Chapter 173: Jointly Participating in the Nine Secrets

God King Jiang Taixu has awakened!

This news spread across the Southern Region with the speed of wings, then reached the entire Eastern Wasteland, and was even heard of in the Central Plains, Southern Ridge, and Western Desert.

The Great Accomplishment God King, who was ranked first in combat five thousand years ago and claimed to have no rivals among his peers, has appeared once again, triggering a massive storm.

By the time he was around one thousand years old, he had already fought across the realm and had no rivals in the entire Eastern Wasteland, having defeated the King Bodies of his era; at the time, everyone believed the God King would lead the Desolate Ancient Family, the Jiang Family, to glory once more, dominating for thousands of years.

Unexpectedly, the God King suddenly vanished during his peak years, leaving no trace behind.

But now, after disappearing for four thousand years, he has suddenly awakened once again.

More relevant details have also been leaked: God King Jiang Taixu was trapped within Purple Mountain for four thousand years, unable to escape.

Later, his descendants received news and utilized an Extreme Dao Imperial Weapon to rescue the God King from Purple Mountain, though this process was extremely covert and kept under strict secrecy.

It was only when the God King truly recovered from his most weakened state and killed three old monsters from his own era with a single punch in Shencheng that this news truly exploded.

The world was shaken!

These old monsters, who had lived for four thousand years—longer than living fossils—possessed strength and abilities beyond human imagination, yet they were killed by the God King's Yuan Shen with a single punch from dozens of miles away; no one knows exactly what level the God King's strength has reached.

But many figures understand that as long as the God King lives, the Desolate Ancient Jiang Family will truly be able to run rampant across the Eastern Wasteland, with no one able to oppose them.

Zhang Xuan also heard the many words and discussions from the outside world, but these storms held little meaning for him.

The only thing Zhang Xuan found peculiar was that during this deep excursion into Purple Mountain, the Desolate Ancient Jiang Family did not actually bring out the Source Heaven Book belonging to the Source Heaven Master.

Or rather, they never saw that book at all; a peculiar youth guided them within Purple Mountain, allowing them to emerge along a path that allowed them to survive.

Without needing to ask anyone else, Zhang Xuan could conclude that the youth must be Ye Fan.

After all, according to the many figures of the Jiang Family, that youth's cultivation and strength were shockingly weak; they could not imagine that someone so weak could survive inside Purple Mountain.

"I didn't expect that through a twist of fate, Ye Fan still walked into Purple Mountain, and it looks like he obtained the inheritance of the Source Heaven Master; it seems he truly has a special destiny with Wushi Dadi and the Source Heaven Master."

Zhang Xuan inexplicably thought of the Bushixiang that plagued the Source Heaven Master in his later years, as well as the Bushixiang that plagued the Desolate Ancient Sacred Body in his later years; both were caused by the ancestors of the Source Technique lineage—Yuan Shen and Yuan Gui—pulling strings from behind the scenes.

From this perspective, Ye Fan and the many figures of this lineage indeed have many causal connections.

"However, these have no major impact on me, so there is no need to care too much."

After understanding this, Zhang Xuan casually cast these matters to the back of his mind.

He did not intend to interfere too much in Ye Fan's affairs; the only thing he might intervene in slightly is the Sacred Body's push from the Dao Palace to the Four Extremes.

Ye Fan could not possibly make that step on his own; he would surely die if he attempted to break through.

But this does not mean there is no way to resolve it; in the original story, the God King left behind his own God King Origin, drained completely clean, to cleanse Ye Fan's body and reconnect the broken path within him.

But now, Ye Fan does not have much connection with the God King, and many things have been interfered with by Zhang Xuan, so it is destined not to develop as it originally did.

Yet Zhang Xuan is not overly worried.

"For a Saint, one would need to burn their life force into their Origin to reconnect that broken path for Ye Fan, but for a figure who has achieved Alternative Enlightenment and can almost rival a Great Emperor, completing this step would not be too difficult."

Gai Jiuyou has great motivation to help certain figures.

"After all, the current Gai Jiuyou can truly be called a Human Race Great Emperor in this era."

Sitting cross-legged on a pavilion within the palace complex, Zhang Xuan gazed into the distance.

Gai Jiuyou's whereabouts remain unknown to this day, with no relevant information circulating.

But Zhang Xuan feels that due to his changes, the one who might prove the Dao and become Emperor in this period is not that Golden Crow Great Emperor, but very likely Gai Jiuyou.

Gai Jiuyou's talent and aptitude are sufficiently high, and now that the influence of Qingdi's Heavenly Dao has completely faded—with ten thousand years having passed since Qingdi truly vanished from this world—the conditions are ripe.

After Gai Jiuyou's vitality recovers to its peak, it is very possible for him to take that step; even if Gai Jiuyou were to take that step right now, Zhang Xuan would not find it overly surprising.

After all, Gai Jiuyou's talent and aptitude have been certified by the entirety of Covering the Sky.

"However, I do not need to worry too much about these matters; for me now, practicing quietly is the best course of action."

Zhang Xuan silently closed his eyes; after comprehending the path of Severing the Dao, his cultivation progressed very rapidly.

It could even be said to be both steady and fast.

At the same time, experiencing Jiang Taixu's situation of returning to life from death also gave Zhang Xuan many gains.

"If my lifespan were not yet exhausted, I would even want to try severing my Origin and living a second life."

Zhang Xuan indeed felt he had many insights into severing the Origin and living a second life.

But he truly had no time or opportunity to play at living a second life right now; after all, he was in the prime of his youth, and to sever his Origin now to live a second life would be a complete waste, or even an act of courting death.

"To possess the dragon-slaying technique but be unable to use it—it really is a pity."

Zhang Xuan sighed, but he was not overly anxious; he closed his eyes again and began to practice.

This time, his main cultivation technique was not the Swallowing Heaven Demonic Art or the Indestructible Heavenly Art, but rather the Eight-Nine Profound Art, which he had never paid much attention to.

The Eight-Nine Profound Art is of a higher grade than both the Indestructible Heavenly Art and the Swallowing Heaven Demonic Art, but it was quite slow to practice previously and relied too heavily on natural talent and comprehension.

One must have a deep understanding of the rules of Heaven and Earth, uniting the Inner Heaven and Earth with the Outer Heaven and Earth to achieve a certain special state.

Zhang Xuan was not particularly skilled in this area before, so he had basically left it in a state of neglect.

But now the situation is very different; with the Nine-Orifice Stone Man and the boost to his comprehension, practicing is truly as simple as eating and drinking.

Especially while standing on the seventh small step of the Immortal Platform Second Layer, he could easily understand and absorb the rules of Heaven and Earth and the principles required for the Outer Scene Realm.

Around Zhang Xuan's body, a peculiar world manifested; this appeared when he reached the fourth level of the Outer Scene, which is the second step of the Outer Scene Realm.

The Inner Heaven and Earth and the Outer Heaven and Earth echoed each other, and the many rules and principles of the external world were highlighted within his Inner Heaven and Earth, displaying all sorts of incredible scenes, such as lightning, thunder, fire, and storms.

And the thing Zhang Xuan understood most deeply about Heaven and Earth was thunder and lightning, as he had been undergoing tribulations throughout his entire cultivation journey.

It had basically never stopped; his understanding of Heavenly Tribulations was extremely profound, leading the Heaven and Earth manifested within his Outer Scene Realm to possess the characteristics of thunder tribulations.

Practicing to this point, he did not encounter many thresholds or barriers, and in Zhang Xuan's perception, his Outer Scene Realm progressed from the fourth level, to the fifth, to the sixth...

The entire process did not take much time; when Zhang Xuan calmed his heart to feel the rules of this world, those rules naturally merged into his body.

"This feeling..."

Zhang Xuan could not help but whisper; when he wanted to comprehend the rules of Heaven and Earth to integrate them into his Outer Scene Realm, it felt as if he had become the Nine-Orifice Stone Man again, with the many rules of Heaven and Earth floating before him as if waiting for him to choose, and he, refusing nothing, integrated the many rules into his body.

This feeling was very strange and special; by the time Zhang Xuan came to his senses, he had already reached the sixth level of the Outer Scene Realm, and could even continue to move forward.

"At that moment, it was as if I had become a Holy Spirit, born of heaven and nurtured by earth..."

Zhang Xuan whispered softly. The most important step in the Outer Scene Realm is to comprehend the rules of heaven and earth, and then integrate one's own understanding of these rules into that side of the world within the Outer Scene. The more perfect the world, and the more rules absorbed, the more powerful one becomes.

Ordinary figures might shape a Luohan Golden Body, but if one understands and absorbs enough of the rules of heaven and earth, one can shape powerful Dharma bodies such as the Tathagata Golden Body, the Indestructible Dao Body, the Bodhi Golden Body, or the Taishang Dao Body...

"And if I were to cultivate, it seems that many rules of heaven and earth would gather toward me. The many Dao techniques and rules condensed within the Nine-Orifice Stone Man body can all be manifested in me, especially within the Zhetian World, where many rules can be easily absorbed by me..."

Zhang Xuan felt unprecedentedly relaxed, but the process of absorption was perhaps too rapid, which made him feel a bit uneasy.

"This breakthrough is even faster and steadier than when I cultivated the Swallowing Heaven Demonic Art and the Indestructible Heavenly Art of the Zhetian World. It is too fast, making one feel somewhat unsettled. Let me stop for a moment and think about whether there might be any problems with this."

When he awoke from his thoughts, seven days had already passed. Zhang Xuan felt slightly surprised. He did not intend to continue breaking through on this foundation, but instead prepared to contemplate and perceive whether there were any issues, only proceeding with a major breakthrough after confirming there were none.

Just then, a stream of light flew in from the outside. The elderly Demon Race member who had been responsible for arranging many matters for Zhang Mingtu in the vicinity transformed into a stream of light, flew up to this place, bowed to Zhang Xuan, and said, "The God King has arrived!"

Zhang Xuan's heart stirred, and he finally recovered from that peculiar state of enlightenment, remembering that God King Jiang Taixu had already been recovered for some time.

His cultivation progress was so fast that it was somewhat unsettling, so he took the initiative to stop. After pondering for a moment, he said, "Please invite the God King up. Never mind, I will go down to welcome him!"

Compared to the previous God King Jiang Taixu, he was now simply brimming with vitality, situated in his youngest and most golden years.

With black hair like a waterfall and eyes like lightning, he walked over slowly in white robes. Although he had already lived for five thousand years, his entire demeanor was incomparably peaceful and upright; even walking among a crowd, he would attract people's gazes at the first moment.

The vicissitudes in those eyes did not make him appear aged; instead, they were all the more attractive, possessing a peculiar charm. Walking through the world, one could only wonder how many young women's hearts he could stir.

Even Zhang Xuan could not help but feel a stir in his heart, secretly marveling at the God King's peculiar posture and charm.

However, after a brief sensing, he discovered that although the God King's state had recovered to its peak, his lifespan was still not very long, and his Origin was still in a state of weakness.

There was no need for Zhang Xuan to make excessive arrangements; as it was the Heaven Grade Number One Inn in Shencheng, there were naturally people to lead the way, taking Zhang Xuan and the God King to a place like an Immortal's abode, where immortal mists drifted, tea sets were fully prepared, and corresponding spirit tea was to be served.

Zhang Xuan only asked for spirit spring water, then took out two leaves from the Enlightenment Ancient Tea Tree. After boiling the spirit spring water with his own Dao fire, he placed the two Enlightenment Ancient Tea Tree leaves inside. Immediately, a rich fragrance combined with other Dao rhymes flowed through the place.

Even the God King was slightly moved; the main reason was that this hospitality was too precious. It was clearly the God King who had come to repay a debt of gratitude, but Zhang Xuan's treatment made the God King feel a bit embarrassed.

Zhang Xuan smiled and gestured toward the teacup, saying, "I have long heard that the God King is the best in the world at fighting. I have always wanted to witness it, but never had the chance. Now that we have truly met, it is truly like a spring breeze."

The God King opened his mouth as if to speak, but paused slightly. Seeing this, Zhang Xuan took the initiative to smile and said, "You may just call me Zhang Xuan."

"Friend Zhang, your life-saving grace from before, Jiang Taixu will never forget."

Jiang Taixu performed a solemn salute and bowed to Zhang Xuan. Zhang Xuan thought about it, but did not move away, mainly because he could not stop him even if he wanted to.

The God King was now a true Saint; with Zhang Xuan's current strength, there was no way to forcibly make the God King stop.

"Does Friend Zhang wish to see the Fighting Saint Art?"

After a simple exchange of pleasantries, Jiang Taixu got straight to the point.

"This technique does not involve family inheritance; it was something I obtained by chance in my early years. It is one of the Nine Secrets passed down from ancient times, the Secret of Fighting. If Friend Zhang wants it, I will teach you everything I know!"

The God King was very serious, but Zhang Xuan was not in a hurry. He smiled and gestured with his hand, saying, "Drink tea."

The God King was not impatient either. He sipped slowly, nodded, and praised, "Enlightenment Ancient Tea; it is rumored that only the Ancient Great Emperors could drink it daily. It truly has an endless aftertaste."

Hearing this, a smile appeared on Zhang Xuan's face. This was part of the collection Kongque Wang had accumulated over many years, which Zhang Xuan had packed up and stuffed into his own pocket.

It was of no use for Zhang Xuan to drink it, as he now had the Nine-Orifice Stone Man, but it was quite high-class for entertaining guests.

Seeing that the God King still wanted to continue speaking and explaining the Secret of Fighting, Zhang Xuan raised his hand and pressed it down, signaling him not to be impatient.

He reached out and took an ancient scroll from his side, smiling at the God King: "I said before that I wanted to sit and discuss the Dao with the God King, and that was no empty promise. I am indeed curious about the Secret of Fighting, but I am not asking for it for nothing. Here is the Secret of Traveling, one of the Nine Secrets I obtained by chance, known as the fastest in the world. I bring it out to appreciate and discuss it with the God King."

The God King Jiang Taixu, whose expression had always been as calm as an ancient well, revealed a look of shock at this moment.

(End of this chapter)