Chapter 798: Chapter 021 Sensing Xuan Yuan Qi
Shushan Taoist Sect.
For several consecutive days, Zhou Yan had been helping the old cultivators on Earth repair ancient magic treasures, and his fame quickly spread throughout the cultivation world.
In just three to four days, Zhou Yan’s reputation had soared in the cultivation world and was known by the vast majority of cultivators.
Initially, many cultivators were skeptical, unable to believe that there was someone in the current era capable of repairing such damaged divine weapons from ancient immortals.
However, gradually, more and more of the older generation of cultivators began to visit the Taoist Sect where Zhou Yan was located; thus, more and more facts proved that Zhou Yan’s capabilities were not mere rumors.
As a result, more cultivators came, and almost the majority began to understand Zhou Yan’s identity; knowing that he was Lee Ran’s brother, all doubts slowly began to dissipate.
After all, Lee Ran was a legend, once symbolizing invincibility.
Being the brother of such a person who could single-handedly break the Heavenly Pivot Ancient Town and who was also a powerful returnee from the Outer Star Domain, how could he be mediocre?
Many cultivators thought this way, and even those who did not intend to set foot in the Kunlun Immortal Pool or listen to Zhou Yan’s teachings were stirred.
After all, at this stage in their cultivation, the possibility of advancing further was slim, but listening to a sermon—even if they gained nothing—wouldn’t necessarily have drawbacks.
Moreover, since Zhou Yan had returned from the Outer Domain, his insights, among other things, would definitely be different; interacting with him to broaden their perspectives seemed beneficial.
Originally, not many cultivators were willing to participate in the seminar at the Immortal Pool, but suddenly the number of registrants increased sharply.
...
After once again repairing a fairly decent Ancient Sword Fish Intestine, Zhou Yan let out a breath of stale air and handed it over to the middle-aged cultivator in front of him. Not minding his excitement and gratitude, Zhou Yan called over to Hua Qiudao, then left the place alone.
Subsequently, Zhou Yan arrived at the Holy Land of Kongshu Mountain within the Taoist Sect and sat at the peak facing the sunset, cultivating alone to recover.
This was the eighth day of repairs, and also the last day assisting cultivators in repairing weapons.
While termed "repair", in reality, it was a form of tempering and cultivation for his own artifact refining and Tai Chu Runes.
At the same time, it was also about learning and understanding the structures of these ancient divine weapons.
Zhou Yan carried the blood of a Great Emperor, proven to possess immortal power; thus, this blood could be considered Immortal Blood.
Furthermore, Zhou Yan’s soul, possessing the potential of an Immortal Evil Soul and having undergone Rebellious Bone Cultivation, had surpassed the major Rebellion Bone Heavenly Tribulation.
If the soul had a quality grading, Zhou Yan thought, his soul could be considered in the embryonic form of an Immortal Soul.
Compared to those of ordinary cultivators, his soul’s evolutionary potential was many times unimaginable.
This was exactly why, where others could not perceive damaged immortal weapons, Zhou Yan could see through them at a glance.
Adding on the strengths that had been honed by the Three-Life Soul Nourishment program and Lei Yan King’s erstwhile attempt at Supreme status, Zhou Yan was now capable of refining low-grade Holy Artifacts. Repairing Sword Bodies to thirty percent that didn’t contain divinity was no problem for him.
Such repairs were similar to an ordinary construction worker stabilizing and repairing an area of a building, rather than reconstructing it completely.
And akin to repairing the damaged Tai Chu Rune Ancient Arrays, it involved a similarly imaginative approach.
As for all the ancient divine weapons Zhou Yan repaired, they were merely restored to thirty percent of their physical body’s damage. In terms of divinity, Zhou Yan couldn’t restore it; at most, he could only enhance some soul energy.
It was similar to the Xuanyuan Ancestor; the Xuanyuan Ancestor could be seen as the ’divinity’ of an immortal weapon. With the Xuanyuan Ancestor in a quiescent state, Zhou Yan couldn’t do anything about it.
Regarding only the weapon’s physique and not its divinity, there wasn’t much difficulty for Zhou Yan. Meanwhile, he gradually deepened his understanding of these ancient divine weapons’ structures, capabilities, and methods of creation.
At this time, after Zhou Yan had recovered substantially, he began, after many insights, to perceive the Xuanyuan Sword provided by Yang Qingtan.
With a slight sensing, Zhou Yan immediately detected it contained nine Xuanyuan Sword Fragments, nearly forming a complete sword on their own.
Connecting by heart’s blood, Zhou Yan absorbed them into the Soul Sea’s Xuanyuan Sword Fragments, and indeed, they merged in an instant.
After the fusion, a mysterious sensing power spontaneously arose; the Xuanyuan Ancestor’s aura thickened slightly, and the Xuanyuan Sword turned into a golden ornamented sword, flying out from the Soul Sea and appearing in Zhou Yan’s hands.
However, although the inside of the Xuanyuan Sword shimmered with golden light, resembling a world of its own, the Xuanyuan Ancestor’s aura fell silent once again.
With the Xuanyuan Sword in hand—restored to about fifty percent physically, but less than ten percent in divinity—Zhou Yan immediately felt like a sovereign over heaven and earth.
This sword, with no difficulty at all, immediately resonated perfectly with Zhou Yan. Moreover, it came with a unique divine power, seemingly able to enhance one’s belief, will, and other soul energies.
These ancient divine weapons, each extraordinary, crafted with intricate Tai Chu Runes and the Heaven and Earth Dao, brimmed with powerful and invincible strength.
Zhou Yan pondered, planning to learn the Path of Artifact Refining from them, to sense the methods therein and compare and explore them in future refining sessions to enhance his own strength.
Regarding this sword, Zhou Yan had been sensing it over these days, familiarizing himself with the specific aura of Xuanyuan Sword Fragments, yet making little progress.
Now, after experiencing this type of repair, he suddenly discovered its sensing characteristics, the mysterious method of sensing allowing him to no longer feel utterly baffled regarding the other Xuanyuan Sword Fragments’ auras.
In this part of the world, once one acquires the essence of an ancient aura, finding similar ancient auras would then have corresponding unique sensings—perhaps this is what the cultivators of this land refer to as ’opportunity’ or ’Karma’.
Having figured these out, Zhou Yan set out to repair the Xuanyuan Sword once more. After fully understanding this pale golden sword, he then carried it on his back.
This task finished, Zhou Yan felt his path had immediately become much clearer.
The path to ancestor worship had been severed, so after discussing Dao and activating the sensing power among those Cultivators to search for traces of Emperor Blood in their bloodlines, he could only explore famous mountains and rivers, sensing the breath of Xuanyuan Battle Soul within this part of Earth’s Ancient Land, collecting whatever fragments he could gather.
Then, what to do next, he could only take one step at a time.
"My brother took my Residual Soul to the True God Plane twenty years ago in this world. Meanwhile, Sword Burial Ancestor Star has developed for many more years. It’s been nearly thirty years now on the True God Plane..."
"The True God Plane is fine, as time there largely aligns with time here. However, Sword Burial Ancestor Star is quite different. If I don’t return soon and spend ten to twenty years here, I’ll miss out on many events happening on Ancestor Star. If Nine Origin Reincarnation arrives, I will miss a huge, earth-shattering secret."
"And my daughter Yanyan, I don’t know her situation now. And Sisi, I wonder if she’s doing well in the Demon Soul Palace? And people like Feng Lingqing, I don’t know their current situation either... It’s a pity that I am trapped here." Zhou Yan sighed inwardly.
...
"Fellow Daoist Zhou Yan, Fang Wuxi from the Sword Sect has come again. This time, will you still not see him?"
Hua Qiudao asked respectfully.
Atop the mountain peak, Zhou Yan pondered slightly before responding, "No."
"Fellow Daoist Zhou Yan, Sword Sect Master Fang Wuxi has wanted to see you many times before, but he was always sent away. He seems to know you have objections to him. This time, he has come personally with a much more restrained attitude. Over the years, as I have worked with him, he has behaved this way, which must mean there is some important matter. Moreover, with the Immortal Pool lecture approaching and to avoid any petty disruptions, perhaps you might consider seeing him?"
Hua Qiudao paused thoughtfully, expressing his opinion.
"His arrogance before was met with a slap from me in public, not beheading him was already showing you face—but you are right. For the future of our cultivation path, I will meet him and see what he can offer," Zhou Yan considered before speaking.
"In that case, Qiudao will take his leave," Hua Qiudao replied respectfully.
As Zhou Yan responded, "I’ve said before, we don’t need such formalities between us, you all..."
Zhou Yan was quite helpless.
Hua Qiudao, unmoved, continued, "Having been taught for several days, I have benefited immensely. In the Cultivation World, the able ones are teachers, so on this Fellow Daoist Zhou Yan should not be stubborn," finished Hua Qiudao, as he stroke his dark black beard and left with a smile.
In just a moment, a stern-looking middle-aged man, accompanied by a woman in a light yellow Daoist robe, arrived.
The woman, cradling an ancient zither in her arms, exuded a presence like the king amongst thousands of weapons, producing an indescribable sense of awe.
Seeing this zither, Zhou Yan’s gaze slightly narrowed.
This change was instantly captured by the keen-eyed man, who’s gaze suddenly brightened.
"Master Zhou, I am Fang Wuxi. Previously too arrogant, I have offended you, Master, and I’ve now come to apologize," said the Sword Sect Master Fang Wuxi respectfully as he bowed deeply in person.
Before this, seeing Zhou Yan’s Xuanyuan Sword, he had greed in his eyes, but after being publicly reprimanded by Zhou Yan, he realized that to Zhou Yan, a Sword Sect Master might be no different from an ant, and thus he immediately tempered his demeanor.
After several attempts, he finally got to see Zhou Yan again.
"There’s no need, why have you come?" Zhou Yan coldly asked.
The woman by Fang Wuxi’s side stood quietly there, not saluting Zhou Yan nor making any other gesture, almost like a statue.
This woman did possess a bit of the demeanor of a noble lady from ancient times.
As Zhou Yan inquired Fang Wuxi, he also naturally noticed this woman.
"Master Zhou, I assure you that on my part, the preaching will encounter no mishaps, and in other aspects, Fang Wuxi will do his best to safeguard and ensure tranquility. After all, we are not fools in this matter; everyone will work hard to facilitate it. Fang Wuxi is not so despicable as to undermine such an affair."
Fang Wuxi was not foolish. He laid his cards on the table, expressing his intentions, and also tried to align his efforts with those of Zhou Yan’s influence.
Zhou Yan quietly watched Fang Wuxi. He couldn’t fully sense what Fang Wuxi was thinking.
No matter, Zhou Yan didn’t care, didn’t care what he wanted to do ultimately.
"Hmm, that you think this way is not beyond redemption," Zhou Yan slightly nodded, saying.
"Master Zhou, this time, besides apologizing and expressing my intentions, there is one more matter," Fang Wuxi’s demeanor became even more respectful, positioning himself not as negotiating a condition with Zhou Yan, for he knew that would undoubtedly fail. Instead, if it was a sincere plea with a cost, it might achieve his goal.