“That’s more like it!”
Catching the jade bottle, Zhang Xuan nodded in satisfaction.
Those who wanted to force him into a duel had to pay a corresponding price for their actions. Not even Ancient Sages would be an exception to that rule!
“Your saber’s made a breakthrough to Ancient Sage, has it?” the old ancestor of the Zhang Clan asked in shock. He could hardly believe what he had just seen.
“Un!” Zhang Xuan nodded affirmatively.
“Great. That’s great!”
There was a brief moment of silence before the old ancestor of the Zhang Clan burst into hearty laughter.
Over the years, he had been singlehandedly propping the Zhang Clan up, and it was extremely tiring for him. He knew that if he passed away, the Zhang Clan would swiftly fall into decline, and that was not something that he was willing to see. However, the breakthrough of that saber meant that the Zhang Clan had another Ancient Sage to rely on.
Furthermore, the lifespan of an artifact was far longer than a human’s. There was no doubt that its existence would ensure the safety of the Zhang Clan for a very long time.
“I still have some students who are in the hands of the Hundred Schools of Philosophers, so I’ll be taking my leave!” Zhang Xuan clasped his fist.
With the departure of the Ancient Sages of the Hundred Schools of Philosophers and Otherworldly Demonic Tribe, there was nothing else that could pose a threat to them there.
“Go on!” The old ancestor of the Zhang Clan waved his hand.
If not for the interference of the old ancestor from the Zhang Clan, his earlier assault would not have succeeded. In the worst-case scenario, he might have even died to the Otherworldly Demon Ancient Sage earlier. Thus, he bowed deeply to the old ancestor of the Zhang Clan before prompting Zhao Ya to lead the way ahead.
The two of them traveled for an extremely long distance, and it was not until the Hall of Great Accomplishment was nothing but a blur in the scenery that Zhao Ya finally came to a halt.
“I entered this space with the Hundred Schools of Philosophers from here!” Zhao Ya said.
Taking a look, Zhang Xuan realized that this was the place where he and Hu Yaoyao had entered from. It seemed like it was the same for the others as well.
“Break!”
Zhang Xuan had only managed to arrive in the exteriors of the Hall of Great Accomplishment through the offerings of the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe, which had opened a spatial passageway there. However, with the Infernal Blacksaber upgraded to Ancient Sage tier, he did not have to depend on such elaborate techniques anymore.
Huala!
With a slash of the Infernal Blacksaber, a black rift appeared in midair.
Zhang Xuan pulled Zhao Ya and leaped right into the black rift.
The next moment, the two of them returned to the dimension of four seasons.
However, what that stood before him was no longer a field of snow. Flowers had bloomed amid verdant greenery, replacing the monotonous whiteness from before.
If not for the fact that the Introspective Convalescence realm elder was still in the area, he would have wondered if he had entered another world.
Having been in this dimension before, it did not take him too long to find the exit to the world. The duo swiftly dived through the spatial seal to enter the next dimension.
Hu!
Before they knew it, they found themselves standing in the midst of a mountain forest filled with miasma.
Zhao Ya took a look at the surrounding environment. “Wei Ruyan is likely to be in the Subordinate Hall corresponding to this dimension!”
Zhang Xuan nodded in agreement. He flicked his wrist, and a pill appeared on his palm. “Swallow this!”
“Alright!” Zhao Ya popped the pill into her mouth before asking doubtfully, “Teacher, is this an antidote?”
“The air and water here are poisonous. Monitor your condition and be careful!” Zhang Xuan explained.
Due to his Innate Fetal Poison, he had devoted a fair portion of his time to studying poison. With a glance, he could tell that the mountain forest was not as simple as it seemed. Despite the silence drifting in the area, there were no formidable beasts that posed a threat; the truth was that the entire area was suffused with lethal poison that would callously suffocate the unwary.
Following closely behind her teacher, Zhao Ya asked, “Teacher, what do we do now?”
“Let’s find the exit of this dimension for the time being. If my guess is correct, the location of the Subordinate Hall should be directly above the exit!” Zhang Xuan said.
Having gone through a couple of dimensions, he was already fairly well-versed in the rules.
He randomly picked a direction with his Dragonbone Divine Spear, confounding Zhao Ya in the process, before trudging off in the chosen direction.
There were venomous scorpions and snakes all over the jungle, but as one who possessed the Heaven’s Path zhenqi, Zhang Xuan did not fear them. They carried on ahead without facing much danger.
After traveling for roughly an hour, they encountered a group of master teachers whose faces had turned frighteningly pale. It was apparent that they had been poisoned.
Zhang Xuan gave them a couple of pills infused with Heaven’s Path zhenqi to cure them of their poison. Following which, he asked them a few questions to determine the approximate location of the exit before rushing over.
…
“This should be it!”
Roughly two hours later, the duo finally halted right before a medium-sized pond.
“This seems to be nothing more than an ordinary pond. Teacher, why do you think that this is the exit?” Zhao Ya asked doubtfully.
She had also heard the answers provided by the group of master teachers, but even they had been oblivious to the true location of the exit. How could her teacher be so certain about the matter?
“That’s simple!”
Without bothering to explain himself, Zhang Xuan swiped his hand through the air and grabbed an ant in between his fingertips.
This ant was crimson in color, and it was roughly the size of a bean. With just a glance, it was clear that it was an extremely venomous creature.
With a light chuckle, Zhang Xuan placed the ant on the back of his hand.
Puhe!
Without any hesitation, the ant bit through Zhang Xuan’s skin, injecting venom right into his bloodstream. At the same time, Zhang Xuan did not use his Heaven’s Path zhenqi to neutralize the poison, allowing it to spread freely through his body instead.
In the blink of an eye, the back of his hand had already started turning black, and blisters were starting to form here and there.
“Teacher…”
Not understanding the intentions behind her teacher’s actions, Zhao Ya panicked.
She could tell that the venom that had just been injected into her teacher’s body was deadly. If it made its way toward her teacher’s heart through the bloodstream, that could result in instantaneous death!
“Calm down, there’s no need to worry!” Zhang Xuan said calmly.
With a casual wave of his hand, the water in the pond splashed into the air and scattered over his wound.
Tzzzzzzzz!
It was as if the lethal poison on the back of his hand had encountered its nemesis. White smoke rose into the air, and the blackness and blisters from before swiftly retreated. Before long, his hand had reverted to its original state, as if it had never been poisoned before.
“This…” Zhao Ya was taken aback. “Is the water in this pond actually an antidote?”
“That’s right!” Zhang Xuan nodded. “As treacherous as these dimensions seem, Kong shi left them behind in order to test the future generations to see if they are qualified to inherit his treasures. His aim was never to cause meaningless deaths! As such, there was bound to be an antidote of some kind near the exit. Otherwise, it would be meaningless for him to leave his heritage behind, only to have no one alive to inherit it!”
Zhao Ya nodded in realization.
“I asked the previous group of master teachers that we encountered earlier where the most dangerous location, the place that has the greatest number of venomous creatures, is in this dimension. They pointed me toward here. The cultivation technique that Kong shi practices emphasizes the harmony of nature; where there is yin, yang is bound to exist as well. Wherever the density of venomous creatures is the greatest, it’s likely to be where the antidote lies. That’s why I was certain that this is where the exit lies!” Zhang Xuan said confidently.
He knew that it was impossible for the group of master teachers that he had encountered previously to know where the exit was. If they knew, they would have escaped from the poison dimension instead of wandering helplessly around the area.
While they did not know where the exit was, in the long period of time that they had spent there, they should have gotten a rough idea of where the more treacherous terrain was.
After they made their way there, the first thing that Zhang Xuan realized was that there were no venomous creatures around the perimeter of the pond. That was more than enough to back up his deduction.
Realizing that they were right before the exit, Zhao Ya asked, “Teacher, should we tear a dimension rift right now to save Ruyan?”
Based on what her teacher had said, the Subordinate Hall where Wei Ruyan had been taken to was likely right above the pond.
“We are going to save her, but before that, there’s one more thing that we have to do. Wait here for me while I go into the pond to take a look. The fact that the antidote that neutralizes the poison from the venomous creatures in this dimension can be found within the pond means that the crux to the dimension is likely to be in there as well. We’ll have to grab that first!” Zhang Xuan said.
The crux of the forest dimension was the Five Monarchs. In the desert dimension, it was the Berserk Yellowsand Wood. In the dimension of four seasons, it was the crystal. There was little doubt that something similar could be found in the poison dimension as well.
Like the crystal, it was likely to be an artifact that would play a crucial role in whatever they encountered within the Subordinate Hall.
In any case, it was always better to be prepared.
After saying those words, Zhang Xuan leaped right into the clear pond without any hesitation.
