Chapter 796: Chapter 019 Ancient Divine Weapon
The setting sun was like water, the cold wind like a knife.
Ye Kongxing, Hua Qiudao, and the others were filled with an endless sense of shock.
It was as if ordinary people witnessed the living descent of divine beings, or as if Cultivators saw an unparalleled divine technique’s secret manual in a moment of enlightenment.
Calmness, composure, and other such emotions had completely abandoned them.
It was as if their lifelong cultivation of character and temperament had never existed.
They were excited, exhilarated; they were impassioned, frenzied; they were also shocked, anxious, uncertain, and expectant.
It was an incredibly complex mood, one that Ye Kongxing and the others had never felt in their life until now, but their current expressions said it all.
Under the setting sun, amidst the cold wind, the ancient Divine Weapons in Zhou Yan’s hands all burst forth with dazzling brilliance, as if the Nine Heavens Divine Beings were about to awaken, with each Divine Weapon possessing a powerful and mysterious soul.
Following the Ganjiang Sword, Zhou Yan had seen many mythical treasures, which likewise left him incredibly shaken.
Zhou Yan had once restored a replica of the Kunlun Mirror, and even the replica had the ability to freeze time momentarily, much like the Thunder God Fire Sword Dao that could lock down a person’s abilities, as if pausing time itself.
Such power was truly terrifying.
Zhou Yan had also restored a peculiar stone similar to the Heavenly Dao Soul Stone, which he deduced to be a broken piece of the Heavenly Repair Stone. In it, Zhou Yan sensed the divinity of five-colored radiance and witnessed an old tale of a Female Sky Demon Cultivator slaying a black dragon, piling up reed ash, laboring for the lifeforms of the world.
Zhou Yan also saw disasters of the past like the Four Extremes collapsing, the Nine Provinces fracturing, the world falling into chaos, the earth unable to support, fires burning eternally, waters flooding ceaselessly, ferocious beasts preying on the vulnerable populace, and fierce birds preying on the old and weak. He saw this Female Taoist using the stone to repair the barriers of space and mend the sky.
With each scene, Zhou Yan felt as if he were immersed in a cycle of time, his body and mind purified.
Beyond that, the most miraculous was the Pagoda belonging to Hua Qiudao.
Upon restoration, Zhou Yan sensed Divinity and discovered that this treasure was truly the Linglong Treasure Tower, one of the world’s Immortal Soldiers, albeit equally damaged.
This Linglong Tower could capture demons and devils, suppress ghosts and malevolent spirits. Originally a prized treasure of the Heavenly Realm, it possessed immense and unrivaled power, said to be capable of subduing all manner of demons, devils, and ghosts, and in times of need, even Immortal Gods could be contained.
Within the Linglong Tower, there were seven unparalleled Magic Treasures: the Three-legged Golden Crow, the Gui Xian Sword, the Shocking God Spear, the Qiankun Ruler, the Sky Net Umbrella, the World-Purifying Duster, and the Sky Battle Spear.
The most magical aspect of the Linglong Tower was not the treasures within, but that it contained an alternate world akin to the mustard seed cosmos in the Mirror of Good Acceptance. It appeared to have seven levels, yet needed not seven, manifesting the variety of Taoist transformations. This was bestowed upon the Pagoda Heavenly King Li Jing by the Randeng Taoist from the original awakening cave of Mount Lingjiu, used to suppress the Nine-tailed Jade Fox. Eventually, for unknown reasons, it was lost to the mortal realm, and its whereabouts unknown to anyone...
Ancient records noted the loss of the Linglong Tower. Yet, unexpectedly, in the ruins of the Thirty-Three Heavens, it was picked up by Hua Qiudao.
Zhou Yan had exhausted countless efforts, and upon understanding the Linglong Treasure Tower, he was frightened and immensely shocked, even harboring a fleeting thought of claiming it for himself.
But this thought disappeared quickly, as it seemed that such objects with Immortal Divinity had an innate ability to choose their owners. Whoever held it in their hands would come into great fortune and escape disaster unscathed.
To attempt seizing it was unrealistic; even in the Ancient Times, such ancient Divine Weapons could not be taken from their original owners, and the present time would be no different.
It was like having the Xuanyuan Ancestor within Zhou Yan himself—how could anyone take it away?
Zhou Yan thought of the rich power of Merit within Hua Qiudao and figured that perhaps it was precisely because of such an upright and selfless person that this discarded Immortal Weapon would choose a new master.
"These elders, every one of them alive is a figure of astonishing talent, most possessing ancient, damaged Immortal Soldiers, likely very aberrant. Should they step onto the Sword Burial Ancestor Star, each one would probably be no less than Zhou Gucheng and the like. Should they advance further, they might even surpass Chen’s combat power."
"The ancient seals and suppressions on Earth are so formidable; it’s like someone accustomed to Earth’s gravity arriving on the Moon, where the gravity is minuscule. A person who could leap one meter high on Earth can naturally leap three meters on the Moon. Similarly, beneath the ancient suppression, these Cultivators can still exhibit the greatest combat power even in the Refining God and Returning Void Realm. Once free from the ancient suppression, upon reaching the Sword Burial Ancestor Star—this would be the most dazzling batch of geniuses!"
Such thoughts crossed Zhou Yan’s mind, and so, when he looked at the elders again, his heart suddenly held something different.
This scrutinizing gaze, however, made the group of elders somewhat inexplicably frightened, though they didn’t understand why.
"Fellow Daoists, I am somewhat exhausted for the moment. If there are more of such Magic Treasures, it’s not too late to bring them to me after I’ve rested, and I can help restore them. Of course, if other elders possess such Divine Weapons, I can likewise assist in their repair. You may inform each other about this—of course, you can also ’advertise’ it as appropriate, as for the means of advertisement, you understand."
Zhou Yan said with a smile.
This smile was like a wolf eyeing a flock of sheep.
Subconsciously, Zhou Yan regarded these elders as the next true core power of the Thunder Expansion Sacred Land.
Even Zhou Yan had fantasized that one day he would have the Linglong Tower repaired, and when a great power from the Jiang family came to attack, they would be suppressed by the tower until they were no better than pigs and dogs. Surely that would be extremely satisfying.
"Linglong Tower, Kunlun Mirror, East Emperor Bell, Heaven-Opening Axe, Demon Refining Pot, Shennong Cauldron, Nuwa Stone..."
"This Ancestor Land, the cultivators are alright, but its ancient divine weapons, they are truly twisted."
"If I could also get one, repair it, I could immediately become a Slaughter Saint!"
Zhou Yan could hardly contain his excitement.
He already wanted to immediately set foot on the ruins of the Thirty-Three Heavens, to search for the lost ’Ancient Divine Weapons’.
But reason kept him calm, and he didn’t act on impulse. At least, he had to put these aside until his mission of imparting teachings was completed.
"Fellow Daoist Zhou Yan is indeed noble and virtuous, so sincere in helping us repair the Ancient Divine Weapons. It is truly touching. We have nothing with which to repay you, but we will make sure that these deeds are fully spread throughout the Cultivation World."
"I’m particularly good at generating publicity. As the Immeasurable Venerable, I was just about to go to Pan River Land, so I might as well accidentally reveal a bit of the Pangu Banner’s might, scare those good-for-nothing brats a little."
"Hehe, except for showing off like this, there’s nothing else I like to do more. But there are some high-and-mighty Taoists who really don’t give face. To make them believe, even if you give it to them for free, they remain suspicious. It’s a perfect chance for me to trick them a bit, let them truly experience the wonderful taste of being fooled..."
A group of unscrupulous old Taoists immediately became lively in spirit.
Zhou Yan looked at these people somewhat speechlessly, finally understanding how apt Hua Qiudao’s helpless expression had been.
Indeed, this was a group of disrespectful old cultivators who saw through the Red Dust. They were childlike, thick-skinned, and extremely ’shameless’.
Zhou Yan could even imagine if these people were restored to their youth and saw the world’s most breathtakingly beautiful Fairy, they would rush up and say, "Fairy, please wait. Your feathered robe is wrinkled, and your little buttocks are showing. Allow this old Taoist to straighten it out for you. No need to thank me, just call me ’Lei Feng’..."
One could imagine what kind of effect that would be...
"These people... their talents are truly great. Well, if they were willing to follow me, I would take them to the Sword Burial Ancestor Star and the other high-level planes. As for deceiving people... after all, they aren’t deceiving me, so let them be."
Zhou Yan considered it for a while and his face darkened a bit, but after some thought, he ultimately couldn’t part with their heaven-defying talents and the damaged Immortal Soldiers.
Soon enough, these people cheerfully departed. Naturally, when they left, they also left behind the secret manuals of their Sects for Zhou Yan to review, and then waited for the Immortal Pool lecture ten days later.
This way, at least Zhou Yan could understand the Cultivation status of the various Great Sects, to avoid any mistakes in his lecture.
In this regard, the cultivators did not hesitate, nor did they think that Zhou Yan was trying to get their secrets. After all, Zhou Yan’s abilities were well known, their secret manuals couldn’t even exchange for a fraction of the Ancient Divine Weapon’s restoration power, let alone Zhou Yan had restored at least nearly thirty percent of the original capabilities of each damaged Ancient Divine Weapon. This was truly remarkable.
Everyone had immense respect for Zhou Yan, even elevating him to the status of Lee Ran, with the same reverence and awe.
After receiving Zhou Yan’s instructions, these old cultivators bid farewell and departed, leaving only three old Taoists from the Shushan Taoist Sect and Hua Qiudao and Heavenly Sword Daoist Yang Qingtan at the scene.
"Senior Uncle, is this sword, which cannot connect with my blood and spirit, repairable?"
Yang Qingtan was very patient. While the old cultivators were eager to offer their Magic Treasures, he had quietly waited. Now the time had come, he finally spoke up and asked.
"This sword of yours is indeed quite special, and not suited for you. However, I had sensed the condition earlier but did not speak openly, to avoid the impression that I harbored intentions of claiming it. Now that you’re asking, I will tell you plainly, this sword actually has a connection with my blood and spirit. One reason for my return this time was to seek out the Fragments of the Xuanyuan Sword, although now such an aura is hard to grasp. As for repairing it, I can only restore the ancient Array Patterns on the sword, recovering two to three tenths of its basic capabilities, roughly the same as their Magic Treasures.
The Divinity within requires the growth of the sword itself and the combination of other Fragments."
Zhou Yan thought for a moment and then explained in detail.
"I see. Senior Uncle, please accept this sword then."
Upon hearing Zhou Yan’s explanation, Yang Qingtan did not hesitate in the least and immediately handed over his personal sword to Zhou Yan.
Zhou Yan was taken aback by his straightforward action.
However, Yang Qingtan spoke sincerely, "Senior Uncle, the Pangu Banner, Linglong Tower, Kunlun Mirror, East Emperor Bell, even the Heaven-Opening Axe that you’ve repaired before, which one isn’t stronger than my damaged half a sword? Yet Senior Uncle’s vision is clear, possessing only respect and admiration for these Ancient Divine Weapons, free of any desire.
This, I believe, the old Taoists who have a blood connection with their treasures could vaguely sense, so what about Senior Uncle’s character is there not to trust?"