Library of Heaven’s Path

As Ancient Sage Hao Xun flew, he felt himself gradually losing control of his stiffening body, and it seemed like he would fall from the sky at any moment.

Just as he was reaching his limits, the silhouettes of Sovereign Chen Yong and the young man came into sight. It was as if they had known that he would come for them, so they had chosen to wait on the spot.

“Please, save me!”

Feeling his internal organs swiftly turning into stone, Ancient Sage Hao Xun could not have cared less about his pride and hurriedly kneeled before the young man in horror.

Blood Reincarnation realm experts boasted great regenerative abilities, and they were able to come back from the dead. However, if they completely turned into stone, it would be futile no matter how powerful their regenerative ability was. The only possibility that he would face was death!

While Ancient Sage Hao Xun had chosen to retire from the secular world, it did not mean that he was ready to meet his end.

“I’m only a mere Intuitive Impulse realm cultivator, so my capabilities are severely limited. The only one who can help you at the moment is Sovereign Chen Yong. However, he’s bogged down by the vengeance of those who have betrayed him, so I’m not too sure whether he has the time to help you or not!” Zhang Xuan waved his hand calmly.

Since the other party had been unwilling to help them no matter how they pleaded earlier, they were not obliged to help him just because he was in need of assistance either.

“I…” Not expecting his words to come back and bite him so quickly, Ancient Sage Hao Xun’s face turned pale. He hesitated for a brief moment before exclaiming, “Sovereign Chen Yong, as long as you are willing to save me, I’m willing to follow your orders!”

The situation was very clear. It would be utter death if he refused, but if he accepted, he might still have a chance at survival. If they succeeded by any chance, he would gain great wealth and power on top of that. The decision that he had to make was already very clear.

“Since you have agreed, I guess Sovereign Chen Yong should be able to spare some time to help you,” Zhang Xuan replied.

Following which, he sent a telepathic message over to Wu Chen.

Hearing the telepathic message, Wu Chen’s eyes widened in disbelief, “Is that really alright?”

Zhang Xuan nodded in response.

“Alright then…”

Taking a deep breath, Wu Chen flicked his wrist and took out a long saber.

Huala!

The saber tore through space and sliced down upon Ancient Sage Hao Xun’s body. Due to the latter’s stiffening body, a glaring laceration was inflicted on his chest before he could even react.

Fresh blood spurted out like a waterfall.

“What in the world are you doing?” Not expecting Sovereign Chen Yong to make a move on him, Ancient Sage Hao Xun narrowed his eyes menacingly.

“What else could he be doing? He’s obviously trying to save you!” Zhang Xuan remarked impatiently. “If you don’t trust us, we can leave right now!”

Hearing those words, Ancient Sage Hao Xun nearly plummeted from the sky.

Just who did I offend to have to deserve this saber strike?

Even though he was extremely stifled, he could only suppress his feelings and clasp his fist. “I beseech you to save me…”

“That’s more like it!” Zhang Xuan nodded.

He walked up to Ancient Sage Hao Xun and placed a finger on the glaring laceration on his chest.

As soon as the blood came into contact with his fingertip, a brilliant five-colored glow shone into the surroundings. It felt like something was being extracted from Ancient Sage Hao Xun’s body.

The light gradually grew more and more powerful. Under Zhang Xuan’s continuously rotating finger, it was soon weaved into the shape of a stone.

It was the lodestone that Ancient Sage Hao Xun had assimilated not too long ago.

As the five-colored light began to fade, Ancient Sage Hao Xun could feel his stiffened body slowly regaining its senses.

At the same time, the lodestone in the young man’s hand pulsated ceaselessly, emanating a terrifying intent. It was as if it was angered after realizing that someone had foiled its plan, and it wanted to wreak havoc. However, with the young man’s zhenqi wrapped around it, it was unable to do anything.

“This lodestone… has its own will?” Ancient Sage Hao Xun’s eyelids twitched in horror.

He had been with that lodestone for three thousand years, but he had never realized that it was a sentient artifact!

It was much more difficult to tame sentient artifacts than ordinary weapons. For sentient weapons, it was impossible to tame them with just one’s zhenqi.

“It didn’t possess sentience at the start, but as you attempted to assimilate it with zhenqi, it also instinctively used its own power of magnetism to assimilate it. As time passed, it eventually sprouted its own sentience,” Zhang Xuan explained.

“You never noticed it because it only started to fully awaken while you were completing the assimilation. The moment that you are turned into a magnet would be the moment that it gains a body and a soul, thus marking your death…”

There had never been anyone on the Master Teacher Continent who had attempted such a feat, so it was inevitable that Ancient Sage Hao Xun had ended up overlooking the changes occurring to his body.

Naturally occurring treasures in nature like lodestones harnessed great power, but it did not mean that cultivators, including Ancient Sages, would necessarily be able to tap into their power easily.

Otherwise, the abyss of the Primal Lodestone Mountain would have been emptied out many years ago!

Of course, it might seem a little too coincidental that the lodestone had happened to awaken right after Zhang Xuan and Wu Chen had passed by the area. The truth was that the lodestone would have taken many more years to gain sentience, and the process that turned Ancient Sage Hao Xun into a magnet would have been a very gradual process… It was actually Zhang Xuan who had discreetly controlled the power of magnetism to spiritually enchant the lodestone.

This was a trick that he had learned from the Yellowsand Berserk Wood. As powerful as Ancient Sage Hao Xun was, he had still fallen for this little ploy in a moment of inattention.

It was true that Zhang Xuan’s action had forced Ancient Sage Hao Xun into a corner, but there was no doubt that such a situation would eventually have happened. He was effectively resolving a potential threat that would occur in the future.

Ancient Sage Hao Xun’s face paled in horror. He had never thought that he would almost lose his life at the hands of a mere rock.

“The power of magnetism is a unique force of nature. It’s not a power that one can master that easily,” Zhang Xuan remarked as he tightened his grasp on the lodestone in his hand.

The myriad of colors continued to seep out from Ancient Sage Hao Xun’s body and converge back into the lodestone in his grasp. The lodestone pulsated furiously, but it was to no avail.

When the final sliver of light was pulled out of Ancient Sage Hao Xun’s body, Zhang Xuan heaved a sigh of relief. With the power of magnetism fully extracted from the other party’s body, he would not be in any danger.

Alright, let me see if I can tame it…

It would be extremely difficult and dangerous for Ancient Sage Hao Xun to tame this lodestone under normal circumstances. However, if he could alter the Heaven’s Path zhenqi to emulate the power of magnetism, he might just be able to tame the lodestone.

With that thought in mind, Zhang Xuan swiftly entered the Great Codex of Spring and Autumn within his Library of Heaven’s Path and began driving his zhenqi into the lodestone.

Tzzzzzz!

The brilliant light within the lodestone was swiftly converted into a surge of energy, which gushed frantically into his body.

As Zhang Xuan’s consciousness was currently within the Great Codex of Spring and Autumn, he was cultivating at a speed ten times faster than usual. As a result, all Wu Chen and Ancient Sage Hao Xun could see was a brilliant curtain of light shrouding him, rendering them incapable of seeing what was truly happening.

“Is the lodestone trying to devour him?” Ancient Sage Hao Xun asked with a hint of worry.

It was just a moment ago that the lodestone had nearly converted him into its puppet. Could it have been furious at the young man for forcefully extracting it from his body, such that it wanted to exact vengeance?

If that was the case, what should they do? They had already witnessed the frightening prowess of the lodestone, and it seemed like they would suffer great damage if they charged in and saved the young man.

“This… I’m not too sure. However, since he was able to resolve the power of magnetism within your body, he might just be able to resolve the current quandary as well.” Wu Chen was also a little bewildered by the current situation.

Given that the young man had been able to catch the eye of the Spirit God, it was certain that he possessed capabilities far surpassing the norm.

Hearing Wu Chen’s words, Ancient Sage Hao Xun heaved a sigh of relief. He turned a perplexed look over and asked, “The young man… Is he the disciple whom you recently accepted?”

He had known Sovereign Chen Yong for quite some time, but he had never met this young man before. However, he had heard rumors that the latter had recently found himself a successor. Could this young man possibly be that successor?

But if the young man was truly Sovereign Chen Yong’s successor, why did it seem like the young man was the one making the decisions? Furthermore, from the conversations between the two, it seemed like the young man’s position was above that of Sovereign Chen Yong!

“Disciple? Brother Hao Xun, you are really thinking too highly of me. This young man is my Young Master!” Wu Chen hurriedly clarified the misunderstanding.

“Young Master?” Ancient Sage Hao Xun widened his eyes in disbelief.