Longzang

Chapter 52 The Immortal Sword Unsheathed
As expected, this turbulent time brought many twists and turns.

Zhang Sheng held the jade paper, his face growing increasingly grim as he read it. Wei Yuan could only stand silently to the side, awaiting the coming storm.

After reading it, Zhang Sheng snorted, slammed the jade paper on the table, and said, "You haven't even figured out your own Dao foundation yet, what are you studying this Yin-Yang Dao foundation for? Have you been very free lately?"

"I just feel there's a slight possibility..."

Zhang Sheng replied resolutely, "There is absolutely no possibility!"

"Then... I'll return it tomorrow."

Zhang Sheng's expression softened somewhat, and he said, "So many people have been working tirelessly for you. Do you think the pills you take every day just fall from the sky? At this time, you should also work hard so as not to disappoint those who have helped you!"

Wei Yuan quickly admitted his mistake. Zhang Sheng, as usual, checked Wei Yuan's recent studies and found that nothing could stump him, so his expression softened slightly. He left three bottles of Qi-Nourishing Pills and rode away on his sword.

After Zhang Sheng left, Wei Yuan broke out in a cold sweat, secretly relieved. Fortunately, the jade paper he had taken out today explained how Yin and Yang energies could be integrated into the Dao foundation, which could be considered part of the Great Dao of Yin and Yang. His senior brother had given it to him without thinking that day, and unexpectedly, it had saved his life today.

After Zhang Sheng left, Wei Yuan broke out in a cold sweat, his hands trembling as he picked up the jade paper. Just as he was about to put it back in its place, he suddenly heard Zhang Sheng say in a low voice behind him, "What are you feeling guilty about?"

Wei Yuan trembled, and the jade paper fell to the ground.

Zhang Sheng stood in the courtyard, his face hidden in the shadows of the tree canopy, making his expression impossible to discern.

In a life-or-death situation, Wei Yuan had a sudden inspiration and said, "Actually, I didn't understand some lessons, but I didn't dare to tell you. I just wanted to look up more classic texts so that I could figure it out myself."

“Tell me everything you don’t understand,” Zhang Sheng said, his expression softening considerably as he sat down at the table.

Wei Yuan then took out a brush and ink, and first drew a pattern on the paper that was neither quite round nor quite egg-shaped. He then added two dots inside, as if the egg had two yolks. He then said, "This month, the teacher of the theory of heaven and earth said that an unseen large star entered the space between several large stars. He said that although this star is invisible, it can be calculated. This diagram is his calculated trajectory of the large star. These two dots are said to be very important, for the following reasons..."

Then Wei Yuan listed countless numbers and equations, which couldn't fit on a single page. Fortunately, the jade paper allowed him to switch pages at will, and Wei Yuan wrote seven pages before he finally finished writing the basic equations taught in class.

Although he didn't understand these contents in class, he memorized them all through rote memorization.

Zhang Sheng watched quietly.

Wei Yuan finally finished writing, then looked at Zhang Sheng expectantly and said, "I only wrote these down but I don't understand them. Please teach me, teacher."

Zhang Sheng reached for a teacup, but found that there was no tea on the table. Wei Yuan didn't drink tea, but Ji Liuli did, though she never gave any to Wei Yuan.

Zhang Sheng then wanted to take the folding fan, but it was not there.

Zhang Sheng looked around and saw that the table in the courtyard was so clean that it only contained paper and pen.

Zhang Sheng calmly withdrew his outstretched hand, remaining composed, and said slowly, "This is a closely guarded secret of the Heavenly Mystery Hall. There are many preliminary steps and procedures that he didn't tell you, so it's normal that you don't understand it at first glance. Right now, your priority is to learn how to distinguish good and bad fortune in Body Forging, Qi Luck Theory, and Technique Theory. Everything else can wait. I have other matters to attend to now, so I'll take my leave. Next time I come, I will test your divination skills, and you can do a fortune telling for me then."

Zhang Sheng was always one to come and go as he pleased. He immediately stood up, turned on his sword, and left, giving Wei Yuan no chance to stop him.

Only after the flash of sword light had hurriedly disappeared into the distance did Wei Yuan withdraw his gaze, thinking to himself, "So even my teacher has things he doesn't know."

Does this kind of teacher seem more approachable?
However, the assignment Zhang Sheng gave before leaving made Wei Yuan a little nervous. After all, Wei Yuan felt that he hadn't studied divination theory well enough to understand it. But since Zhang Sheng had already given the assignment, Wei Yuan had to prepare in advance to avoid being scolded again.

There are many kinds of divination techniques, and Wei Yuan used the most basic tortoise shell divination to cast a divination for Zhang Sheng. He did not have tortoise shells at hand, but there were many materials that could be used as substitutes. So he found a piece of spiritual wood, sincerely prayed to heaven and earth, and then infused it with his Taoist power. He took a piece of red charcoal from the furnace, heated the spiritual wood, and observed the cracks in it.

The lines are scattered and messy, sharp rather than rounded. According to Wei Yuan's teachings, this represents financial loss and misfortune. Simply put, it means losing money without averting disaster.

It seems he hadn't mastered the tortoise shell divination technique and it was unusable. Wei Yuan decided to try the Spirit Witch Song, a divination method originating from the Yuwu tribe, which was very accurate.

Wei Yuan grabbed a handful of incense ash rich in spiritual energy, found something Zhang Sheng had used, chanted a shamanic song, and then sprinkled the incense ash onto the object Zhang Sheng had used.

The incense ash ignited the object as soon as it touched it. Blood seeped from Wei Yuan's fingertips and he smeared it on his eyes. In his red vision, he saw a cauldron and a furnace, both engulfed in raging flames. "A cauldron and a furnace?" Wei Yuan blurted out, having recently studied too many secret manuals.

Wei Yuan secretly rejoiced that he had tried it beforehand; if he had calculated this divination in front of Zhang Sheng, he would probably have been in serious trouble.

"Things from other races are indeed unreliable," Wei Yuan thought to himself before switching to the orthodox Qi Observation Technique of the Dao Palace.

This time, he chose a book written by Zhang Sheng himself as a medium. He noticed a clear aura rising from the book, but the lower half was entangled in black energy and gradually sank down, eventually merging with the black energy.

What does this hexagram mean? Does it mean willingly degrading oneself and going along with the crowd?
Although that's what the divination book says, Wei Yuan felt that if he told Zhang Sheng this, his teacher might be willingly degenerating, and he himself would definitely be in danger of being killed.

Wei Yuan was quite worried. He had thought divination was just a minor skill, but he hadn't expected to find even the basics so difficult. Luckily, he had done a few divinations beforehand; it seemed he would have to cram on the theories of divination in the next few days. Otherwise, if every divination was inaccurate, wouldn't his teacher scold him to death?

It's quiet at night.

Zhang Sheng flew into a majestic mountain on his sword. The mountain was full of caves, many of which emitted flames. Earth fire flowed everywhere, but the mountaintop was shrouded in a hazy blue light.

Zhang Sheng landed at the mountainside, precisely at the boundary between the blue light and the earth fire. Standing here, one could sense the scorching heat below and the endless icy cold above.

At this moment, a burly, dark-skinned cultivator hurried over. Upon seeing Zhang Sheng, his face lit up with joy, and he reached out to take Zhang Sheng's hand, exclaiming happily, "I am Yu Zhizhuo, and I'm so glad to have finally welcomed my junior brother!"

Zhang Sheng calmly took a step back, avoiding the outstretched hand. Yu Zhizhuo didn't mind either, laughing heartily and saying self-deprecatingly, "I deal with magical artifacts every day; I was just momentarily excited. My apologies!"

Zhang Sheng said, "It's alright, Senior Brother's business is more important."

"Very well! I've heard that Junior Brother possesses the Immortal Sword Slaying Void after cultivating his Immortal Foundation?"

Zhang Sheng said, "That's right. This sword has never been tested since it was forged."

The cultivator was overjoyed and said, "That's wonderful! I've consulted the classics, and in terms of sharpness, the Immortal Sword that cuts through the void ranks among the top three! It seems this task is none other than yours, Junior Brother!"

Zhang Sheng said, "I dare not say whether it will be in the top three, but its sharpness is indeed sharp, and there are few things it cannot cut through. Senior brother, could you tell me the specifics of this mission? What do you want me to kill? A powerful demon that has existed for many years, a ferocious alien race, or a demon from beyond the heavens?"

"Junior brother, don't rush, just follow me!" Yu Zhizhu led Zhang Sheng upwards, into the hazy blue light. The surrounding environment immediately changed from scorching hot to extremely cold. Even Zhang Sheng had to secretly use his Dao power to resist it, but Yu Zhizhu was completely unaware.

Zhang Sheng felt a slight chill. This cultivator was also at the Foundation Establishment stage, and their minor cultivation levels were the same, but it seemed that Yu Zhizhuo's Dao power was still above his own. The Taichu Palace was indeed full of hidden talents; no one could be underestimated.

As Yu Zhizhuo walked, he said, "Our Heavenly Crafts Hall specializes in Yin-Yang weapon forging techniques. The lower half of the peak draws on natural earth fire, while the upper half uses the power of earth fire to cultivate a wisp of extraterrestrial Nether Flame. One of the three great immortal artifacts in the palace was forged from Nether Flame."

Yu Gong proceeded to describe the scenery of the Heavenly Crafts Hall in a rambling manner. In fact, the magnificent spectacle of ice and fire at the Heavenly Crafts Hall was a famous sight in the Taichu Palace, which Zhang Sheng already knew. He had no interest in the other minor sights, but he still had to show sufficient respect to his patron. Since he didn't need to reply, he could just listen.

The two quickly arrived at a side hall. Even before they reached the hall, Zhang Sheng felt a fierce aura rushing towards him!

Zhang Sheng was not alarmed but rather delighted. His pupils opened like ripples on water, revealing a faint, hazy gray aura. Even the Heavenly Crafting Hall couldn't suppress the ferocious aura of this beast; it seemed a great battle was imminent. He hadn't properly cultivated in a long time, and this battle came at the perfect time to hone his sword.

Yu Zhizhuo led Zhang Sheng into the side hall, where several disciples of the Heavenly Crafts Hall had already formed a large array, each seated according to their star positions, surrounding an object in the hall. The astonishing evil aura was released from this object.

This object is a metal lump with an uneven surface, about the size of a water tank.

Yu Zhizhuo's eyes lit up when he saw the metallic lump. He rubbed his hands together and said to Zhang Sheng, "This is meteorite iron from outer space. It took the True Immortals a lot of effort to pull it down. This thing is indestructible and cannot be cut with great magic power, as that would contaminate it and change its properties. Looking throughout the palace, only Junior Brother Zhang, who is at the Foundation Establishment stage, can shoulder this heavy responsibility!"

Xu Zhizhu stepped aside and said, "I would like to ask my junior brother to cut this into a square!"

The disciples of the Heavenly Crafts Hall were also filled with anticipation, eager to witness the legendary immortal sword.

(End of this chapter)