As Zhang Xuan and Little Amulet had communicated through telepathy, Sword Saint Xing was unaware of their interaction. He thought that it was because he had said that the painting could be the Great Codex of Spring and Autumn that his son had suddenly gotten so excited.
However, to only start laughing after several minutes had passed… his reaction speed was a little slow!
“Xuan-er…”
Seeing how his son’s laughter did not stop even after some time, Sword Saint Xing could not help but call him out of worry.
“Un!” Zhang Xuan quickly recovered from his laughter and nodded. “No matter what, we’ll have to get that painting!”
He might still have been a distance away from Ancient Sage, but his parents were already at Sempiternal realm consummation. They were ready to take the final step forward at any moment. If they could acquire the painting and successfully achieve a breakthrough to Ancient Sage, there would be very little for him to worry about for the rest of the journey through the Temple of Confucius!
“Very well!” Hearing the words of their son, the Xingmeng Sword Saints nodded.
Weng weng weng!
While they were chatting, the seal on the Canvas of Four Seasons was starting to waver under Zhao Ya’s ceaseless attacks. It seemed as if it would break open at any moment.
“Very soon…”
Upon seeing this sight, the eyes of the eight youths lit up in anticipation.
Kacha! Kacha!
While everyone was waiting expectantly for the seal to be undone so that they could take the painting away with them, the sound of something shattering apart suddenly broke the silence in the hall.
Astonished by this abrupt noise, the crowd quickly turned their gazes over, and to their horror, the frozen river depicted in the painting had actually begun melting.
“This is bad. We need to hurry up! Once spring arrives in the painting, we won’t be able to undo the seal with cold energy anymore!” one of the eight youths exclaimed.
He quickly rushed to Zhao Ya’s back and channeled his zhenqi into her body, providing her with the extra energy required to decipher the seal as quickly as possible.
The others also realized the urgency of the matter, so they quickly rushed over and channeled their zhenqi into Zhao Ya’s body through a secret art. In an instant, the surge of cold energy exerted by Zhao Ya intensified, hastening the rate at which the seal was being undone.
“Spring arrives in the painting?” Knowing that Little Amulet was knowledgeable about the issue, Zhang Xuan quickly asked, “Does that mean to say that the seal is interrelated with the current season depicted in the painting?”
“As the Canvas of Four Seasons moves from one season to the next, the seal also has to alter accordingly in order to seal the energy in the painting and ensure that it doesn’t leak out,” Little Amulet explained. “I reckon that those fellows from the Hundred Schools of Philosophers calculated that it would be winter in the Canvas of Four Seasons at the moment, so they kidnapped your student to decipher the seal.
“The seal takes on the cold attribute when it is winter in the painting, allowing those who possess the Pure Yin Constitution to easily manipulate and decipher the seal. However, once spring settles in, the seal will change accordingly. If they don’t have a corresponding power, it’ll be impossible for them to continue deciphering the seal anymore!”
“Judging by how the glaciers are melting and rivers are starting to flow once more, the Canvas of Four Seasons has already started progressing from winter to spring. Should I help them decipher the seal?” Zhang Xuan asked.
To be honest, he had no idea what kind of energy would correspond to the spring seal. If he did not lend a hand to the Hundred Schools of Philosophers, there was a good chance that there would not even be a painting for them to fight over. If that was the case, he might as well help them for the time being and battle with them over the ownership of the painting afterward.
In any case, he had the Five Monarchs, more than a dozen tamed beasts, and many Great Sage artifacts in his possession. No matter how powerful the eight youths from the Hundred Schools of Philosophers were, he did not think that they would be a match for him.
“Do you think that it’s a sheer coincidence that you arrived at the Hall of Great Accomplishment after breaking out of the snow dimension?” Little Amulet harrumphed.
“This…” Zhang Xuan was first taken aback for a while before his eyes lit up in comprehension. “The Canvas of Four Seasons is in its winter season at the moment, and the snow dimension is filled with frost as well. If there’s a connection between the two of them, could it mean that…”
Having thought it through, Zhang Xuan flicked his wrist, and the icy crystal that had been placed on the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe’s altar materialized in his grasp.
The icy crystal was no longer as cold as it had been previously. On the contrary, he felt warmth and nourished by the crystal, as if life was finally returning to the world after a long period of frost. Reminiscent to the painting before him, the energy in the icy crystal was gradually progressing toward spring.
“I see…” Zhang Xuan nodded in realization.
He had been addressing the third dimension that he had entered as the snow dimension all that time, but that was not an accurate term. To be more precise, it should have been called the dimension of four seasons.
The season in there was not limited to winter. It would cycle between spring, summer, autumn, and winter.
It just so happened that it was winter when he entered the dimension, which was why all he could see was snow.
The artifact that was controlling the weather in the dimension of four seasons was the crystal that he was holding onto. Had he not taken it away, the snow in that dimension would have started melting, thus ushering spring back to the world.
“That crystal in your hand is the crux to breaking open the seal!” Little Amulet said.
“Un!” Seeing that it was just as he had guessed, Zhang Xuan nodded. Then, with a slightly doubtful voice, he asked, “I thought you didn’t know anything at all? Why are you suddenly so knowledgeable about all of this?”
From the forest dimension all the way to the dimension of four seasons, Little Amulet had been completely useless. Yet, at that moment, it was speaking with absolute confidence. If it had known all this information from the very start, why did it not say so?
“Hmm…” Little Amulet pondered for a moment before proudly replying, “It might be because Kong shi has sealed my memories in a manner such that I only regain the relevant memories when I enter specific places. Unless I enter the hall itself, I will be completely ignorant to whatever is in it. For example, if you ask about what is in the other five Subordinate Halls, I wouldn’t be able to tell you anything!”
“Alright then…” Zhang Xuan sighed helplessly.
He could see why Kong shi would impose such a restriction on the Prime Amulet. Otherwise, all of his heritage and treasures would have been swept away by a single person, and that was unlikely what Kong shi wanted.
“With this crystal, I should be able to decipher the Canvas of Four Seasons as and when I like. Since that’s the case…” Realizing that he was in an advantageous position instead because he had entered the dimension of four seasons, Zhang Xuan shot a glance at the Hundred Schools of Philosophers, who were desperately trying to release the seal within the limited time that they had, and a smile crept onto his lips.
The eight youths were standing in a straight line behind Zhao Ya, connected to each other palms to backs. They had channeled all of their zhenqi into Zhao Ya’s body, supplying her with sufficient energy to exert a steady surge of cold energy toward the seal.
“Since you had the guts to kidnap Zhao Ya and put her in a trance so as to make her do your bidding, I don’t think you can blame me for what I’m going to do next,” Zhang Xuan muttered beneath his breath.
Chuckling softly, he calculated his timing carefully before dashing forward swiftly, as though a bolt of lightning.
His movements were extremely swift, and he had even ignited his Zhang Clan bloodline for this. As such, before anyone could even react, he was already right above Zhao Ya.
“Sever!”
Without any hesitation, Zhang Xuan flicked his finger and sent a surge of sword qi to sever the contact between the palms and Zhao Ya’s back.
Boom!
As the contact was severed before the eight youths could retract their zhenqi from Zhao Ya’s body, the resulting effect was no different from the eight youths donating their energy to Zhao Ya.
Under the guidance of Zhang Xuan’s zhenqi, the huge influx of energy within Zhao Ya’s body swiftly tore through all of the bottlenecks in her cultivation, causing her strength to surge furiously.
Kacha! Kacha!
In just two breaths, she had already reached Sempiternal realm consummation.
“Teacher…”
The rise in her cultivation seemed to have broken whatever mind control technique was placed on Zhao Ya. She swiftly regained her consciousness, and upon seeing Zhang Xuan’s figure above, her eyes lit up in agitation.
“Seal the remaining zhenqi in your body away from the time being. You can use it when you are pushing for a breakthrough to Ancient Sage!” Zhang Xuan instructed as he sent the method to sealing that huge bundle of energy to her.
Even with the furious surge in Zhao Ya’s cultivation all the way to Sempiternal realm consummation, she still had a tremendous amount of energy lingering in her body. After all, in her body was the full zhenqi of eight Sempiternal realm consummation experts!
Zhang Xuan was thinking of having Zhao Ya seal it away for the time being and use it in the future when she attempted for a breakthrough to Ancient Sage. Otherwise, it would be a pity to allow such precious energy to go to waste.
“Zhang Xuan, you are courting death!”
Not expecting their zhenqi to be suddenly stolen in such a manner, the eight youths exploded in rage.
