Chapter 54: Great Gains and Zhang Sanfeng's Arrangements

Zhang Sanfeng did not reach out to touch the Dragon Pearl before him, which was filled with vigorous Life Essence; instead, he took the initiative to use a gentle surge of Internal Energy to sweep the Dragon Pearl toward Zhang Xuan.

The Dragon Pearl spun round and round, landing in Zhang Xuan's embrace, yet with Zhang Xuan's profound Internal Energy, it actually elicited little reaction.

After finishing all this, Zhang Sanfeng said with a solemn face: "Such a treasure must not be shown to others casually; it is easy to invite fatal disaster. It would be best for the little friend to keep it safe and be cautious!"

Zhang Xuan was stunned, coming to his senses a little, and felt a slight lingering fear.

To him, the Dragon Pearl from the Shenmu World, while somewhat precious, truly could not be counted as a very special treasure.

As a product left behind by a Tier 5 giant snake from the Shenmu World that failed its Dragon Transformation, it could be considered a top-tier treasure for people in the martial arts world.

But for the well-traveled Zhang Xuan, it certainly did not count as a very special or powerful treasure.

Yet Zhang Sanfeng did not know this; although he had spent some time in the Chat Group, Zhang Sanfeng had not witnessed true top-tier treasures.

From Zhang Sanfeng's perspective, the Dragon Pearl before him could truly be considered a supreme divine object of the world.

After his stupor, Zhang Xuan felt a sense of admiration for Zhang Sanfeng's character.

Facing the solemn-faced Zhang Sanfeng, Zhang Xuan smiled and said: "It is no matter. It is precisely because I know the True Person's character that I brought it out in front of you."

"Moreover, with my current cultivation, apart from the True Person, I cannot think of anyone in this world who could take a treasure from my embrace."

Seeing that Zhang Sanfeng's expression remained somewhat solemn, Zhang Xuan could not help but smile again: "Besides, while this item might be a peerless treasure to others, to the Group Member I gifted it to—the one who 'slept for ten thousand years'—such an item is not considered very precious."

"What's more, if I want to return to my original world now, as long as I have the thought, the Chat Group will naturally send me back."

Zhang Sanfeng's expression relaxed slightly, but he remained a bit tense, while also carrying a touch of curiosity: "There are actually so many such treasures in high-level worlds? I remember that 'I slept for ten thousand years' was Tier 2—oh, he is Tier 3 now—and he can actually come into contact with such treasures?"

Zhang Sanfeng had not the slightest airs of the founding patriarch of Wudang; he was quite peaceful and humbly sought instruction.

He himself was rated as Tier 2 by the Chat Group, so he was clear about the strength levels of Tier 2 and Tier 3. To be able to obtain such a formidable treasure in such a state was truly inconceivable.

And having witnessed Zhang Sanfeng's character, Zhang Xuan was also happy to explain in detail.

"It is not entirely so. In high-level worlds, such treasures are not considered very precious, but for those whose cultivation realm is insufficient, they are still somewhat special. That 'I slept for ten thousand years' must have had very good fortune..."

Zhang Xuan had to phrase his words a bit more tactfully; he could hardly say that Chen Nan was the protagonist of heaven and earth, and that all sorts of treasures would find various reasons to appear by his side.

That would be too absurd.

Zhang Sanfeng was lost in thought.

"Is that so?"

Zhang Xuan's breakthroughs, which were as easy as eating and drinking, as well as the fact that 'I slept for ten thousand years' had joined the Chat Group at Tier 1 and reached Tier 3 in no time, all made him harbor fantasies about high-level worlds.

"It seems that breakthroughs in high-level worlds are easier and not like they are now."

Zhang Sanfeng made calculations silently in his heart, feeling some envy for those characters born in high-level worlds.

"Little friend, while cultivating in this world, do you feel uncomfortable? Is breaking through more difficult than before?"

Zhang Sanfeng asked Zhang Xuan carefully. Zhang Xuan pondered for a moment, then sat in a five-hearts-toward-the-sky posture and circulated his cultivation technique.

It did indeed feel more difficult to cultivate here than in the Zhetian Universe, vaguely encountering some kind of obstruction. However, at the same time, the corresponding power circulation in this world was greater, and the destructive power seemed to have a certain increase.

Zhang Xuan told Zhang Sanfeng the truth, leaving Zhang Sanfeng full of emotion.

"Sigh, it is indeed so. I was already about to open the Ancestral Aperture of the Brow, but I always had a premonition in my heart warning me of some crisis. Now it seems that perhaps after careful polishing, opening the Ancestral Aperture of the Brow to have strength at the half-Outer Scene level is the current limit."

Zhang Sanfeng sighed earnestly. Zhang Xuan's heart stirred, and he was also slightly shocked by Zhang Sanfeng's talent.

Zhang Xuan was able to cultivate the Mysterious Technique to the point of opening seven apertures because he had a Dragon Inner Core at hand and could listen to Taishang Laojun explain the Mysterious Technique in the Chat Group every day.

In this way, Zhang Xuan knew the thresholds and stages of early-stage cultivation like the back of his hand.

It was equivalent to having a top-tier master tell him all the corresponding strategies, making his cultivation path smooth.

At the same time, he was in the Zhetian Universe, a world of quite high level, and faced little pressure while cultivating, yet even so, he could not compare to Zhang Sanfeng.

Zhang Xuan had originally held a bit of arrogance, but after chatting with Zhang Sanfeng like this, he immediately felt Zhang Sanfeng's uniqueness.

"Worthy of being a Martial Dao Grandmaster; without anyone's guidance, he quietly cultivated the Mysterious Technique to nine apertures and is about to open the Ancestral Aperture of the Brow."

"And this is still restricted by the heavens and earth. If the conditions were better, I imagine he would have already opened the Ancestral Aperture of the Brow and attempted to break through to the Outer Scene."

The two praised each other in their hearts, and the conversation flowed more and more smoothly.

Zhang Xuan had many ideas about testing travel from high-level worlds to low-level worlds.

After all, he needed to start a business to increase his income and work hard to make the characters in the Chat Group interested in low-level worlds as well.

Only if they traveled through more worlds and tried to improve their strength more could Zhang Xuan have more opportunities to obtain more treasures.

Chatting with Zhang Sanfeng was quite interesting. Zhang Sanfeng had lived for over a hundred years and had a very rich life experience; plus, he came from Shaolin and was not a wandering martial artist without roots.

He was literate, and his level of education was not bad; after all, being able to read through various top-tier secret manuals, his level of education could be considered outstanding in the martial arts world.

Zhang Xuan felt very comfortable communicating with him overall.

Zhang Xuan knew Zhang Sanfeng's thoughts, so he detailed the various situations of high-level worlds to Zhang Sanfeng.

He did not blindly speak only of the good in high-level worlds, but also pointed out the many cruelties hidden within them, to avoid Group Members failing and then giving bad reviews in the group, causing his future income to drop.

Zhang Sanfeng nodded earnestly as he listened, clearly taking it to heart.

A centenarian like him was still very willing to listen to advice.

Zhang Sanfeng did not just blindly accept the benefits Zhang Xuan gave him; regarding cultivation, Zhang Sanfeng also did his best to explain his own insights.

He focused on explaining the keys to cultivating the Nine Yang Divine Art to Zhang Xuan and also taught Zhang Xuan how to restrain his aura.

At the same time, knowing that Zhang Xuan had significant deficiencies in the foundations of martial arts and many biases in his understanding, he specifically instructed his disciples to take out a lot of relevant basic martial arts knowledge from the Wudang Scripture Depository, and he and Zhang Xuan discussed it together until evening.

During this time, the Wudang Seven visited one by one under various pretexts. Seeing Zhang Sanfeng and Zhang Xuan sitting and discussing the Dao, they were all astonished and then quickly retreated.

Seeing the sky gradually darken and a faint look of fatigue appearing on Zhang Sanfeng's face, Zhang Xuan suddenly realized that they had been talking for an entire afternoon without noticing.

He hurriedly took the initiative to bid Zhang Sanfeng farewell; dragging a centenarian to chat for an entire afternoon, and a chat that required high-speed brain operation at that, was truly a bit disrespectful to the elderly.

"This old Daoist is indeed a bit tired. The day is late, and the guest-receiving Daoist has already arranged the guest rooms. Little friend can go rest after having a vegetarian meal. If you want to increase your martial arts experience, we can start tomorrow!"

Zhang Xuan nodded earnestly. After having a vegetarian meal with Zhang Sanfeng and the Wudang Seven, he was led by the guest-receiving Daoist to the guest room.

The room was decorated very well, antique and elegant. The utensils in the room were quite new; whether it was the silk quilt, the copper basin, or that large bed with distinct ancient characteristics, all made Zhang Xuan feel quite curious.

Having discussed the Dao with Zhang Sanfeng for an entire afternoon, Zhang Xuan was actually somewhat exhausted in his heart, but lying on the bed, he tossed and turned and could not fall asleep.

"Calling it a discussion on the Dao is actually just gilding my own lily."

"The knowledge regarding Martial Arts is entirely being taught to me by True Person Zhang; I can't even get a word in edgewise in that regard, but I have truly made great progress—it is indeed the authentic lineage of the Profound Gate."

Feeling the True Qi flowing more smoothly within his body, the volume of his True Qi had not increased much, but as a whole, it was smoother and more silky.

If used to face an enemy, Zhang Xuan felt he was definitely a cut above what he was before.

"Although quick-success methods are good, the relevant foundational knowledge must also keep up; theory must be linked to practice."

Tossing and turning and unable to sleep, Zhang Xuan simply put on his clothes and walked outside; by this time, the night had completely descended, all was silent, and the entire mountain was shrouded in Darkness.

Scenery completely different from the city and his modern life fell into his eyes; not only were there no lights, but even the glow of candlelight was quite dim and even sparse in the black night.

"Martial Arts Shi Jie!"

A unique realization arose in Zhang Xuan's heart, and he could not help but look forward even more to the martial arts training arranged by Zhang Sanfeng for tomorrow, while simultaneously feeling increasingly validated about this journey of his.

His current strength was considered quite good in the Martial Arts Shi Jie, but having improved too quickly in a short time and lacking the corresponding foundational knowledge, there was indeed a risk of an unstable foundation; only after coming to Wudang Mountain and discussing it with Zhang Sanfeng could he understand how much of a gap there was.

"I wonder how tomorrow will be arranged; with my strength, it would be difficult for the Wudang Seven to cause me harm, right? Under such circumstances, how could I gain the corresponding experience? Should I suppress my Internal Energy?"

Amidst his wandering thoughts, Zhang Xuan drifted into a hazy sleep in his clothes.

He felt anticipation in his heart for tomorrow, and for the conversation and discussion with Zhang Sanfeng.

It was not until the thick and melodious bell toll rang in his ears at dawn that Zhang Xuan suddenly opened his eyes.

The second day had arrived!

The originally quiet and peaceful Wudang Mountain seemed to be activated all at once by that bell; all sorts of sounds appeared together, and curling wisps of cooking smoke rose among the mountains, then were blown into segments by the mountain wind, drifting in a scattered manner toward the clouds.

PS: There should be another chapter later; don't wait, you can read it tomorrow.

(End of this chapter)