Chapter 1748: Stone of Divine Crusade
Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97
A few breaths later, the two Sempiternal realm consummation Otherworldly Demons were killed on the spot.
Even without resorting to the Five Monarchs, the seedling, and the koi fish, Zhang Xuan was still able to subdue the two Otherworldly Demons with ease.
He hurled their corpses into his storage ring before proceeding deeper in.
What appeared before his eyes was a stately hall. Its walls were filled with paintings that emanated a warm glow. As soon as he stepped into the hall, he found a powerful pressure pressing down on him. Had his soul energy been weak, it would have been hard for him to take even a single step forward.
This is a good place to temper one’s soul! Zhang Xuan thought as he strolled leisurely around the hall.
The Hall of Great Accomplishment contained the Aeon of Ancient Sage, the energy required for one to achieve a breakthrough to Ancient Sage. The Hall of Lull contained a treasure that raised one’s Soul Depth. Clearly, the Hall of Divine Crusade was a place for one to temper one’s soul, thus strengthening one’s soul energy and soul span.
Wandering around the room, Zhang Xuan did not find anyone else around, and a frown emerged between his brows.
It was clear that the two Otherworldly Demons were serving as sentries to ward off any possible intruders from interfering in their business. As such, it was certain that there were more Otherworldly Demons doing something within the Subordinate Hall, perhaps scouring for the ultimate treasure there.
But why was there no one in sight?
“What’s in this hall?” Zhang Xuan asked Little Amulet telepathically.
Little Amulet had its memories sealed, and they would only awaken when it came to the areas corresponding to each memory. It was likely that it would know what was inside the Hall of Divine Crusade.
“The greatest treasure in the Hall of Divine Crusade is the Stone of Divine Crusade left behind by Kong s.h.i.+. It contains the lingering will of Kong s.h.i.+, and it’s extremely effective in strengthening one’s soul,” Little Amulet explained based on the memories it had awakened.
“Stone of Divine Crusade?” Zhang Xuan’s eyes lit up upon hearing those words. “Where is it?”
His soul cultivation had come to a halt after reaching Aureate Body realm consummation. If he could find the Stone of Divine Crusade, he might be able to push his soul cultivation a step further, perhaps even achieving a breakthrough to the Intuitive Impulse realm!
“It’s located right behind the Subordinate Hall. You’ll be able to see it after pa.s.sing through that door!” Little Amulet said as it wiggled its body to point out a direction.
“Alright!” Knowing the rough location of the Stone of Divine Crusade, Zhang Xuan swiftly made his way over with widened strides.
Walking out of the stately hall, he found himself standing before a relatively vast courtyard.
There were boulders all around the courtyard, forming a mini stone forest by its own.
A few Otherworldly Demons were sitting not too far away from Zhang Xuan. There were deep frowns on their faces, and some of them were scratching their heads in frustration, seemingly trying to figure out something incredibly profound.
At the very center of the stone forest was a stone platform. A spherical boulder was placed atop the stone platform, and it emanated a warm glow. A silhouette seemed to be dancing along the spherical boulder. Somehow, the silhouette appeared a little familiar.
Instead of rus.h.i.+ng forward to confront the Otherworldly Demons, Zhang Xuan hid himself and asked Little Amulet, “What are they doing?”
Most likely, the spherical boulder at the very center was the Stone of Divine Crusade that Little Amulet had mentioned. Why were the Otherworldly Demons squatting around the area instead of going right in to claim it?
“It’s not that they don’t want to enter the stone forest, but they are unable to do so. It may seem simple enough to walk into the stone forest and claim the Stone of Divine Crusade, but the truth is that there’s only a single way to enter the forest. All it takes is one wrong step to be completely devastated by sword qi!” Little Amulet harrumphed.
“Sword qi?” Zhang Xuan was taken aback
He quickly took another look and found that there were a couple of Otherworldly Demons lying by the side with their eyes tightly shut. They had already breathed their last breath.
“Do you know the correct path to entering the stone forest?” Zhang Xuan asked.
“I don’t!” Little Amulet replied with a shake of its head. “This is a trial left behind by Kong s.h.i.+ to test the later generations, so there’s no way he would grant me knowledge of the answer. However, it’s likely to have something to do with what you encountered in the previous domain. Take a closer look. Each of those boulders contain a certain movement of a technique. As long as you can sequence these movements correctly, you should be able to enter the stone forest without any trouble!”
“I see,” Zhang Xuan replied contemplatively.
He took a look at the boulders around the stone forest and found that they were made of a similar material to the other boulders in the outer dimension. It seemed like there was some kind of move infused into them.
Flaws!
Having prior experience tackling such a puzzle, Zhang Xuan swiftly gathered all of the movements in the stone boulders and compiled them into a manual in the Library of Heaven’s Path.
As there was nothing that he could reference, there were a lot of mistakes.
He altered the compiled manual according to the movements of the Otherworldly Demons in the stone forest, and the number of flaws immediately decreased.
He continued to alter the manual over a hundred times more before the sequence was finally corrected to its flawless form.
“Alright, I am done deducing the sequence. Will I be able to pa.s.s through the stone forest by following this sequence?” Zhang Xuan asked once more for verification.
“As long as the sequence is correct, you should be able to get in without any trouble. However, there cannot be any mistakes at all. Otherwise, you’ll have difficulties overcoming Kong s.h.i.+’s sword qi,” Little Amulet remarked worriedly.
Zhang Xuan nodded in response.
Going through the sequence once more, he was just about to enter the stone forest when he suddenly halted.
The movements of the boulders came together to form a complete technique. However… what if the technique in this stone forest was flawed?
He was confident in the competence of the Library of Heaven’s Path. Any technique that had gone through the verification of the Library of Heaven’s Path had to be in its most perfect form. However, there was no guarantee that the person who had set up the stone forest would be correct!
Such a situation had happened earlier in the stone forest dimension! The errors made by the silhouette there could still be corrected, but errors here could easily result in his death!
“Infernal Blacksaber!”
After a moment of hesitation, Zhang Xuan whipped out the Infernal Blacksaber.
Even if he came under a barrage of sword qi, the Ancient Sage Infernal Blacksaber should still be able to withstand it.
Following which, he summoned the Golden Origin Cauldron and the Five Monarchs. “I’ll be entering now. The rest of you, follow behind me. If any of the Otherworldly Demons dare to wreak havoc, kill them without any hesitation! Don’t let any of them escape!”
Then, he went through the sequence that he had derived using the Library of Heaven’s Path once more before making his way in.
So far, he had not found the exit of the stone forest dimension. However, going by the rules of the other dimensions, it was likely that the exit was amid the boulders that reflected the technique that he had just grasped.
After all, the crux of each dimension had always been the key to obtaining the ultimate treasure in the Subordinate Hall! If he had managed to get to the crux of the dimension, he would have known the correct sequence to clearing the stone forest before him and acquired the Stone of Divine Crusade.
Since he was already there, it was too late for him to return to the stone forest dimension and experiment. Thus, he could only take a step at a time and pray fervently that the technique that Kong s.h.i.+ had personally created had no flaws at all!
Zhang Xuan walked up to the very first boulder and brushed past it. However, he did not invoke the attack from the stone forest. He quickly continued proceeding deeper in.
“You…”
Taking a few more steps, he finally stumbled upon the Otherworldly Demons, who were scratching their heads for a solution. Too lazy to even make a move on them, Zhang Xuan simply flitted past them and proceeded ahead.
“Heh! A fool rus.h.i.+ng to his death…”
Seeing the human who had appeared out of nowhere charging in without the slightest hesitation, the Otherworldly Demons sneered coldly.
It had taken the deaths of several of their companions in order for them to comprehend the rules of the stone forest. They knew that they could not mess around in the stone forest, or else they would suffer tragic deaths before they knew it.
On the other hand, that fellow had actually charged randomly around the area as soon as he arrived. This worked in their favor, too. They could use that fellow as a sacrificial p.a.w.n to help them scout out the road.
With such thoughts in mind, they gazed upon the young man with contemptuous smiles on their faces. Yet, contrary to their expectations, the young man proceeded deeper and deeper into the stone forest, not sustaining the slightest damage at all. Slowly, the smiles on their faces faded.
“This isn’t right… He seems to know the correct path! Quick, follow him!”
No matter how foolish they might have been, the truth could not have been more apparent after seeing this sight. It was obvious that the young man knew the right path! Thus, the leading Otherworldly Demon barked out an order and quickly traced Zhang Xuan’s trail.
However, after taking a few steps, they suddenly felt an intense killing intent pouring down on them. Turning around, they saw a bunch of beasts and artifacts charging up to them.
“Get them!” Ding Ding bellowed coldly, and the hordes of beasts and artifacts charged forth.
Piliipala!
A few minutes later, the Otherworldly Demons were left lying on the ground, their eyes bulging in disbelief even after they had breathed their last breath.