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 enough 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 light—Ancient Sage Mo Ling was secretly lifting it up with his soul energy to make 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.
