Daoist Competition-Chapter 933 - 206: Shaoqing Lost Records (Part 2)

He reached out and took hold of it, turning a few pages, but his gaze remained fixed, unable to look away for a long time. After a while, a glint flashed in his eyes, and he slowly said, "Daoist Ouyang is thoughtful, this item I shall accept."

Huang Zuoguang, seeing that he did not firmly refuse, involuntarily breathed a sigh of relief.

In fact, he did feel a sense of repayment towards Zhang Yan, but it was not to the point of deep gratitude; it was just an excuse for today’s actions.

The elders of the Zhenluo Alliance were still uneasy about the Array Command Token, so they specially searched the alliance thoroughly, intentionally found this item and ordered him to present it, to win favor with Zhang Yan.

They were aware of Zhang Yan’s formidable fighting ability and his fearsome reputation, so they were naturally apprehensive of him. If it were someone else, the elders of the Zhenluo Alliance would not have shown such kindness and would have seized it long ago.

In order to curry favor with him, they first sought out Yang Bingqing and then spent half a month searching for these two Daoist books. Since no one in the Central Pillar Continent excelled in the Sword Dao, many were scattered, so they compared many fragmented copies before finally completing the two books.

Ouyang Xu didn’t care about the intricacies and, seeing that Zhang Yan accepted it, felt there was no further business. Not wishing to linger, he immediately stood up, cupped his hands, and said, "Since fellow Daoist is satisfied, we will not disturb your meditative cultivation and take our leave."

Huang Zuoguang still wanted to say a few more words, pointing out how difficult it was to obtain this item, but when Ouyang Xu stood up, he could only purse his lips, reluctantly stand, and bid farewell.

Zhang Yan stood up, gazed meaningfully at Huang Zuoguang with a smile, and said, "Daoist Ouyang, Daoist Huang, please thank the elders of your alliance on my behalf."

Huang Zuoguang, seeing Zhang Yan looking at him with that smile, realized he had seen through the matter. His face turned red, and he quickly bowed and left in a rush, activating a light and flying away with Ouyang Xu back to Double Moon Peak.

After watching the two leave, Zhang Yan flicked his sleeve and sat back down, his eyes shining as he picked up the Daoist books and opened them.

He hadn’t expected beforehand that this Daoist book was not a Divine Power Technique from the Central Pillar Continent but a secret sword manual from the Shaoqing Sect.

Five hundred years ago, during a great battle between the Shaoqing Sect and the Central Pillar Continent, dozens of disciples were lost, and many Daoist Secret Volumes were left behind as well.

Luckily, the Shaoqing Sect was not afraid of their Secret Volumes leaking out. Besides, what circulated outside was not overly profound Dharma techniques, so they did not come to reclaim them.

After skimming through this Daoist book, he slowly closed the pages, feeling as if a window had opened before him. Previous confusions in his heart had now become enlightened, and he thought to himself, "Since I achieved the Nascent Soul, the Star Sword Ball is no longer as sharp as it used to be; I wondered why, and now I see the reason."

Throughout his cultivation journey, the art of the slashing flying sword was indeed one of his great reliances, yet as his cultivation advanced, the sword ball showed signs of weariness.

He initially thought it was due to the lack of inheriting a higher-grade sword technique, but after reading this book, he completely understood the reason.

Although there are distinctions in the sword ball, the lowest still requires a Nascent Soul True Master to refine. When the holder first receives this treasure, their cultivation is usually not high.

As their cultivation gradually improves and eventually matches the former sword refiner’s skills, according to this Shaoqing Secret Manual, there is an expression "shredding the garment" for the sword ball.

This Star Sword Ball was refined by Elder Xun from his sect, whose cultivation divine abilities were greatly different from his own. When Mana flowed with his intent, it could not be smooth and as desired. When he was at a low level of cultivation, he did not feel it much, but now with his increased Mana, it posed some hindrance.

It’s like suddenly entering a house someone else built, where sitting, lying, and walking always feels a bit awkward, as if separated by a layer of obstruction.

Thus, when a Sword Cultivator reaches this stage, they need to re-refine the sword ball once more, merging it with their heart and spirit, so it fuses into one, no longer distinguishable.

The secret manual in his hand describes the method for re-refining the sword ball.

If this Daoist book fell into the hands of a cultivator who did not understand the way of the flying sword, it would be utterly worthless, but for Zhang Yan, it was different.

He now had newly developed divine power techniques and complete Dharma treasures, but he lacked a weapon of destruction. If he could take this opportunity to re-refine the sword ball, he might restore its sword might and revive its former sharpness.

He couldn’t help but feel that his today’s gains in the Central Pillar Continent were second only to the day he achieved Nascent Soul.

He closed his eyes and pondered a while, then reopened the book for a careful re-read.

To re-refine the sword ball again, in addition to cultivation techniques, considerable treasure materials are needed, and a tripod furnace is indispensable.

After calculating the required items, there were indeed many, and some were extremely rare. Fortunately, this was the Central Pillar, the most resource-rich of the Nine Provinces, so the items mentioned in the Secret Manual could all be found, albeit with some effort.

His eyes flashed, and he made up his mind to start refining the sword ball when the Winged Cliff Divine Statue was refined.

After putting the book down, he suddenly remembered that Ouyang Xu had brought two books, and he didn’t know what the second one contained.

But as he picked it up and read, he was slightly disappointed. It was evident that this Daoist book was assembled from bits and pieces collected here and there.

It discussed unconventional heterodox ways and various scattered sword cultivation methods.

And the so-called "sword" wasn’t even the sword ball, but only a "Dharma Sword." Line by line, it listed various bizarre techniques. Among them were indeed some novel ideas, even mentioning the sword refining methods of Lie Xuan Sect’s elder, Ye Jiliu.

However, those marked with cultivation methods at the end were mostly subpar techniques. The more advanced ones were briefly touched on.

If a Loose Cultivator obtained this book, they might treasure it, but for an orthodox Xuanmen Sect cultivator like him, it was only seen as novelty.

He continued flipping through with a calm expression, but when he reached the last page, his eyes suddenly lit up, and he unwittingly sat up straight.

...

...(To be continued. If you enjoy this work, feel free to vote for it with recommendations and monthly tickets on Qidian (qidian.com). Your support provides me with the greatest motivation.)