Chapter 1728: The Blood of an Ancient Sage
Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97
“Pu!”
“Humbly accept your head!”
The Otherworldly Demons who found themselves coming under the furious offense of their ex-weapons were utterly frenzied. The pitiful plight that they were in made tears stream down their faces.
You know full well that we never intended to give our weapons away to you! What you are doing isn’t ‘humbly accepting’ our weapons but stealing them, alright?
A fair duel should mean all of us using zhenqi to fight with one another, but look at what you are doing!
Fair your head!
At this rate, it would almost be better if you had brought your tamed beasts out to bite us to death! At the very least, we wouldn’t have to face such humiliation…
Under the onslaught of weapons under Zhang Xuan’s control, the Otherworldly Demons fell one after another. In the blink of an eye, over thirty of them had already been slain. Witnessing such a sight before him, the Ancient Sage named Old Geezer Yu finally came to the limits of his tolerance.
“You… you’re courting death!”
His motive for having his subordinates challenge the human cultivators was to obtain the opportunity to enter the Hall of Great Accomplishment. However, with nearly all of his subordinates dead, what use did he have for the slots?
It was not as if he could enter the Hall of Great Accomplishment himself!
Hong long!
A ma.s.sive hand suddenly materialized in the air, sealing the s.p.a.ce surrounding the Hall of Great Accomplishment. An astounding might that seemed as if it could seal even the heavens rushed down from the sky, threatening to crush Zhang Xuan into minced meat.
“Powerful!”
Realizing the danger heading his way, Zhang Xuan drove his zhenqi desperately, hoping to flee as far as he could. However, he found his body completely bound in place. No matter how he struggled, he was unable to get away.
Ancient Sages were the most powerful existences on the Master Teacher Continent. Even the most resilient material in the world would be crushed under their imposing might. Given Zhang Xuan’s cultivation, he stood no chance against such a force.
Hula!
Just as Zhang Xuan was nearing his limits, the cold glint of a sword suddenly flashed through the air.
However, this sword glint was not aimed at the palm descending from the sky, and it did nothing to alleviate the tremendous pressure that Zhang Xuan was under. Instead, it was aimed at a void in s.p.a.ce.
Puhe!
The sound of a sword plunging right into flesh ripped through the air. Following which, fresh blood dripped from the void in s.p.a.ce.
It seemed like the old ancestor of the Zhang Clan had been biding his time to determine Old Geezer Yu’s location before making his move!
“You…” Old Geezer Yu shrieked in anger.
At the same time, the palm in the sky flickered a little before vanis.h.i.+ng into thin air.
Huhu!
Ripples diffused from a void in s.p.a.ce. Old Geezer Yu knew that he was in a disadvantageous position at the moment, so he fled without any hesitation.
“Haha, this sure is exhilarating!” the old ancestor of the Zhang Clan roared in hearty laughter.
It was extremely difficult to kill a cultivator who had already reached Ancient Sage. In truth, the two of them had fought with one another for many years, but there had been no conclusion to their battle. This time around, the old ancestor had managed to land a direct strike on Old Geezer Yu’s vitals. While it was insufficient to take down Old Geezer Yu once and for all, the latter would have to recuperate for quite a period of time.
The reason that he was able to do it was because his descendant had managed to provoke Old Geezer Yu into losing his temper, thus leading him into making a reckless move.
Lowering his head to look at the battlefield once more, he saw that all thirty of the powerful Otherworldly Demons had already collapsed to the ground as corpses.
A huge array of weapons had fallen into Zhang Xuan’s possession. They danced joyfully around him, as if concubines seeking imperial favor.
“You might be young, but your capabilities and wisdom are remarkable. Not bad!” the old ancestor of the Zhang Clan complimented.
Following which, a force slowly swept across the battlefield, gathering the blood droplets scattered over the ground. These crimson droplets converged together in the sky before being filled into a jade bottle.
“It’s due to you that I had the opportunity to severely wound Old Geezer Yu. As a senior of the Zhang Clan, I can’t allow your contributions to go unnoticed. I’ll bestow these five droplets of Ancient Sage blood to you!”
“Thank you, old ancestor!” Zhang Xuan accepted the jade bottle respectfully.
To be honest, he had no idea what the blood of an Ancient Sage could be used for. However, the fact that it could drive the Otherworldly Demons into a frenzy, going to the extent of accepting his challenge despite the risks that they would face, there was no doubt that it was an invaluable treasure.
“The blood of Otherworldly Demon Ancient Sages harnesses concentrated killing intent, so it might not be as useful to your cultivation. Besides, this is only your spoils of war and not my reward. As a senior, I can’t be too stingy with my reward. So, I’ll bestow this jade bottle to you as well. It contains five droplets of my blood. Use it well and strive to advance your cultivation to higher realms as soon as possible. I believe that you’ll be able to bring the Zhang Clan to greater heights!” the old ancestor of the Zhang Clan said.
Hula!
Right after those words were spoken, a jade bottle materialized in the air. Even before it approached Zhang Xuan, he could already feel tremendous power pulsating within the blood droplets within the jade bottle, as if they would combust into flames at any moment.
Even though Zhang Xuan’s bloodline had already been stripped from him, considering that it was the blood of an Ancient Sage from the same clan within the jade bottle, it was likely to be of far greater use to him than the blood of an Otherworldly Demon Ancient Sage.
“Xuan-er, hurry up and thank our old ancestor!” Sword Saint Xing reminded Zhang Xuan anxiously through telepathy.
“Thank you, old ancestor!” Zhang Xuan bowed deeply.
“There’s no need to stand on ceremony. This is what you deserve!” the old ancestor of the Zhang Clan said.
As the voice trailed to a halt, the imposing aura lingering in the air disappeared, as if it had never been there in the first place.
Knowing that the old ancestor had returned to hiding, Zhang Xuan heaved a sigh of relief.
There was no doubt that many Ancient Sages would have made their way into the Temple of Confucius in hopes of acquiring Kong s.h.i.+’s ultimate treasure. Given so, it would be best not to parade their strength around.
After all, it was always the tree that stood out from the others that would fall in the face of a furious gale.
If they unintentionally drew the ire of the other Ancient Sages, and the other Ancient Sages chose to gang up on them, they would be dead before they knew it.
Zhang Xuan sent a telepathic message over to Sword Saint Xing. “What is the use of the blood of an Ancient Sage?”
“Every droplet of Ancient Sage blood possesses an incredible amount of energy,” Sword Saint Xing explained with an excited gleam in his eyes. “Furthermore, it contains their comprehension of cultivation as an Ancient Sage as well. As such, if one could a.s.similate the blood of an Ancient Sage into one’s body, one’s cultivation will be able to improve by leaps and bounds, possibly reaching an unthinkable level!”
“a.s.similate?”
“That’s right. For example, if a mortal came into contact with a droplet of Ancient Sage blood and successfully a.s.similated it without exploding from all the power raging within his body, they would be able to advance from Fighter all the way to Great Sage at once!” Sword Saint Xing explained.
“This…” Zhang Xuan narrowed his eyes in shock.
It had taken him so much time, effort, and resources in order to advance from Fighter to Great Sage… and yet, a mere droplet of Ancient Sage blood was more than enough to do the same.
This was way too fearsome!
Of course, he also understood that it was just an example. Putting aside the fact that it was impossible for a mortal to a.s.similate the overwhelming power harnessed within the blood of an Ancient Sage, even if they somehow found a way to pull it off, their zhenqi would be extremely bloated from achieving breakthroughs in such a forceful manner.
As a result of that, their fighting prowess would be beneath that of an ordinary Great Sage, and it would be hard for them to push their cultivation further, considering their weak foundation.
“However, the true appeal of Ancient Sage blood lies not in the tremendous energy nor the comprehension of cultivation infused in it. What truly drives others frenzied over it is the power of the Ancient Sage’s Blood Reincarnation that the blood harnesses. If a cultivator sustains severe damage, as long as their soul didn’t dissipate on the spot, a single droplet of Ancient Sage blood will allow them to make a complete recovery. Its effects are so powerful that even a head lopped off could be reattached once more as long as the cultivator hasn’t breathed their last breath yet!” Sword Saint Xing explained.
“This…” Zhang Xuan’s body froze on the spot.
He could not even begin to describe his shock anymore.
Due to his Heaven’s Path zhenqi, he possessed miraculous recovery abilities that allowed him to swiftly heal from most injuries. Nevertheless, if someone lopped his head off, there was no way that he would have been able to recover from that kind of severe injury.
Yet, the blood of an Ancient Sage was able to heal such severe, near-death injuries. To put it in other words, every droplet of Ancient Sage blood was no different from an additional life!
It was no wonder the Otherworldly Demons had gotten so agitated over it. It was truly a priceless treasure!
“Father, Mother, I’ll give you one droplet each. It’s unlikely that I will use all five droplets here…” Recovering from his shock, Zhang Xuan uncorked the cap of the jade bottle and flicked his finger.
Two droplets of blood pulsating richly with power flew toward the Xingmeng Sword Saints.
It would be much better for him to give a droplet to each of his parents so that they would at least be able to protect themselves from harm. In any case, it was unlikely that he would use all five blood droplets there, so there was no harm in doing so.
There were unpredictable dangers lurking in the Temple of Confucius, and it would set his mind at ease if his parents had such a life preserving treasure with them.
“This…”
Not expecting their son to give them such an invaluable treasure without any hesitation, the Xingmeng Sword Saints exchanged glances with one another before clenching their fists tightly in agitation.
With such a son, what more could they wish for in the world?