Chapter 299 - 306: Really Not Humble At All! (Third Update)
The Dao’s overall world can be divided into three thousand, each practitioner has their pathway, and Monk Yuanzheng’s means were somewhat underhanded.
Yang Zhen was more and more surprised. To be able to use a Hillside spring to lay a lethal curse was remarkable. Not only did Monk Yuanzheng have an incredibly profound understanding of the ancestor land of the lord of Ice Martial City but he was also highly proficient in the Ksitigarbha Skill. Despite it being only one branch, it captivated the absolute majority of people.
To Yang Zhen’s mind, the methods of Monk Yuanzheng were excessively insidious, with no means to offset the causal karma engendered by such devious strategies. Therefore, at this point, despite possibly becoming very powerful, Yuanzheng was also enduring the agony brought about by the sinister aura.
Under the orders of the lord of Ice Martial City, the Ice Martial Guards had been dispatched to fill the Hillside spring. Yang Zhen accompanied the city lord to the ancestral stele, his eyes lighting up at the sight.
Compared to Monk Yuanzheng, the layout of this three-way situation arranged by the ancestor of the city lord of Ice Martial City was evidently one of the most righteous Ksitigarbha Skill arrangements in all of heaven and earth Upon seeing the location of the ancestral stele, even Yang Zhen privately nodded in approval.
The honor of being the most accomplished in academic examination goes to none other than him. Moreover, he managed to cultivate successfully within the Spiritual Studies Palace, a grand sect teeming with the world’s talent, and made comprehensive studies of Spiritual Studies Palace’s secret arts. His’ understanding of Ksitigarbha Skill was well beyond Monk Yuanzheng’s – it was merely taken advantage of by the latter’s opportunism.
All eyes were on Yang Zhen, filled with curiosity. These people had seen the ancestral stele more than once, yet not matter how they looked at it they could not understand it. Hence the person attracting the most attention was Yang Zhen. 6
Noticing that Yang Zhen was nodding in agreement, the city lord of Ice Martial City nervously asked, “Friend Yang, what is it? Can this leakage of talent qi be repaired?”
The ancestral stele was not small. Looking up, Yang Zhen observed it to be around thirty feet tall. The inscriptions of talent qi etched upon it had almost been worn away to the point of invisibility, yet he could still feel waves of the magnificent talent qi emanating from it, enveloping the entire lord’s manor. Yang Zhen didn’t respond to the city lord’s question, but closed his eyes slowly his expression filled with a touch of confusion. He then commenced to scrutinize the inscriptions of talent qi on the stele using his divine sense.
The inscriptions were quite ancient. Before long, Yang Zhen opened his eyes. Admiring them, he said, “What a magnificent and eternal piece of writing!” With a shudder, the crowd surrounding the city lord of Ice Martial City was taken aback. They looked at Yang Zhen with amazement written all over their faces.
The inscriptions on the stele were faint and getting fainter. If Yang Zhen had come a fewyears earlier and managed to read the inscriptions, the crowd would not have been surprised. But now, even if there was only one or two characters it was extremely blurred. This was after many people had already seen the rubbings of the Ice Martial City lord’s stele. For someone who had never seen it before, it would be impossible to decipher what was inscribed upon it.
But with just a glance, Yang Zhen could read the entire thing and moreover, he did it with his eyes closed, using the power of his divine sense. This ability shocked everyone present.
“Can you see clearly?” Han Yan’er looked at Yang Zhen with an astonished expression, her eyes flashing with amazement.
Yang Zhen was taken aback, and asked, “Can’t you see it clearly? To me, it appears quite obvious.”
The people were speechless. The city lord of Ice Martial City said with a bitter smile, “Friend Yang, with your profound abilities, you are unparalleled. In fact you are the first person in recent years who has been able to read the entire inscription without having seen the rubbings first.”
Yang Zhen suddenly realized and said, “Perhaps it’s because my comprehension is a bit high.”
Upon hearing this, everyone paused while Han Yan’er, holding back her laughter, said, “You are really not modest at all.”
Yang Zhen laughed and said, “Modesty is my innate nature, and being low-key is my characteristic. I never tell lies, of course, I never tell truths either!” Seeing Yang Zhen aimlessly blinking his eyes which were directed at Han Yan’er’s leg, the city lord, with a wry smile, asked, “Friend Yang, do you have a way to crack it?”
Yang Zhen nodded his head and said, “Unraveling it is not difficult, the challenge lies in its reproduction and in teaching Monk Yuanzheng a lesson Otherwise, by merely covering the Hillside spring, you relieve the monk of his malicious aura. What would that look like! It would be as if the Sao Saint was inferior to that so-called Monk Yuanzheng.”
The Lord of Ice Martial City shuddered, nodding his head hurriedly and said, ‘Indeed, indeed. That demon monk is truly deplorable. If Young Friend Yang could solve the chronic problem of the Ancestral Tablet, while also teaching that demon monk a lesson, it couldn’t possibly be better.”
Yang Zhen glanced at the Lord of Ice Martial City, then turned to Han Yan’er and asked, “Little Daoist, may I borrow your longsword?”
Han Yan’er looked at Yang Zhen with suspicion and handed her longsword to him, she said with a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes, “This longsword is called Sun Shadow. When it appears, it displays an overwhelming aura, which those without an equally overwhelming aura cannot extract its full power. Are you sure you want to use it?”
Hearing this, the Lord of Ice Martial City hesitantly suggested, “Or, Young Friend Yang, you could choose a longsword from the Lord’s mansion instead?” Yang Zhen received the longsword from Han Yan’er, saying indifferently, “In this world, there is no longsword that I, Sao Saint, cannot handle… except for that sour sword, Moon Shadow, of course.”
“The Moon Shadow Sword?” The Lord of Ice Martial City’s face changed, he exclaimed, “Are you referring to the sacred weapon in the Flower Spirit Girl’s possession?”
Yang Zhen nodded and said, “That sword is not really a big deal, it’s just a bit cold and somewhat stubborn. I don’t really like it that much.”
Hiss—!
The Lord of Ice Martial City took a deep breath and exclaimed, “Young Friend Yang indeed has extraordinary talent! That longsword is an extremely rare sacred weapon. I must admit that I lack the power to wield such a sword.”
A glint flashed in Han Yan’er’s eyes as she muttered to herself, “Sacred weapons have spirits and choose their own masters. Sun Shadow is also a sacred weapon. If I have the opportunity, I would like to witness the elegance of the Moon Shadow Sword.”
Yang Zhen curled his lips slightly. This little Daoist was good in all aspects especially her great legs, but her only flaw was that she was too combative.’ She hadn’t even met the Flower Spirit Girl yet and was already thinking about having a duel. If they do meet one day, it would surely be lively.
When Sun Shadow faced off against Moon Shadow, what kind of astonishing and brilliant radiance would it produce!
While thinking about this, Yang Zhen unsheathed the Sun Shadow longsword and slowly approached the Ancestral Tablet, looking up quietly at the natural patterns etched on it.
Everyone watched Yang Zhen with curiosity, their breaths held and eyes wide open, fearing they would miss any detail.
If they could grasp how Yang Zhen was going to solve the Ancestral Tablet’s problem, their subsequent cultivation under the shadow of the Ancestral Tablet would surely be much more productive.
After a long period of no action from Yang Zhen, everyone began to look at each other with unease.
The white-bearded elder and the black-bearded elder exchanged a glance questioning, “What is Young Friend Yang trying to do?”
The black-bearded elder pondered for a moment and said hesitantly, “Maybe he’s trying to re-inscribe the spirit-inscription? After all, there’s already an extremely famous essay on the Ancestral Tablet. Could he be trying to inscribe a new spirit-inscription?”
The Lord of Ice Martial City’s eyes lit up at this revelation and he nodded, saying, “If that’s what he is aiming for, it would indeed be the best outcome However…”
Han Jingtian laughed heartily and said with an amused expression, “I fear that given Young Friend Yang’s nature, he wouldn’t simply re-inscribe someone else’s work for their sake. Even though the previous author is our revered ancestor, re-inscribing someone else’s spirit-inscription and trying to achieve the same effect would be a daunting task.”
The gaze of Han Yan’er, which was fixed on Yang Zhen’s figure, suddenly intensified. She murmured softly to herself, “Could he really be attempting to inscribe a new spirit-inscription?”