Chapter 410: Finding the Old Residence
Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97
"Why are you here?"
Seeing the lady before him, Zhang Xuan fell speechless.
After accepting Zhao Ya and the others as his direct disciples, Zhang Xuan had finished dealing with all of the miscellaneous matters in Tianwu Kingdom. Thus, he summoned the Steelfang Howling Firmament Beast and left immediately.
Knowing the limits of their capabilities, Liu s.h.i.+ and Lu Xun chose to remain in Tianwu Kingdom. The Myriad Kingdom Alliance was filled with innumerable experts, and they had no backing there. On the other hand, they had the protection of the royal family and the Master Teacher Pavilion here in Tianwu Kingdom. Thus, they took the initiative to stay.
Only Sun Qiang insisted on following with Yang s.h.i.+. Thus, Zhang Xuan took him along with him.
It was exactly ten days since Zhang Xuan had arrived in Tianwu Kingdom. His cultivation had risen from Tongxuan realm pinnacle to Zongs.h.i.+ realm pinnacle, and his physical body possessed the might nearly equivalent to a Zhizun realm primary stage expert.
He also gained a new student, Lu Chong.
As for his occupations, he pa.s.sed the 2-star master teacher examination, and his 3-star painter emblem just arrived last night.
Due to his lacking cultivation, the Apothecary Guild and Physician Guild weren"t allowed to allocate his 3-star emblems for the time being.
Thus, his current occupations were as such: 2-star master teacher, 3-star apothecary, 3-star physician, 3-star painter, 2-star beast tamer.
His stop at Tianwu Kingdom had been rather fruitful.
In just ten days, Zhang Xuan achieved what others might never have been able to do even if they dedicated their entire lives to it.
"I would also like to visit the Myriad Kingdom Alliance to watch the Master Teacher Tournament. It can"t be that you wish to dump me here?" Mo Yu stared at the youngster before her furiously.
What the heck!
Even if we can"t progress any further, surely we can remain as friends!
How can you leave for Myriad Kingdom Alliance without biding me farewell?
Do you consider yourself a buddy?
It is fortunate that I have made preparations in advance and immediately rode the Viridescent Eagle after you. Otherwise, I would have surely missed you.
As a master teacher and the princess of Tianwu Kingdom, it wasn"t too difficult for Mo Yu to look into the matter of Su s.h.i.+ and Ling s.h.i.+, as well as the Master Teacher Tournament.
"Alright, I"ll bring you along..."
Zhang Xuan gave up.
In any case, there was sufficient s.p.a.ce on the back of the Steelfang Howling Firmament Beast. It wasn"t cramped even with his six students, Sun Qiang, and Mo Yu.
He couldn"t be bothered with the infuriated Mo Yu, so Zhang Xuan stood by the window and gazed outward. White clouds overlapped one another, reminiscent of a boundless field of snow. In the midst between clouds, he could catch a glimpse of lush mountains. It felt rejuvenating.
"Teacher..."
Lu Chong walked over to Zhang Xuan and said, "In order to prevent the unfilial descendants of the Qu Clan from handing the letter over to the hands of others, they took precautions by hiding it in an old residence on the Tianwu Mountain Range. I only happened to hear my father bring the matter up. I roughly know the location, but I"m not too sure for the exact spot."
"It"s alright, we can slowly look for it later on!"
Lu Chong"s clan had given up their life to guard this heirloom. It was best if they could find it.
"Teacher, it"s around this area!"
Half a day later, Lu Chong pointed.
"The area is huge; how can we find it like that?"
Leaping off the back of the Howling Firmament Beast, Zhao Ya glanced at the surroundings and sighed.
What stood before them was a gigantic mountain valley. The terrain was b.u.mpy, and towering trees filled the area. Putting aside finding an old residence, they couldn"t even see into the distance.
More importantly, there were many savage beasts in the area. If they were to accidentally barge into a savage beasts" nest, they would die indignantly.
"I"m... not too sure either!"
Lu Chong scratched his head awkwardly.
He had heard the elders of his family speaking about the rough geographical terrain, but he hadn"t been here before, so he wasn"t too sure.
"To find an old residence on such a vast mountain range... Even a year wouldn"t be sufficient!"
Mo Yu shook her head.
She knew that Lu Chong wanted to look for an item before heading to the Myriad Kingdom Alliance, but she didn"t know what it was.
However, the area before them was simply too large.
The vast mountain range was filled with plants, and on top of that, the old residence was likely to be hidden by a formation... How could they find it under such overwhelmingly unlikely odds?
"Teacher..."
After taking a look around, the crowd eventually gave up. Thus, all eyes gathered on Zhang Xuan.
"This..."
Zhang Xuan shook his head. "There"s no use asking me, I"ve never been to the Qu Clan"s old residence before..."
Halfway through his words, Zhang Xuan"s eyes suddenly lit up, and he said, "Wait, I just thought of a good idea!"
"You have an idea?"
Everyone froze for a moment before turning to look at Zhang Xuan with glowing eyes.
Mo Yu was also curious.
Even Lu Chong himself didn"t know where the old residence was, so what kind of idea could Zhang Xuan come up with?
Just as they were perplexed, the young man before them took out an empty book, and he drew an arrow and scribbled a few words on it. Then, slowly rotating on the spot, he mumbled, "The Lu Clan"s old residence is in this direction... this direction... this direction..."
"..."
Mo Yu, Zhao Ya, and the others were staggered.
They thought that Zhang Xuan would come up with some brilliant means, but upon seeing this sight, they nearly fainted on the spot.
Taking out a book to draw an arrow to confirm the direction? And you still dare to say that your idea is good... Where did your confidence come from?
If you wish to fool us, you should at least do it better! Aren"t you being too perfunctory?
"Alright, this direction!"
After spinning an entire circle, Zhang Xuan confirmed the direction and pointed forward.
"..." Mo Yu staggered once more.
Sometimes, it seemed like this Zhang s.h.i.+ possessed unparalleled talent; at other times, he felt so ridiculous that it made one want to smack his head.
"You... are you sure that this method is feasible?" Mo Yu asked, unable to hold back her doubts.
"Of course!" Zhang Xuan nodded seriously. "The method I use involves a complex calculation of the position of the stars, the mountains, and the rivers, and along with a profound comprehension of the universe, I am able to even locate treasures, needless to say, determine a direction!"
The Library of Heaven"s Path could determine right from wrong. As long as the direction he was pointing to reflected no flaws, it would mean that it was the correct direction.
However, there was no way Zhang Xuan could explain this.
"Position of the stars, the mountains, and the rivers?"
"Profound comprehension of the universe?"
The group stared at one another.
Grabbing a book, scribbling an arrow and a few words, rotating on the spot, and you tell me that it involves all of that? Can you come up with anything more nonsensical than that?
"Forget it. Since we can"t find the direction either, we might as well listen to his words!"
Mo Yu felt constipated.
Why did she have to follow this fellow? She deeply suspected that at this rate, they might get lost forever in this forest.
Thus, after Zhang Xuan reached the end of a path that he determined, or that there were new splits in the path before them, Zhang Xuan would take his book out and rotate on the spot. Two hours later, they arrived at a col.
"This is it!"
Zhang Xuan pointed forward.
Glancing over, everyone was taken aback.
Amidst the greenery, they saw the roof of several rock residences. However, they looked slightly blurred, as though they were hidden in some formation.
"This must be the location! It"s exactly the same as my father"s description..."
Lu Chong"s eyes lit up in antic.i.p.ation.
"This..."
Upon hearing Lu Chong"s confirmation, everyone"s eyes widened, and their gazes hurriedly shot toward Zhang Xuan. They were on the verge of going insane.
Even Lu Chong, the person-in-question, couldn"t find the direction. Yet, just by scribbling on a book and rotating on the spot... They all thought that Zhang Xuan was fooling about, but to think that it would actually work!
Could they have truly misunderstood him?
Did it really involve what stars, mountains, and rivers?
Otherwise, how did he manage to find the location?
Thinking back on it now, ever since the other party took out the book and turned around with it, the location they trod on had been straight, and they didn"t stumble by any savage beast"s nest along the way, despite the odds. Even if one were to know the way beforehand, surely it was impossible to maneuver so precisely?
More importantly, the location they were standing on happened to be the eye of the formation. It was due to them standing here that they were able to see the rock residences. If it was anywhere else, their sight would have been blocked by the formation.
In other words, if they didn"t know the location beforehand, they would have been fooled by the formation and walk by it.
Despite not knowing where it was, Zhang Xuan was able to determine the precise location of the old residence...
How in the world... did this fellow do it?
"Forget it, he isn"t human..."
Unable to make sense of this situation, Mo Yu could only shake her head with a bitter smile.
Ever since she"d met this fellow, he had been amazing her with all kinds of unimaginable means. There were too many things to him that couldn"t be comprehended with common sense.
If she really tried to rationalize it all, she would probably die of exhaustion first.
"Let"s go in!"
Ignoring the dazed crowd, Zhang Xuan walked straight toward the col.
"Teacher, wait a moment. This formation is extremely dangerous!"
Lu Chong hurried forward to stop Zhang Xuan, "According to my father, only the blood of a Qu Clan descendant can stop the formation..."
"The blood of a Qu Clan descendant?"
Zhang Xuan glanced at Lu Chong.
"Un. If I"m not wrong, I have to drip a droplet of my blood on the formation-controlling rock for a path for us to appear. Without this formation protecting the old residence, the area would have long been scavenged by humans or savage beasts!" Lu Chong explained.
Coming to a realization, Mo Yu and the others nodded.
Given that the old residence was still able to retain its original appearance despite the innumerable years since it was abandoned, the formation truly possessed incredible might.
So far, it seemed to be effective in warding away humans and savage beasts.
If one were to abruptly step into such a formidable formation, huge trouble might ensue.
"Then, give it a try!" Mo Yu urged.
Without wasting a word, Lu Chong looked around the area and a troubled look flashed on his face.
His father had told him that he had to drip a droplet of his blood on the formation-controlling rock for it to stop, but... which of these innumerable rocks was it?
The entire col was filled with at least a thousand bizarre rocks. If he were to drip a droplet of blood on every single one of them, he would probably die of anemia before the formation stopped.
"That... Teacher, I can"t find the formation-controlling rock..."
A moment later, Lu Chong returned with a sheepish look.
His elder sister was a genius formation master, but he wasn"t.
There were many secret manuals on formations in his clan, but he didn"t like reading them, and he never did. In the end, when he visited the old residence of his ancestors, he wasn"t even able to find the formation-controlling rock at all...
"You can"t find it?"
Zhang Xuan was taken aback. He briefly looked around the surroundings before pinching his glabella, "I can"t find it either..."
Even though he had taken in quite a sizeable sum of books on formation, this formation was clearly above grade-3, beyond the level of Tianwu Kingdom
With his current knowledge on formations, it was difficult for him to find it as well.
Eventually, Zhang Xuan shook his head.
"Forget it, let"s not bother finding the formation-controlling rock..."
Lu Chong was taken aback. "Then... how do we enter?"
"Simple..."
Zhang Xuan stepped forward.
Weng!
As soon as he stepped into the formation, it started shaking vigorously. Then, lifting his foot, he kicked straight at a certain point.
Hu!
The formation stopped.
Zhang Xuan waved his hands casually, "Alright, we can enter now!"
"..." Lu Chong, Mo Yu, and the others.