and more radiant.

"As expected of a weapon created by Ancient Sage Ran Qiu! Despite having just achieved a breakthrough to Ancient Sage, it is able to push for a breakthrough to the Blood Reincarnation realm just from its sheer accumulation, reaching a level even higher than me!" Ancient Sage Mo Ling also recognized the Dragonbone Divine Spear, and he could not help commenting.

Ancient Sage Ran Qiu was known as the strongest individual under Kong shi's lineage, and the Dragonbone Divine Spear was also famed to be the number one spear in history. Naturally, there was bound to be something extraordinary about it.

If Zhang Xuan could release its seal, it could very well achieve a breakthrough to the level that all cultivators dreamt of, the Dimension Shatterer realm!

A thought suddenly surfaced in Zhang Xuan's mind. Could this be the real reason that Ancient Sage Ran Qiu sealed the Dragonbone Divine Spear's cultivation?

If he achieved a breakthrough to Ancient Sage right now and helped the Dragonbone Divine Spear undo its seal, the latter might just be able to push for a breakthrough to higher realms.

Perhaps this was what Ancient Sage Ran Qiu had intended from the start!

"They said that there's value in not rushing for a breakthrough to Ancient Sage. Only with sufficient accumulation will one be able to reach greater heights. It seems like that's indeed the case!"

There were benefits to be earned from each time one challenged the Ancient Sage Ordeal. The more times one challenged it, the higher one would be able to climb in the future.

It was through challenging the Ancient Sage Ordeal multiple times that Kong shi had managed to obtain unparalleled strength.

The Dragonbone Divine Spear had challenged the Ancient Sage Ordeal once in the past. Right now, with its cultivation sealed, it had gained the opportunity to push for a breakthrough once more. If it put the strength that it had gained from the two breakthroughs together, its fighting prowess would surely surge to a whole new height.

Watching as the Ancient Sage Ordeal was gradually worn down against the resilience of the Dragonbone Divine Spear, Zhang Xuan's eyes lit up with excitement.

"Even though I am unable to decipher its seal and allow it to reach Ancient Sage 4-dan, its current might is already enough for me!"

At that moment, the Dragonbone Divine Spear had already gained strength comparable to Blood Reincarnation realm consummation cultivators. In terms of fighting prowess, it did not lose out in comparison to the current Vicious. As long as he had the Dragonbone Divine Spear in hand, there would be no need for him to fear anyone!

Even if he encountered Sovereign Chen Ling once more, he would be able to defeat the latter with ease!

Hula!

As the lightning clouds dissipated, the black dragon in the sky warped its body back into the form of a spear before flying back in Zhang Xuan's direction. It lowered itself before Zhang Xuan respectfully.

"Master!"

Chapter 1818: Looking for Ancient Sage Allfire

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

Zhang Xuan nodded as he reached out to grab the Dragonbone Divine Spear.

In an instant, he felt boundless strength surging into his body from the body of the spear. It felt as if a simple flick of his wrist would allow him to pierce through space to enter a much deeper world.

The powerful Ancient Sages that were way out of his league in the past had become existences whom he could slay with a single pierce, barely a challenge at all.

Zhang Xuan turned to Ancient Sage Mo Ling and asked, "Do you know where Ancient Sage Allfire lives?"

"Ancient Sage Allfire? Why are you looking for him? He's one of the old ancestors of the Beast Tribe. Many years back, he fought with Sovereign Chen Yong and ended up getting chased out from his place of residence. If I recall correctly, he's currently living in exile somewhere close to the Battlefield of Firefeather!" Ancient Sage Mo Ling replied with a perplexed tone.

Even though he was not an Otherworldly Demon, he had lived in the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe for many years, so he knew quite a lot about the otherworldly battlefield.

"He's in the vicinity? Take me to his nest then!" Zhang Xuan said.

The main motive for him wanting to upgrade the Dragonbone Divine Spear was so that he could tame Ancient Sage Allfire. Since the latter happened to be in the vicinity, it was a good time to get it over and done with.

"This..." Ancient Sage Mo Ling felt conflicted upon hearing Zhang Xuan's request. "I heard that Ancient Sage Allfire has quite the temper... Why are you looking for him?"

Honestly, he really found it hard to follow the train of thought of the guild leader. Why would he suddenly look for Ancient Sage Allfire?

"We still need more people on our side in order to guarantee a victory against Sovereign Chen Ling. Since Ancient Sage Allfire is in the vicinity, taming him would be great!" Zhang Xuan replied with a smile.

"Tame him?" Ancient Sage Mo Ling was rendered speechless.

The other party was the old ancestor of the Beast Tribe, such that even Sovereign Chen Yong was unable to make him submit...

Are you pulling my leg?

"Guild leader... I know that you have an exceptional aptitude in formations, but beast taming isn't as easy as it seems. It takes a long time to nurture goodwill and build intimacy before a beast is willing to submit to you," Ancient Sage Mo Ling advised.

He acknowledged that the new guild leader was indeed very formidable, but if he had to pick a bone with him, it was that his thoughts were scarily impractical.

If it was that easy to tame the old ancestor of the Beast Tribe, Sovereign Chen Yong would not have had such a headache dealing with him before.

Too lazy to explain the matter, Zhang Xuan simply replied with a smile. "I know where you're coming from, but how do you know it won't work without giving it a try?"

"... Very well then!"

Seeing that the guild leader's obstinacy was working up once more, Ancient Sage Mo Ling knew that he would not be able to change the other party's mind, so he decided to say no more. Whipping out a map and a compass, he quickly verified their location before pointing in a certain direction. "Ancient Sage Allfire and the members of the Beast Tribe live roughly two hundred thousand li away from here!"

"Two hundred thousand li away from here? Alright then!" Zhang Xuan nodded.

He flicked his spear and pierced the space before him lightly.

Si la!

A spatial passageway materialized, and Zhang Xuan quickly leaped in. "Let's go!"

When they left the spatial passageway, they were already two hundred thousand li away. A barren mountain towered ahead, and countless beasts soared above them.

There were few differences between the beasts in the otherworldly battlefield and the beasts on the Master Teacher Continent. However, under the effects of the blood moon, their eyes were slightly red, making them seem exceptionally violent and savage.

There was a large variety of beasts flying around the mountain, and their numbers were astounding.

Instead of entering the mountain straight away, the two of them halted before the entrance. Zhang Xuan turned to Ancient Sage Mo Ling and said, "Send a letter over saying that we're here to pay a visit to Ancient Sage Allfire!"

Ancient Sage Mo Ling nodded. A name scroll flew forth from his fingertips and darted toward the barren mountain. A thunderous voice echoed from the name scroll and reverberated across the entire valley.

"Soul Oracle Mo Ling—together with the new leader of the Soul Oracle Guild, Zhang Xuan—has come to pay a visit to Ancient Sage Allfire!"

Hong long long!

The unexpected arrival of guests caused the many beasts flying in the sky to simultaneously turn their heads over to look at Zhang Xuan and Ancient Sage Mo Ling with hostility reflected in their eyes.

They were already filled with hatred toward Sovereign Chen Yong for driving them toward this barren land.

They had never heard of Guild Leader Zhang Xuan before, but Ancient Sage Mo Ling was still a person whose name resounded far and wide within the otherworldly battlefield.

A Sempiternal realm beast flew over and said, "The old ancestor is currently in seclusion, so it's not convenient for him to meet any guests. Please come back another day!"

"It's not convenient for him to meet us? Tell your old ancestor that we come bearing goodwill. We intend no harm toward the Beast Tribe, and we believe that we could potentially help the Beast Tribe out of its current predicament!" Zhang Xuan said.

"You are going to help us out of our current predicament?" the Sempiternal realm beast sneered coldly. "Am I to believe that you are so kind as to help us without asking for anything in return? Please leave right now, or else I'll lose my temper!"

Huala!

Many of the beasts flying in the air quickly gathered around with killing intent flaring from them.

"I can assure you that your worries are unfounded!" Seeing how wary the beasts were, Zhang Xuan calmly placated them. "Have you heard the news about Sovereign Chen Yong being killed by the humans and that Sovereign Chen Ling and Sovereign Chen Xing have sustained severe injuries and are on the verge of death? If so, you should know that the entire Spirit Tribe is on the verge of a massive revolution!"

Not expecting to hear such words from the young man, the Sempiternal realm beast paused for a moment before replying, "I have heard bits and pieces of it!"

Even though they had been exiled to such a remote location, they were still able to acquire some news about huge events in the otherworldly battlefield.

"Since Sovereign Chen Yong has been killed, the previous promise with him doesn't have to be kept anymore. This is the ideal opportunity for the Beast Tribe to return to its homeland. Do you really want to live your life in this barren land, which lacks spiritual energy and delectable food? At this rate, it's just a matter of time before the entire Beast Tribe falls!" Zhang Xuan replied.

"This..." The Sempiternal realm beast fell into deep thought.

The other party was right.

The lack of delectable food was not an issue to them, but the scarcity of spiritual energy would cause the advancement of their cultivation to slow, and their eventual accomplishment would be limited as well.

This was not an issue in the short term, but it was certain that the entire Beast Tribe would weaken as time went on. Eventually, they would become completely helpless against the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe!

"I know that you are unable to make the decision, so I'll have to trouble you to relay what I have said and the news that you have heard to the old ancestor. I believe that he will be able to come to a wise decision as to whether he should meet me or not!" Seeing the look on the Sempiternal realm beast's face, Zhang Xuan advised with a wave of his hand.

"... Alright, I'll inform the old ancestor of this matter!"

Knowing that there was some truth to what the other party was saying, and that it was indeed a good opportunity for their Beast Tribe to break out from its current predicament, the Sempiternal realm beast hesitated for a moment before nodding. Its massive body turned around and flew into the depths of the mountain range.

Watching as the Sempiternal realm beast left, Zhang Xuan softly chuckled.

In order to tame Ancient Sage Allfire, he would have to get a meeting with the other party first, and in order to do so, he would need to offer the Beast Tribe something tangible.

Roughly an hour later, the Sempiternal realm beast finally returned. With a wave of its massive claws, it said, "Our old ancestor invites you in!"

"Thank you!"

Zhang Xuan and Ancient Sage Mo Ling quickly proceeded into the mountain range.

It really had to be said that the mountain range was truly barren. There were only sparse patches of plants, and they were all filled with spikes. There were hardly any medicinal herbs or greenery to be seen at all.

If not for the boulders and the soil, they might have thought that they were in a desert.

As there was no stream within the mountain range, the atmosphere was rather arid. This was indeed a climate that was unsuited for survival.

Zhang Xuan could not help but notice that the beasts he encountered along the way had starved looks on their faces.

This was a natural phenomenon. It was similar to how if powerful beasts headed to the Tianxuan Kingdom and resided there for too long, it would only be a matter of time before their cultivation began plummeting due to starvation of spiritual energy.

Even the smartest business elite would become no different from a barbarian when stranded on a remote island.

The crowd soon arrived before a cavern. The Sempiternal realm beast stopped at the entrance of the cavern and said, "The old ancestor is in this cavern. I'll be standing guard outside."

"Alright!" Zhang Xuan nodded before heading in with Ancient Sage Mo Ling.

Before even getting far, they felt a gust of warm air blowing in their direction, threatening to set someone's hair alight...

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Chapter 1819: All You Have to Do Is Become My Tamed Beast

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

Ancient Sage Allfire's main body was an Inferno Behemoth. It was through using lava to temper his body that he had managed to overcome his bottleneck and achieve a breakthrough to Ancient Sage.

As such, it was inevitable that his presence resulted in searing heat filling the area.

After walking for a moment, droplets of sweat were starting to form on Ancient Sage Mo Ling's head.

As a soul oracle, his body was chilling in nature. Extreme heat was one of his nemeses. If not for the fact that he had already reached Ancient Sage, his soul might already have been jolted out of his body.

He discreetly turned to look at the guild leader, and he could not help but be deeply impressed.

The other party was only a Sempiternal realm consummation cultivator, but it was as if he was completely impervious to such searing energy.

Not only was there not the slightest droplet of perspiration, his soul was also extremely stable, showing no signs of fluctuations as a result of the heat.

At this moment, Ancient Sage Mo Ling could not help but recall how the other party's body-soul compatibility rate was an astounding one hundred. Unable to withstand his curiosity, he asked through zhenqi telepathy, "Guild leader, is your soul... unafraid of the heat?"

"There was a time when my soul was afraid of the heat," Zhang Xuan replied. "However, after the tempering of the heavenly flame, heat of such level can't faze me anymore!"

"Tempering of the heavenly flame? Wait a moment... You put your soul into the heavenly flame?" Ancient Sage Mo Ling's eyes were on the verge of popping out.

"Isn't there a Heavenly Flame Ordeal at the Aureate Body realm? Didn't you use the heavenly flame from the cultivation ordeal to temper your soul?" Zhang Xuan asked doubtfully.

This should not be a big deal at all, so why was the other party reacting in such a manner?

"Well..." Ancient Sage Mo Ling took a deep breath to calm his nerves after hearing what Zhang Xuan had said before explaining slowly. "It's true that what you have said is the typical way for ordinary cultivators. What we, soul oracles, often do is to have our Soulless Metal Humanoid endure the heavenly flame in our place."

"Such a thing is possible as well?" Zhang Xuan was perplexed.

"This is how it works..." Ancient Sage Mo Ling began explaining the entire process to Zhang Xuan.

Due to the chilling nature of soul oracles, chances were that they would be burned to cinders if they challenged the Heavenly Flame Ordeal. As such, soul oracles who had reached the Introspective Convalescence realm would usually possess an Aureate Body realm expert and seal a contract with the latter, thus turning the latter into their Soulless Metal Humanoid.

The person who was possessed would have their soul preserved as well. When the Heavenly Flame Ordeal descended, the physical body of the Aureate Body realm cultivator would serve as the first line of defense, and the heavenly flame would naturally focus the bulk of its attack on them. After that, the soul oracle would use the possessed soul to replace them.

And that was how soul oracles overcame the Heavenly Flame Ordeal of Aureate Body realm despite their fear of heat.

Even though it was heartless and sinister, it was effective in ensuring the survival of the soul oracle. It was something that the soul oracles had come up with after infiltrating the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe.

The lineage that Zhang Xuan had inherited was something that Lu Chong had taken from the Ancient Domain of Soul Oracles, so it did not contain such information. As such, he was unaware of this method.

Fearing that the guild leader would misunderstand, Ancient Sage Mo Ling hurriedly added, "I understand that such a method is unconventional and savage, so we have always used the bodies of Otherworldly Demons for our breakthroughs."

"I see... Such a method does lower the danger significantly, but having Introspective Convalescence realm soul oracles possess the body of an Aureate Body realm cultivator is also extremely dangerous. Alright, I'll impart a cultivation technique to you. In the future, as long as soul oracles cultivate according to it, they will be able to overcome their weaknesses of flame, lightning, and yang attribute energy!" Zhang Xuan flicked his finger and sent a set of cultivation techniques over.

It was the refined Heaven's Path Soul Art that Lu Chong was practicing as well.

Since he was the leader of the Soul Oracle Guild, and this occupation had willingly sacrificed itself time and time again to protect mankind, they more than deserved to receive those cultivation techniques from him.

"Cultivation techniques?"

Ancient Sage Mo Ling initially did not think too much of Zhang Xuan's cultivation techniques. However, when he took a closer look at them, he suddenly jolted in shock. Even his soul started fluctuating as a result of his intense emotions.

As an Ancient Sage who had studied soul arts his entire life, there was no doubt about his eye for soul cultivation techniques. The techniques that had been imparted to him by the guild leader were incredibly profound, such that if one cultivated in accordance to them, one would be able to break free of the Five Soul Declines and truly become an eternal being!

At that moment, he even felt an urge to destroy his own cultivation to rebuild it from scratch.

Seeing through Ancient Sage Mo Ling's thoughts, Zhang Xuan sent another set of cultivation techniques over with a tap of his finger. "It's already too late for you to cultivate from scratch, but I have made some modifications to resolve the flaws in your cultivation technique. These are my suggestions for you."

Ancient Sage Mo Ling immediately browsed through the content, and before he knew it, his body was trembling in agitation.

It was as if the other party had explored his body thoroughly and uncovered all of its weaknesses. Every single word in the book was directed toward one of his openings, leaving him incapable of refuting it.

It could be seen that if he cultivated according to the technique imparted, all of his flaws would swiftly be resolved. He might even be able to achieve a breakthrough soon.

Despite only being at Sempiternal realm consummation, he was able to see through my weaknesses and formulate solutions to resolve them. This is really...

Ancient Sage Mo Ling looked at the young man in front of him with utter astonishment.

He had known that the new guild leader was extraordinary from his exchanges with Jiang Fangyou, but he did not think that the other party would actually be so overpowered!

Everything had far surpassed his expectations.

Just as Ancient Sage Mo Ling was still in shock, a thunderous voice suddenly echoed in his ears. "Ancient Sage Mo Ling, can I trust your words?"

Swiftly lifting his head, he saw a beast spanning ten meters in length floating above large swathes of lava. There were many cracks reminiscent of a lava crater on his golden exterior, and he emanated a frightening aura. In terms of strength, he seemed to be on par with even Sovereign Chen Ling at his peak.

It was no wonder that he had been able to unite the Beast Tribe together to stand against Sovereign Chen Yong!

"Pleased to meet you, Ancient Sage Allfire!" Understanding the other party's prowess, Ancient Sage Mo Ling chose to put himself in a humble position. He bent his body and clasped his fist respectfully. "This matter is a directive of our guild leader, and I am only following his instructions!"

He had no idea why the guild leader had chosen to make such a move, and he had even felt a hint of doubt earlier. However, the cultivation techniques provided by the guild leader had given him a glimpse into the young man's miraculous abilities, and unknowingly, a sliver of expectation had sprouted in his heart.

Perhaps, if it was the guild leader, he might be able to tame this massive fellow.

If that was the case, their lineage of soul oracles would gain a far greater say in the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe. With such prowess, they would be able to stand their ground even if they turned against the Three Sovereigns!

In the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe, rules could be flouted at any time as long as greater interests were on the line. The only thing that could truly be relied on was one's strength.

It was the one who commanded the greatest strength who would be crowned king.

"Guild leader? You mean that Sempiternal realm little brat standing beside you?" Ancient Sage Allfire turned his massive head toward Zhang Xuan and sneered coldly. "I thought that you soul oracles were so prideful that even Kong shi was unable to make you submit? When did you fall so low as to recognize such a weakling as your guild leader?"

Ancient Sage Mo Ling's face immediately darkened upon hearing those words. "Ancient Sage Allfire, you may insult me if you want to, but you risk turning the entire Soul Oracle Guild against you by insulting our guild leader!"

Sensing the underlying rage in Ancient Sage Mo Ling's voice, Ancient Sage Allfire was stunned for a moment. "Oh? He really is your guild leader?"

He directed his gaze to Zhang Xuan once more, but no matter how he looked at the other party, all he could see was an average cultivator. However, he suppressed the doubts in his mind and said, "I have heard the news concerning the Three Sovereigns, but I know them very well. I have fought Sovereign Chen Yong, and I know the tricks that he has up his sleeves. There's no way that he could have been killed that easily!

"Besides, the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe doesn't just consist of the Three Sovereigns. Even if all three of them died, there are still many other Lords to take their places. If we return, the chances are that we'll only face a massacre. Since Ancient Sage Mo Ling acknowledges you as the leader of the Soul Oracle Guild, I would like to hear how you intend to bring our Beast Tribe back to our homeland."

"It's very simple..." Zhang Xuan smiled. "All you have to do is become my tamed beast!"

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Chapter 1820: Battling Ancient Sage Allfire

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

Boom!

The cavern shook, and lava billowed furiously. Ancient Sage Allfire's eyes narrowed as he spoke with a voice that seemed to crush the world, "What did you say?"

Alarmed, Ancient Sage Mo Ling quickly rushed to Zhang Xuan's side and asked, "What are you trying to do?"

He did not expect the guild leader to be so direct. However, since he had already chosen to follow the guild leader's bidding, he would not back down no matter what the latter said.

"I'd heard that you soul oracles are an arrogant bunch. It's because you refused to submit to Kong shi that your kind ended up getting slaughtered by the Master Teacher Pavilion and was forced to escape here... I thought that it was just a legend, but it seems like it's all true!"

Ancient Sage Allfire took a step forward, and powerful heatwaves gushed into the surroundings.

It had been several thousand years since he had become the head of the otherworldly battlefield Beast Tribe, but this was the first time anyone tried to take him in as their tamed beast. Not even Sovereign Chen Yong had dared to utter such words, but a Sempiternal realm brat actually dared to say that... How audacious!

If he did not teach the other party a lesson, what would become of his dignity?

"It's not your place to discuss whatever our soul oracles have done!" Ancient Sage Mo Ling harrumphed coldly.

"Is that so?"

A massive head leaned in, and a brilliant stream of flames poured down from above. Ancient Sage Mo Ling narrowed his eyes in astonishment as he quickly stepped forward and raised both of his arms to defend against the stream of flames.

Peng!

The stream of flame created a huge depression beneath Ancient Sage Mo Ling, and the sheer pressure forced him back dozens of steps.

He had not thought that the other party would make a move without any warning at all. Infuriated, Ancient Sage Mo Ling gathered his power and flitted forward furiously. All of a sudden, a chilling gale whipped up within the cavern, threatening to cover the entire area in a layer of frost.

Even though soul oracles were afraid of flames, just by driving the cultivation technique that the guild leader had imparted to him, he could feel the burning sensation gradually being alleviated. With this, he felt that he would stand a chance even if he fought a real battle against the other party!

Before Ancient Sage Mo Ling could get close to Ancient Sage Allfire, a voice suddenly sounded from beneath.

"Don't worry, leave it to me!"

He swiftly halted in his footsteps before looking at the massive Inferno Behemoth standing before him warily.

Hula!

Zhang Xuan stepped onto the edge of the lava and looked at Ancient Sage Allfire floating in the air before saying, "Why don't we make a wager?"

Ancient Sage Allfire did not respond right away, choosing to eye the young man before him intently instead.

It had never met Ancient Sage Mo Ling before, but based on the rumors, he was one of the strongest soul oracles in the world. For him to follow the orders of this young man so loyally, the chances were that the young man possessed extraordinary means.

"My wager is very simple. I'll have a fight with you, and if you lose, you'll have to submit to me and become my tamed beast. On the other hand, if you win, I'll bring Sovereign Chen Yong here personally and have him agree to terms that are favorable to your Beast Tribe!" Zhang Xuan said.

"How about it? Surely you can't be afraid to fight with someone at my power level, right?"

"Humph!" Ancient Sage Allfire harrumphed as he raised his massive claws and swiped them toward Zhang Xuan. "Let me witness the prowess of the guild leader of the Soul Oracle Guild!"

Boom!

As Ancient Sage Allfire brought his claws down, the surrounding space seemed to have shattered apart. Incredible energy gathered around Zhang Xuan, keeping him firmly in place.

Seeing such a sight, Ancient Sage Mo Ling clenched his fists tightly in agitation.

The strength that Ancient Sage Allfire could exert was greater than he had expected. Even he would have trouble coping with strength of such caliber. Could it be that Ancient Sage Allfire's cultivation had advanced once more after several thousand years of absence?

"No..." Ancient Sage Mo Ling swiftly came to a realization. "It's due to the advantage of the terrain."

Even the smallest breakthrough for experts at their level was an incredibly arduous task.

The main reason that Ancient Sage Allfire seemed exceptionally powerful was because he could tap into the power of the lava within the cavern, thus allowing him to fully draw out his strength as an Inferno Behemoth.

In such a state, he would definitely be no match for Ancient Sage Allfire.

The best he could do was escape and preserve his life.

Considering that even he did not stand a chance at all, what about the guild leader?

Ancient Sage Mo Ling quickly turned his gaze over and saw the guild leader whipping out a spear with a light chuckle.

With a powerful leap off, he stepped against the lava crater ahead of him and flew upward. Devoting his spirit into his spear, he seemed to warp into a massive dragon soaring through the nine heavens, charging toward the enemy before him furiously.

Boom!

A momentary dragon roar sounded in the air, and cracks swiftly appeared all over the cavern under the immense pressure. Countless fragments fell down from the ceiling.

"This is... the Eight Notes of Heavenly Dragon?" Ancient Sage Mo Ling was stunned.

There was only one roar that he had heard of that could crush the will of enemies and render them irrational, and that was the Eight Notes of Heavenly Dragon. However, it was said that only Pureblooded Dragons were able to voice those notes.

Did the Dragonbone Divine Spear not achieve a breakthrough not too long ago?

Furthermore, its bloodline was not pure, so how could it make such a roar?

Deng deng deng deng!

While Ancient Sage Mo Ling was still in shock, Ancient Sage Allfire was also in a state of disbelief. He was forced to retreat several steps, and shock was reflected in his eyes.

As he did not possess the Dragon Bloodline, the Eight Notes of Heavenly Dragon did not pose any intrinsic pressure to him. Nevertheless, the instinctive fear toward the emperor of all beasts still caused cracks in his state of mind, making him afraid of standing against the enemy before him.

Hula!

Barely after taking a step back, the black dragon whipped its powerful tail, and the lava beneath began billowing furiously. A hurricane gushed through the cavern, raising dozens of lava dragons.

Shaking his head, Ancient Sage Allfire had to take another look before he realized that it was not the might of the black dragon. Rather, the young man was still standing on the spot while swiftly shaking up the lava with his spear, sending massive dragons in his direction.

"This is my territory. If you think that you can use my own sphere of domain against me, you are really underestimating me!"

Not expecting the other party to make use of his own battlefield against him and even bringing forth such astounding prowess, Ancient Allfire's huge nose breathed out a bundle of flames as he raised his legs and stomped down forcefully.

Weng!

A golden ripple spread into the surroundings, and the innumerable lava dragons swiftly turned back into lava and plummeted back into the lava pool upon coming into contact with it.

Ancient Sage Allfire had lived there for several thousand years, and the lava in there had been refined by him time and time again. While the other party did gain control over the lava for a short period of time, as long as he took charge, he would be able to wrestle back control.

Retracting his spear, Zhang Xuan asked with a smile, "Is that so?"

It did not seem like he was discouraged just because the other party had undone his attack. Instead, he was filled with absolute confidence.

After all that had happened, Ancient Sage Allfire dared not underestimate the young man before him. "You are indeed an extraordinary individual to be able to become the leader of the Soul Oracle Guild... However, it's also a fact that your cultivation is only at Sempiternal realm consummation. The main reason that you are able to draw forth such astounding fighting prowess is due to the spear in your hand, isn't it?"

The short fight they had earlier allowed him to see that the so-called leader of the Soul Oracle Guild was not too strong. The reason that the other party was able to fight with him at all was due to the spear in his hand.

"Indeed!" Zhang Xuan admitted frankly.

Hearing Zhang Xuan's admittance, Ancient Sage Allfire nodded in satisfaction. "A weapon is unable to showcase its greatest prowess without someone wielding it. The fact that you are able to execute such a powerful move and nearly drive me into a corner shows that you are indeed an incredible person..."

At that moment, his tone took a sharp turn as he harrumphed coldly. "However, if that's all you have, I must say that you are too naive to dare challenge me!"

The lava began bubbling once more as it gushed up furiously, reminiscent of a tsunami.

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Chapter 1821: Ancient Sage Allfire's Pride

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

Not only so, countless balls of flames descended from the ceiling of the cavern, turning the entire area into a fiery inferno.

In the face of such intense heat, Ancient Sage Mo Ling was forced to retreat.

Even though he had received the guild leader's cultivation technique, which boosted his fire resistance considerably, it was still impossible for him to withstand that sea of flames. It was fortunate that he was still in his physical body. If his soul had been out at that moment, he might have sustained severe injuries!

Is the guild leader fine? Ancient Sage Mo Ling thought worriedly.

Following which, he heard a loud peal of laughter before spotting the silhouette of the guild leader floating calmly in the air. Instead of evading the descending balls of flame, he took a sharp intake of breath instead.

"Not bad!"

Hula!

Following which, a powerful suction force suddenly came from the young man's body. As if a whale taking in water, the flames all around the area began gushing furiously in his direction.

The sudden influx of searing energy caused the young man's body to expand swiftly. In an instant, he had already grown to a height of roughly ten meters. He stood powerfully on the lava with a crimson body, reminiscent of a flame giant.

"You..."

Ancient Sage Allfire did not expect Zhang Xuan to be so powerful. He was taken aback for a moment before swiftly recovering to launch his ultimate move. However, at that moment, the flames in the young man's body suddenly spurted out.

Xiong xiong xiong!

The crimson flame that spurted out of the young man's body burned intensely as soon as it came into contact with the surrounding air. The crimson flame slowly took on a darker shade, gradually making the transition to black.

"This is... Empyrean Heavenly Flame?"

Sensing the temperature emanated from the black flame, Ancient Sage Allfire felt goosebumps rising all over his massive body as he hurriedly backed away.

As a being that thrived in flames, the Inferno Behemoth feared not the Heavenly Flame Ordeal, which struck deep fear in the hearts of other cultivators.

But... that was only taking normal heavenly flame into account. For something on the caliber of Empyrean Heavenly Flame, not even Inferno Behemoths could withstand something like that!

Tzzzzzzzzz!

It was just a simple touch, but Ancient Sage Allfire felt as if his body was burning. A charred smell wafted from him as he hurriedly retreated once more.

To his astonishment, he was actually frightened the young man's move!

He had thought that given his natural advantage against the yin attribute soul oracles, he would be able to defeat the other party easily. This was also why he had invited Ancient Sage Mo Ling into his lair without fear.

Who could have known that even the flames that he specialized in would end up being used against him?

Empyrean Heavenly Flame was an entity that could set anything in the world alight. Not even Blood Reincarnation realm experts would dare face it directly.

Seeing that Ancient Sage Allfire on the verge of hitting the other end of the lava pool, Zhang Xuan chuckled softly as he raised the Dragonbone Divine Spear and charged forth.

"Didn't you say I was too naive for challenging you with what I have? If that's the case, why don't you stop cowering away?"

Wuuuuuuu!

The furious roar of a black dragon filled the cavern as the black flames all over the area billowed under its dance, threatening to annihilate everything in its path.

By that point, Ancient Sage Mo Ling had already fled out of the cavern, knowing that he might just lose his life if he got involved in the battle.

Given how he was unable to even withstand ordinary flames, getting into close contact with Empyrean Heavenly Flame would really cost him his life!

However, to use the flames that Ancient Sage Allfire specialized in to subdue him... how in the world did the guild leader manage to do it?

In truth, Zhang Xuan also did not expect such an outcome, and it had not been his intention to make such a move. However, when Ancient Sage Allfire summoned his flames, the physical body and soul that he had tempered through the Empyrean Heavenly Flame had suddenly begun trembling in agitation, seemingly craving to devour the other party's flame.

Thus, he had drawn the flame into his body. To his shock, as soon as the other party's flame came into contact with his Heaven's Path zhenqi, it had actually swiftly transformed into the Empyrean Heavenly Flame.

The Heaven's Path zhenqi was like oxygen fueling the flame, causing the flame to release heat of even greater intensity.

Peng peng peng peng!

Cornered by the black flame to the corner of the cavern, Ancient Sage Allfire's hair had already been completely burned clean at this point in time. His flesh and blood were already beginning to evaporate, revealing parts of his golden bones here and there.

From the looks of it, it was only a matter of time before the old ancestor who was renowned for his expertise in flames would be reduced to cinders. Ironic.

"Do you submit or not?" Zhang Xuan asked calmly.

"Not over my dead body!" the obstinate Ancient Sage Allfire spat.

As the old ancestor of the Beast Tribe, a Blood Reincarnation realm expert, he had his own pride.

This was not just about his own dignity but the reputation of the entire Beast Tribe! If the leader of the otherworldly battlefield Beast Tribe submitted to a Sempiternal realm consummation minor figure, the entire tribe would become laughingstock!

"In other words, you aren't going to abide by the rules of the wager," Zhang Xuan uttered impassively.

"You are the one who one-sidedly decided on the wager. I never agreed to it!" Ancient Sage Allfire harrumphed coldly.

It was true that Zhang Xuan had proposed a wager, but he had never given his consent to the matter.

"Do you really wish to die?"

Under the relentless attack of the Dragonbone Divine Spear and the searing heat of the Empyrean Heavenly Flame, Ancient Sage Allfire's wounds were worsening at an alarming rate. Yet, the latter showed no sign of submitting.

Zhang Xuan could not help but frown in response.

His Beast Pummeling Taming Method worked not just because his strength surpassed the beast itself but because the Heaven's Path zhenqi was able to nourish the beast and refine its bloodline, thus removing its bottleneck.

To put it in simpler terms, it was like the carrot and the stick.

Through the Dragonbone Divine Spear and the Empyrean Heavenly Flame, he was indeed able to corner Ancient Sage Allfire. However, due to his limited cultivation, the effect of his Heaven's Path zhenqi was extremely limited on the latter.

Without that, it meant that he was simply relying on threats to make the other party submit. Naturally, the effectiveness of the technique was greatly reduced.

Not to mention, the other party was the old ancestor of the Beast Tribe and was already used to freedom. He would rather die than relinquish his freedom and become the subordinate of a human.

"Show me your worst! However, my descendants have never offended you, and as the leader of the Soul Oracle Guild and an Ancient Sage, I hope that you won't lower yourself to dealing with them too!" Ancient Sage Allfire gritted his teeth.

It was his own fault for being weak, and he was willing to accept his death, especially after having lived for so many years. However, his many descendants outside represented the future of the Beast Tribe. If this young man went on a massacre, the otherworldly battlefield Beast Tribe might just go extinct.

However, even though the otherworldly battlefield obeyed the rule of survival of the fittest, the act of Ancient Sages slaughtering the weak was still an action deeply frowned upon among major powers. He believed that the other party would not cast aside his dignity to commit such shameless acts!

"Your descendants?" Those words brought a ray of hope to Zhang Xuan's eyes.

"I think you're mistaken. I am not an Ancient Sage but a Sempiternal realm cultivator, so I don't really have much of a reputation to uphold. I advise you to think it through. Submit to me, and I'll lead your Beast Tribe out of this wretched mountain range. Continue opposing me, and once you die, I believe you should know that even if I don't make a move, the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe will make use of this opportunity to get rid of your descendants once and for all!"

He would have been completely helpless if Ancient Sage Allfire had no desire in the world at all, but it seemed like there was still something that he could use to negotiate with the latter.

"Life and death are predestined. I might be able to protect them for the moment, but I can't protect them forever... If that is the fate that awaits our Beast Tribe, there's nothing I can say," Ancient Sage Allfire replied in resignation.

Seeing that the other party's attitude was resolute, not yielding in the least, Zhang Xuan lowered his head to ponder for a moment before remarking, "You're reluctant to submit to me because there's an entire race looking up to you. As their old ancestor, there's no way you could sully the reputation of your race by submitting to a human. However... what if all of your descendants are supportive of you becoming my tamed beast?"

Not expecting to hear such words, Ancient Sage Allfire scoffed in disdain. "My descendants are prideful individuals. They won't even submit to me, so how could they possibly allow me to submit to you? You are dreaming!"

Did the young man's head get hit by a boulder? No matter how foolish his descendants were, there was no way that they would watch as their old ancestor became another person's tamed beast!

If so, what would it say about their entire race? They would be forced to lower their heads in shame!

"Oh? Shall we watch and see then?" The edges of Zhang Xuan's lips edged upward as he flicked his wrist and retrieved the Dragonbone Divine Spear. He turned to the exit and instructed, "Ancient Sage Mo Ling, I'll leave it to you to look after Ancient Sage Allfire here. Make sure that he doesn't leave this cavern. I'll be heading out for a moment..."

With that, he swiftly flitted out of the cavern.

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Chapter 1822: Submit to Me!

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

"What do you intend to do?"

Seeing the young man rushing out of the cavern, Ancient Sage Allfire suddenly felt a bad premonition. He wanted to stop the young man, but a chilling aura suddenly crushed down on him.

Under normal circumstances, he would have been able to overcome such power with ease and even launch a powerful counterattack. However, with the severe injuries that he had sustained, he found himself unable to exert the slightest power.

"Ancient Sage Mo Ling, you b*stard! I swear that I'll kill you once I recover to full strength!" Ancient Sage Allfire roared frenziedly.

"I'll be waiting!" Ancient Sage Mo Ling replied nonchalantly as he continued exerting strength on the other party, pinning him firmly to the wall.

Roar roar! Wu wu!

While the two Ancient Sages were stuck with one another, countless beast calls reverberated outside the cavern. It was as if the young man had started a massacre right after leaving the cavern.

"No, you b*stard! I swear I'll tear your flesh into shreds and sear your soul to oblivion!" Hearing those cries of agony, Ancient Sage Allfire's body trembled in utter rage and desolation as he roared furiously. "You scoundrel! How can you prey on the weak like that? Where is your dignity?"

His voice reverberated loudly throughout the entire mountain range, but it seemed like the young man could not hear him at all.

The cries of agony continued echoing loudly in the air.

Seeing that he was unable to escape and his shouts were not reaching at all, Ancient Sage Allfire frantically turned to the soul oracle before him and made his case. "Mo Ling, you are an Ancient Sage just like that. Even though we have never met one another, I have heard about your affairs and know a bit about your temperament. You are righteous person who can't stand oppression... Are you going to watch quietly as your guild leader commits genocide? Is that how far the Soul Oracle Guild has fallen?"

"This..." Ancient Sage Mo Ling lowered his head in shame.

Clearly, he did not expect the guild leader to rush right out and use his superior strength to oppress those ordinary beasts either.

Even in the lawless otherworldly battlefield, there were some unspoken rules. If Ancient Sages were allowed to target the younglings of one another, it would be a guaranteed recipe for mutually assured destruction, thus the convention against such actions.

However, as a subordinate, Ancient Sage Mo Ling had already made up his mind to follow the orders of the young man no matter what they were. So, despite harboring doubts in his mind, he chose to stay out of the matter.

"I apologize, but I'm simply following orders!" Ancient Sage Mo Ling shook his head as he continued exerting his strength to pin the other party to the wall.

"You..." Ancient Sage Allfire was so furious that his voice began quivering. "If I get out of this alive, I swear I'll eradicate your entire lineage of soul oracles!"

He was truly furious.

An expert whom even he was no match for had actually gone to the extent of massacring his juniors. This was such a shameless act!

He roared on and on furiously but to no avail. The cries of agony that reverberated in his ears seemed to continue for an eternity before everything fell silent. In that instant, Ancient Sage Allfire's heart turned cold with despair.

The young man soon returned with a relaxed look on his face.

"You b*stard! You killed my tribesmen and destroyed my lineage. If I get out of here alive, I'll surely destroy everything that you hold dear!" Ancient Sage howled with a warped look on his face. Overflowing resentment flowed out of his eyes, wanting to drown everything in sight.

"Killed your tribesmen?" Seeing how furious Ancient Sage Allfire was, Zhang Xuan stunned for a moment before shaking his head helplessly. "You're overthinking it. I am a gentle and loving person who is passionate for peace, so how could I possibly commit genocide? Ancient Sage Mo Ling, let go of him and allow him to go out and take a look!"

"This..." Ancient Sage Mo Ling hesitated for a brief moment before retracting his strength.

Hula!

Ancient Sage Allfire fell from the wall. He hurriedly got to his feet before rushing out of the cavern. Zhang Xuan and Ancient Sage Mo Ling followed leisurely behind him.

Outside of the cavern, the light from the crimson moon was slightly glaring. Ancient Sage Allfire quickly scanned his surroundings, only to see many of his descendants gathered outside, alive and kicking. Every single one of them was roaring passionately, their red eyes reflecting excitement.

"Your cultivation..." Ancient Sage Allfire was stunned.

Having spent countless years with his descendants on this barren mountain, he was extremely clear about their cultivation. After being forced to this land, due to the sparse spiritual energy in the area, it was already a blessing that they had maintained their current level of cultivation. Any advancement was pretty much impossible...

But at that moment, the tens of thousands of beasts had made breakthroughs in their cultivation, such that their overall prowess had grown significantly!

This was especially for those that he held in high regard. Not only was there a rise in their cultivation, it seemed like they had happened upon an epiphany. It felt like they were ready to push further into higher realms as soon as the opportunity presented itself.

Furthermore, they were no longer yellow-skinned, malnourished beasts. Each of them looked physically powerful and spiritually revitalized, as if they had been born anew.

It was just a short moment of absence, but it felt like everything had changed!

"Paying respects to the old ancestor!"

The many beasts swiftly bowed down to pay respect to Ancient Sage Allfire.

"You..." Ancient Sage Allfire's lips quivered. There were countless questions on the tip of his tongue, but he was too shaken to say anything.

The beasts that had brought Zhang Xuan into the cavern earlier lowered themselves to the ground and said, "Old ancestor, our master is a compassionate man, and we have already submitted to him. We beseech you to make a decision swiftly!"

"You have already submitted to him?" Ancient Sage Allfire felt as if he was dreaming. "All of you have acknowledged him as your master?"

"That's right!" The beasts nodded simultaneously. They turned to Zhang Xuan and bowed down once more. "Paying respects to Master!"

"Un!" Zhang Xuan nodded in satisfaction before turning his gaze back to Ancient Sage Allfire. "How is it? Your tribesmen have already acknowledged me as their master, and they are supportive of you submitting to me as well. Is there anything else that you are hesitant about?"

"Old ancestor, we beseech you to join us!"

The eyes of the beasts gathered were glimmering in excitement.

"All of you..."

Ancient Sage Allfire felt as if a mini explosion had just erupted in his head. He took several steps back as he looked on at the sight before him in disbelief, wondering if what he was seeing was truly reality.

These were the elites of his descendants. Back then, during the battle with Sovereign Chen Yong, they had savagely torn Otherworldly Demon after Otherworldly Demon apart, not yielding to any opponent. Yet, they had all submitted to a single soul oracle...

Ancient Sage Allfire was not the only one who had such an expression on his face. Even Ancient Sage Mo Ling looked as if he had seen a ghost.

How long had it been since the guild leader had left the cavern?

Ten minutes? Twenty minutes?

Within that short span of time, he had actually managed to tame tens of thousands of beasts...

Even if someone was just scattering food to feed a couple of chicks, they would not be that fast, right?

He had known that the guild leader was able to set up formations swiftly, but he did not think that the other party would be even faster when it came to taming beasts!

"Old ancestor, if you acknowledge our master, we'll be able to raise our cultivation swiftly... You mustn't hesitate!"

"The rise of our tribe depends on your decision! Please don't reject our master's goodwill!"

"Under our master's leadership, we'll be able to cleanse ourselves of our previous humiliation, and our Beast Tribe will swiftly grow stronger over time!"

Many beasts roared in agreement.

Ancient Sage Allfire was rendered speechless.

Previously, he had still thought that his descendants had backbone and would not submit easily. Who could have known that all of them would defect so quickly?

From the looks of it, if he did not agree to it, his descendants would continue heaping pressure onto him until he finally succumbed.

"You value your dignity because you wish to set a good example for your descendants and allow them to live a prideful life. I am able to give your tribe what you want to give them. Acknowledge me as your master, and I swear that I won't let you down!" Zhang Xuan said.

"I won't force you into making a decision right now. I have a cultivation technique here that will not only allow you to recover to your peak, you'll also be able to exert incredible fighting prowess without tapping into the lava in your cavern!"

Before Ancient Sage Allfire could react, he suddenly felt a jolt in his head. A new cultivation technique had appeared in his head.

"This..."

Upon taking a look at it, Ancient Sage Allfire's body suddenly began trembling uncontrollably. He was so agitated that he was unable to voice his words properly.

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Chapter 1823: Sovereign Chen Yong Arrives

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

The cultivation technique that the young man had just imparted to him not only resolved the flaws in his cultivation, it even complemented his strengths. If Ancient Sage Allfire cultivated according to it, even without the lava in its cavern, he would easily be able to reach Ancient Sage 4-dan or even higher!

It was no exaggeration to say that this cultivation technique was tailored just for him! As long as he cultivated according to it, he would grow by leaps and bounds.

After carefully going through the cultivation technique in his mind, Ancient Sage Allfire finally came to a realization. There was no doubt that the young man was a person with great capabilities, and he would eventually rise to the top of the world. Thus, he lowered his body on the ground and sent a droplet of blood essence into the young man's glabella. "Allfire pays respects to Master!"

Although he had been hesitant previously, at that very moment, all doubts had been removed from his mind. Despite the other party's young age and lower cultivation, he was qualified to become his master. Following behind the other party would surely bring him to greater heights.

On the other hand, Zhang Xuan heaved a sigh of relief after assimilating the blood essence.

It seemed like his trip had not been wasted. A Blood Reincarnation realm Ancient Sage with so many tamed beasts... Even if he encountered Sovereign Chen Ling once more, he would have the power to protect himself!

...

Several figures were flitting swiftly in the air.

They were Sovereign Chen Yong and Ancient Sage Hao Xun, who had separated from Zhang Xuan a while back.

Following behind them were four Ancient Sage 2-dan Great Philosopher realm cultivators.

Even though they were weaker than the two leading the way, there was no doubt that they were the strongest experts on the Master Teacher Continent. In a battle, their might would be something to behold.

They were the Ancient Sages whom the two of them had managed to rally to their side within this period of time.

Seeing the space before him shattering again and again as they surged forward, one of the Ancient Sages following behind could not help but ask, "Your Majesty, where are we heading right now?"

"We're heading to the Battlefield of Firefeather!" Sovereign Chen Yong replied calmly.

"Battlefield of Firefeather?" The Ancient Sage who had just asked the question pondered for a moment before replying. "Given how remote that place is, there shouldn't be any Ancient Sages there, right?"

"If I recall correctly, the Beast Tribe's Ancient Sage Allfire resides there," another Ancient Sage added.

"Ancient Sage Allfire?"

Upon hearing this name, the remaining members of the group recoiled in horror a little before swiftly turning their gazes toward Sovereign Chen Yong.

There was no one on the otherworldly battlefield who had not heard of the conflict between Ancient Sage Allfire and Sovereign Chen Yong. Yet, to run over right now to look for the other party... was that not courting death?

"I don't deny that there's a grudge between me and Ancient Sage Allfire. However, if we wish to expose the crimes of Sovereign Chen Ling and Sovereign Chen Xing, there's no doubt that we'll need that fellow's strength!"

Since he had already rallied those Ancient Sages to his side, he had no intention of hiding anything from them.

"But the conflict back then caused the relationship between the two of you to turn so stale..."

"There's no choice no matter how stale it is. I can only hope for the best..." Sovereign Chen Yong shook his head.

If he had a choice, he would not have wanted to forsake his dignity to request help from his enemy. He knew that he would definitely be humiliated, and it might even backfire on him. However, given the current circumstances, he did not have any other choice.

Ancient Sage Hao Xun turned his gaze over and asked, "Didn't Elder Zhang Xuan say that... he'll find a way to tame Ancient Sage Allfire after finding the dragon blood? Are we not waiting for him?"

"Tame?" Hearing those words, Sovereign Chen Yong shook his head. "Do you think that Allfire will ever allow himself become another person's tamed beast?"

Ancient Sage Hao Xun fell silent.

He could not say for sure when it came to other beasts, but Ancient Sage Allfire was one hell of an obstinate fellow. In the past, Sovereign Chen Yong had used all kinds of methods on the latter, but the latter had seemed completely impervious to his bait and threats. He would even rather migrate to this barren land with scarce spiritual energy than submit to the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe...

From this, it could be seen just how prideful Ancient Sage Allfire was.

Was it even possible for such a prideful beast to submit to a person who had not even reached Ancient Sage?

"The Young Master has never met Allfire before, so it's no surprise that he's unfamiliar with his temperament. On the other hand, as people who have met and interacted with him, we are very clear that it's impossible to tame him!"

At that point, Sovereign Chen Yong sighed deeply. "Since that's the case, rather than hope for the impossible, we might as well head over and have a good talk with Allfire. Back then, I was the one who forced him into exile, so I should be the one undoing the damage!"

"I guess we can only hope for the best!" Ancient Sage Hao Xun nodded.

Given that Sovereign Chen Yong was the culprit who had turned Ancient Sage Allfire against the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe, if they wanted to placate Ancient Sage Allfire and bring him over to their side, it would indeed be good to start with him.

"We're here..."

Amid their discussion, the Ancient Sages finally arrived at a location in proximity to the Battlefield of Firefeather. A barren mountain range unfolded before their eyes.

"This is the Battlefield of Firefeather? Is it really possible to live in such a place?" one of the Ancient Sages remarked in shock, sensing the incredibly thin spiritual energy in the air.

Without any resources and spiritual energy, the only thing one could do in such a place was survive. There was no way one could advance one's cultivation in a place like this!

Considering how Sovereign Chen Yong had driven Ancient Sage Allfire to such a barren place, it seemed unlikely that they would be able to engage his help to deal with the other two Sovereigns. The situation simply did not look too good.

Noticing the crowd's worry, Sovereign Chen Yong shook his head bitterly. "Let's find a beast and ask him where Ancient Sage Allfire is!"

With a flicker, he appeared right before one of the beasts loitering around the mountain range.

The beast immediately recoiled in alarm.

Sovereign Chen Yong hurriedly stopped the beast from shouting for help and sent a zhenqi telepathic message. "I am a friend of your old ancestor, Ancient Sage Allfire. Is it possible for you to take me to him?"

Suppressed to the point where it was completely unable to send out any signals, the beast had no choice but to reply obediently. "Our old ancestor... is currently in the midst instructing our tribesmen to pack up..."

"Pack up? Where are you all heading?"

The group of Ancient Sages looked at one another in bewilderment.

It was true that the condition of the Battlefield of Firefeather was horrendous, but they had managed to live there for many years. Why were they suddenly packing up at that moment?

"We are heading to the capital!" the beast quickly replied.

This beast was only at Saint 1-dan, and it had lived in the outer perimeters of the mountain range. As such, Zhang Xuan could not be bothered to tame it.

"You are returning to the capital?" Hearing those words, Sovereign Chen Yong's face warped in horror. "Could it be that... Sovereign Chen Yong has made a move ahead of us and successfully rallied Ancient Sage Allfire over to his side?"

It was no wonder that it harbored such thoughts. The capital was currently under Sovereign Chen Ling's control, and considering how Ancient Sage Allfire had a feud with him, it was not unthinkable for Sovereign Chen Ling to try rally the latter against him.

"Have any guests come here recently?" Sovereign Chen Yong asked.

The beast pondered for a moment before replying. "Not too long ago, an Ancient Sage named Mo Ling came over along with our old ancestor's master! They should still be around at the moment!"

"Wait a moment... Master?"

Sovereign Chen Yong was just about to ask who the master was when Ancient Sage Hao Xun suddenly spoke up. "Ancient Sage Mo Ling is the strongest expert among the soul oracles at the moment, and he's one of the trusty aides of Sovereign Chen Ling. He played a huge role in planning the encirclement against you..."

Ancient Sage Hao Xun had received a fair bit of insider news from his subordinates and descendants after leaving the Primal Lodestone Mountain, so he was privy to a lot of specifics.

As a Blood Reincarnation realm expert serving under Sovereign Chen Ling, it was inevitable that others would keep tabs on Ancient Sage Mo Ling in an attempt to figure out Sovereign Chen Ling's plans.

"Considering how Ancient Sage Mo Ling is subordinated to Sovereign Chen Ling, and Ancient Sage Allfire has acknowledged that person as his master... Could that person be Sovereign Chen Ling? Did Sovereign Chen Ling really manage to tame Ancient Sage Allfire?"

Gedeng!

Sovereign Chen Yong's heart skipped a beat.

If that was truly the case, they were in deep trouble.

After asking a few more questions to confirm Ancient Sage Allfire's location, Sovereign Chen Yong tapped his finger on the beast's head to knock it out before turning his head around and instructing, "Let's head there secretly. We have to make sure that Ancient Sage Allfire doesn't notice..."

Given that Sovereign Chen Ling was still in the vicinity, they had to head over to take a look no matter what.

"Alright!"

Knowing how serious this matter was, the crowd quickly nodded. They concealed their auras and proceeded forward while flying close to the ground so as to prevent themselves from getting noticed.

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Chapter 1824: Returning to the Capital

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

After passing through several mountains, the group soon spotted a massive group of beasts floating before a cavern in a terribly neat formation, almost as if an army waiting for a command.

"Isn't this place scarce in spiritual energy? Why is the spirit of these beasts so united? Furthermore, it seems like their fighting prowess has also improved considerably from before." Sovereign Chen Yong was stunned once more.

When he drove these beasts into exile, he had led his great army to battle them. While the beasts had been fairly strong opponents, they had hardly been as strong as they were at that very moment.

He had thought that it would already be a blessing if they could maintain their cultivation realms after being exiled there, but to think that they had managed to grow so much ever since then!

In his moment of shock, he saw a spatial distortion in front of the cavern, and two figures materialized there.

The first figure was completely cloaked its flames. Black streaks could be seen on its golden exterior, an indication that it was slowly changing colors.

The incredible heat coming from made it feel as if it was cooking the surrounding space-time.

"Such prowess..." Sovereign Chen Yong clenched his fists grimly.

Without a doubt, the figure before him was the very Ancient Sage Allfire whom he was intending to rally to his side. During the war back then, he had exchanged blows with the other party, so he knew the other party's cultivation very well. He had thought that it would be nigh impossible for the other party to advance any further after being forced here, but who could have known that Ancient Sage Allfire would actually make such a huge leap in his cultivation?

In terms of prowess, the other party could be said to be close to being on par with his peak!

To think that the Beast Tribe would be so resilient as to continue growing stronger even when they had been exiled to such remote land...

What in the world was going on?

Previously, Sovereign Chen Yong had thought that he would still be able to lure the other party over to their faction by offering them some favorable terms, but with Ancient Sage Allfire's current strength, it was unlikely that their terms could move him anymore.

"Is that person over there Ancient Sage Mo Ling? How did he grow so much stronger? I met him three years ago, but he wasn't so strong back then!" one of the Ancient Sages exclaimed.

It was only after hearing that voice that Sovereign Chen Yong finally turned his attention toward the other figure standing beside Ancient Sage Allfire. With just a glance, his eyebrows immediately shot up in astonishment.

He had met Ancient Sage Mo Ling as well, and the latter was indubitably a rather troublesome opponent to deal with. Fortunately, it was extremely difficult for soul oracles to advance their cultivation, so the latter had never posed too great a threat to him. However, somehow, the latter's cultivation had also advanced to an unimaginable level.

Were the heavens really signaling that his era had come to an end?

"Master, we are deeply grateful for your benevolent enlightenment. We shall brave through any peril with you without uttering a single word of complaint!"

It seemed like Ancient Sage Allfire had not noticed Sovereign Chen Yong and the others, who were hiding behind the mountain. Instead, he clasped his fist and bowed deeply toward the cavern before him.

After acknowledging his new master, he did not rush into leaving their area of exile. Instead, he chose to make use of the underground lava to recuperate from his injuries.

Using the technique that his master had imparted to him, not only did he recover swiftly from his wounds, he felt like his cultivation had advanced considerably. It left him with a feeling of indescribable exhilaration, and the feeling of gratitude toward his young master deepened as well.

"There's no need to stand on ceremony!" a young man said calmly as a silhouette slowly flew out of the cavern.

Upon seeing this silhouette, Sovereign Chen Yong's body jolted.

He had been thinking that the person who would come out was going to be Sovereign Chen Ling, and he had been prepared to find a chance to end the other party's life. However, when he took a closer look, what he saw left his astounded instead.

"Young Master..."

It was the Young Master who had left for the capital in search of dragon blood!

Did he not go to Sovereign Chen Ling's palace?

Why would he be there?

Could it be that the master whom Ancient Sage Allfire was speaking of earlier was actually referring to him?

In other words, the Young Master had already managed to tame Ancient Sage Allfire!

Despite being the number one Otherworldly Demon Emperor of the Spirit Tribe, he suddenly found his mind incapable of comprehending what was going on before him.

In the midst of his astonishment, Sovereign Chen Yong heard a chuckle not too far away.

"Come over since you are already here!"

Even though Ancient Sage Allfire and the others did not notice a thing, Zhang Xuan had sensed the power of magnetism lingering in the area. Activating his Eye of Insight, it did not take him long to notice Sovereign Chen Yong's tracks.

Hu!

Seeing that he had been found, Sovereign Chen Yong flew out without any hesitation.

"Sovereign Chen Yong..." Upon seeing his old nemesis, Ancient Sage Allfire narrowed his eyes in fury. Flames swiftly surged forth from his body, and it seemed like he would turn the entire mountain range into a living hell in an instant.

"Stop!" Zhang Xuan quickly raised his hand and stopped him.

"Yes!" Ancient Sage Allfire did not dare blatantly disobey his master's instructions, but that did not stop the fury from burning in the depths of his hearts. Just as he was perplexed as why his master would stop him, he saw the number one Otherworldly Demon Emperor of the Spirit Tribe clasping his fist, bowing deeply, and greeting, "Young Master!"

"Young Master?"

Taken aback by what he had heard, Ancient Sage Allfire quickly turned his gaze over to Ancient Sage Mo Ling, only to see the latter with an equally incredulous expression.

The fact that Sovereign Chen Yong was addressing the young man as 'Young Master' meant that he was subordinated to the young man... but how could that be?

For the great Sovereign Chen Yong, the highest leader of the Spirit Tribe, to willingly serve as the subordinate of another man... something felt really off!

Thus, Ancient Sage Allfire could not help but ask, "Master, is he your subordinate?"

Zhang Xuan nodded with a smile. "Sovereign Chen Yong can indeed be considered my subordinate. Sovereign Chen Yong, I have just accepted Ancient Sage Allfire as my tamed beast, so I expect you to put aside any conflict you have with him, alright?"

Even though Sovereign Chen Yong was equally shocked, he still subconsciously nodded before looking at Ancient Sage Allfire with a perplexed look on his face. "We meet again..."

They could be considered two of the most outstanding experts in the otherworldly battlefield. There was no one who did not know of the battle that had happened between the two of them, and it had even been proclaimed as the greatest battle that had happened in the past several millenniums!

Yet, of the two of them, one had become a subordinate whereas the other had become a tamed beast...

What was even more frightening was that they were both serving the young man named Zhang Xuan!

Just the thought of it felt ridiculous in itself!

"Un..." Ancient Sage Allfire nodded.

To be honest, he had thought that the young man's claim that he would lead the Beast Tribe to claim back its rightful land was just an empty promise, but upon seeing that even Sovereign Chen Yong was a subordinate to him, he realized that the young man was serious about it.

"Sovereign Chen Yong, I have already agreed to help Ancient Sage Allfire return to the land that they used to reside in, so I want you to promise to push for the coexistence between the Beast Tribe and the Spirit Tribe. You are not to regard the Beast Tribe as an outsider and ostracize them!" Zhang Xuan instructed.

"I'll obey your orders, Young Master!" Sovereign Chen Yong quickly nodded in agreement.

Even if he wanted to refute those words, he was already powerless to do so, especially since the young man had Ancient Sage Allfire on his side.

No wonder the Young Master could catch the Spirit God's eye. He was indeed an exceptional individual!

Ancient Sage Allfire was an opponent whom he would have to tread carefully around, but in the blink of an eye, it had already been tamed so obediently. He really could not help but wonder how it was done.

"Good! With this, we already have the strength to stand against Sovereign Chen Ling and Sovereign Chen Xing! It's about time for us to return to the capital and end this farce!"

There was still an air of tension between Ancient Sage Allfire and Sovereign Chen Yong, but he knew that it would take much more time for them to resolve the grudges between them. Thus, he did not force the matter.

Right now, they had four Ancient Sage 3-dan experts on their side, namely Sovereign Chen Yong, Ancient Sage Hao Xun, Ancient Sage Mo Ling, and Ancient Sage Allfire. If they factored in the Dragonbone Divine Spear and Vicious, that added up to a total of six Blood Reincarnation realm experts on their side.

As for Ancient Sage 2-dan Great Philosopher realm experts, they had four of them in total.

Taking into account those Soulless Metal Humanoid that Zhang Xuan had forged not too long ago, their total fighting force was already beyond that of Sovereign Chen Ling.

Even if Sovereign Chen Xing sided with Sovereign Chen Ling in the midst of the battle, Zhang Xuan was still confident that they would be able to emerge victorious!

This meant that it was time for them to return to the capital, declare the truth that Sovereign Chen Yong was still alive, and have the final showdown!

"Yes!"

The crowd nodded grimly.

Knowing how important this matter was, Ancient Sage Allfire turned around and instructed, "Children, you will have to wait here. After we resolve the issue at the capital, I'll take you all back to where we truly belong..."

There was no way that he could take everyone into the capital with him. Otherwise, it could very well incite a full-blown war between the Beast Tribe and the Spirit Tribe, which was not what he wanted.

For the time being, it was best to leave the rest of the Beast Tribe there. As long as they took out the main culprits, Sovereign Chen Ling and Sovereign Chen Xing, and returned power to Sovereign Chen Yong, everything else would be a walk in the park!

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