Chapter 139: Paying Respects to the Ancestor

In the early morning, when Zhang Nuo walked out of his room, he saw that the two women, Bai Xiu and Xun Zhen, were already up. They were sweeping the courtyard, and as soon as they saw Zhang Nuo come out, they immediately came over to greet him!

After a few simple pleasantries, Zhang Nuo returned to his room. He had slept very comfortably that night; ever since entering the Trial Ground, he had never slept so soundly.

In high spirits, Zhang Nuo sat cross-legged on the bed, closed his eyes slightly, and with a circulation of the Spirit Power within his body, he ran through the "Shangqing Sword Art" once!

About half an hour later, when he opened his eyes, his face was filled with an excited smile. The three years of torment in the Trial Ground had allowed the second layer of the "Shangqing Sword Art" to stabilize significantly, and he felt as if he had vaguely touched the edge of the third layer.

Given time, Zhang Nuo might even make a breakthrough. Once he finished cultivating the third layer of the Shangqing Sword Art, he would possess a brand-new technique! The first sword formation in the "Shangqing Sword Art"!

This sword formation is called: Lotus Fall! It is a type of sword formation that can only be used once a cultivator has cultivated the "Shangqing Sword Art" to the third layer and their own cultivation has reached the Foundation Establishment Late Stage.

However, with the characteristics of Zhang Nuo's Double Spirit Sea, he could still activate it even if he had not reached the Foundation Establishment Late Stage. The reason the sword manual specifies that it can only be used at the Foundation Establishment Late Stage is actually out of fear that those at the Early or Middle stages would lack sufficient cultivation and be unable to supply enough Spirit Power from within their bodies, causing the formation to be set up only halfway before failing midway, which would not only fail to kill the enemy but would also waste Spirit Power in vain.

This point was something Zhang Nuo did not need to worry about at all; with the existence of the Double Spirit Sea within his body, the abundance of his Spirit Power was no different from that of a Foundation Establishment Late Stage cultivator.

Just as Zhang Nuo was lost in his own thoughts, he saw a streak of brilliant light roll out from the interior of the Nanxuan Sect, and with just a few flashes, it arrived in the courtyard where Zhang Nuo lived.

The radiance converged to reveal the figure of Zhuge An. He glanced at the room where Zhang Nuo was, and at this moment, the door opened, and Zhang Nuo walked out.

"Greetings, Sect Master!"

Sitting cross-legged in the room, Zhang Nuo had suddenly felt a powerful wave of Spirit Power appear in the courtyard. His heart stirred slightly, and he immediately guessed who it was. In the entire Nanxuan Sect, the only person capable of emitting such shocking Spirit Power fluctuations was likely Zhuge An. Not daring to be slow, he hurriedly walked out of the room.

"You need not be so formal in the future!"

Seeing Zhang Nuo take the initiative to come out and welcome him, a smile appeared on the old man's face. He spoke without hesitation.

"Come with me!"

"Where to?"

His face remained calm, but his mind raced for a moment. However, Zhang Nuo could not guess where Zhuge An intended to take him!

"You don't need to worry about that! You will know when we arrive!"

As he spoke, the old man flicked his robe sleeve, and a ball of light rolled out from it, instantly wrapping Zhang Nuo within it. Immediately after, the two of them turned into a streak of brilliant light and flew toward the depths of the Nanxuan Sect.

It was not the first time Zhang Nuo had borrowed the escape light of a Golden Core Cultivator to fly. He felt the wind rushing past his ears as his body flew through the sky at high speed, but only a moment later, they landed on the ground.

Blinking his eyes, Zhang Nuo looked at everything before him in astonishment. He saw a massive residence appear in front of him; this residence was like a small imperial palace, with surrounding courtyard walls reaching four or five zhang in height. Two massive bronze gates cast from yellow bronze were at least two zhang tall, and each was carved with an ancient mythical beast.

As for the names of these mythical beasts, Zhang Nuo could not name them! As soon as he and Zhuge An landed, the massive bronze gates opened, and a young boy walked out from inside. His eyebrows were distinct and his eyes were like bright stars! Even though he looked only eight or nine years old, he appeared full of celestial aura!

"Greetings, Sect Master! The Ancestor has been waiting for you inside for a long time!"

The little boy's voice was crisp and pleasant to the ear. Upon hearing the word "Ancestor," Zhang Nuo's heart immediately tightened. In the Nanxuan Sect, who else could be called Ancestor but that Nascent Soul Stage cultivator? Why would Zhuge An bring him to meet him?

While he was suspicious in his heart, Zhuge An ignored him and walked straight behind the little boy. Zhang Nuo had no choice but to bite the bullet and follow him in.

Along the way, he had no heart to look at the surrounding scenery, his mind constantly pondering: after meeting Nanxuan Laozu, what kind of questions would he ask? Would some of the secrets he carried be discovered by this Nascent Soul Stage old monster?

Before long, led by the little boy, the old man and Zhang Nuo arrived at the door of a room. This room was only seven or eight zhang in size, but the powerful Spiritual Pressure emanating from within made Zhang Nuo feel that even breathing was somewhat difficult.

"You may enter on your own!"

The little boy pointed to the room and said politely.

"Thank you for your trouble!"

Even though Zhuge An was the dignified Sect Master, he still did not dare to be negligent when facing the little boy under Nanxuan Laozu! After the little boy turned and left, the old man led Zhang Nuo into the room.

As soon as they entered the room, a wave of Spirit Power like a tidal surge rushed toward them. Zhang Nuo was terrified; were these the Spirit Power fluctuations of a Nascent Soul Stage cultivator? He did not know how many times stronger they were than those of a Golden Core Cultivator.

Thinking secretly to himself, Zhang Nuo followed behind Zhuge An and walked into the depths of the room. At this moment, Zhuge An had lost all the airs of a Sect Master, walking forward slowly with his head slightly bowed and a solemn expression.

After walking only a few zhang, his figure stopped.

"Ancestor, the person has been brought here!"

"Mm!"

The soft sound of the old man's acknowledgment suddenly rang out in the room. Ever since entering the room, Zhang Nuo had been walking with his head down, never once looking up at anything around him. The moment he heard the voice, he felt a sense of shock arise from the bottom of his heart; that feeling was uncontrollable, and even if he tried to suppress it by force, it could not be calmed.

His face changed slightly, and Zhang Nuo's heart turned over instantly. It seemed that this Nascent Soul Stage existence was not something his own cultivation could compare to; just a single voice made his mind restless.

"You are Zhang Nuo? Raise your head!"

The aged and solemn voice sounded once again. Hearing Nanxuan Laozu call his name, Zhang Nuo trembled all over and hurriedly said:

"This junior is Zhang Nuo!"

While speaking, he also raised his head. He saw a very aged old man sitting on a sleeping couch in the room. He did not know how old the old man was; the skin on his face was covered in layers of wrinkles, his broad eyelids hung heavily, and his snow-white eyebrows were at least a chi long.

However, the Spiritual Pressure radiating from the old man was extremely powerful. Even though Zhang Nuo had been very restrained, the trembling that came from the depths of his heart still could not be stopped. It seemed this old man was indeed Nanxuan Laozu.

Nanxuan Laozu gently raised his eyelids, and instantly, a pair of eyes like bright pearls flashed with an inch of sharp light. His gaze swept over and landed on Zhang Nuo.

"I heard you are a Dual Spirit Sea Cultivator. Can you demonstrate it for me to see?"

There seemed to be an irresistible magic in Nanxuan Laozu's words. Zhang Nuo could only nod in agreement, not even having a single thought of opposition.

Standing on the flat ground, Zhang Nuo closed his eyes tightly, and at the same time, the Dual Spirit Sea within his body erupted with dazzling white light. Instantly, rings of Spiritual Qi appeared around his body, and in just a moment, this Spiritual Qi turned into something like materialized smoke, swirling continuously around Zhang Nuo's body.

"That is enough!"

A trace of surprise appeared on Nanxuan Laozu's calm face, but it vanished as quickly as it had appeared!

"Indeed a Dual Spirit Sea Cultivator. If it were an ordinary Foundation Establishment Early Stage existence, it would be impossible to release so much Spiritual Qi!"

After receiving the Ancestor's approval, Zhang Nuo withdrew the Spiritual Qi around him back into his body.

"What is the name of the cultivation technique you practice?"

"In reply to the Ancestor, the technique this junior practices is called: Shangqing Sword Art!"

Just like a primary school student answering a teacher's question, Zhang Nuo answered every time Nanxuan Laozu asked a question, while Zhuge An, standing to the side, did not dare to make a sound.

"Shangqing Sword Art?"

The muscles on his face twitched, and Nanxuan Laozu actually had a look of disbelief!

"Who taught it to you?"

"It was taught to me by my master, Lin Fan, when I was at the Divine Sword Sect!"

On the surface, Zhang Nuo was respectful to Nanxuan Laozu, but his heart was pounding incessantly. This Nascent Soul Stage old monster seemed very interested in the "Shangqing Sword Art."

"How many layers did he teach you?"

"When my master gave me the Jade Slip, it only recorded the cultivation essentials for the first ten layers; as for the final Third Layer, according to my master, it might be impossible to find!"

After hearing Zhang Nuo finish speaking, Nanxuan Laozu actually revealed a trace of a smile on his face. Immediately after, he let out a long sigh and said:

"According to what this old man knows, the final three layers of this 'Shangqing Sword Art' simply do not exist! I do not know if you have a partiality for this technique, or if your master deceived you, knowing full well that this technique cannot be cultivated to perfection, yet still wanting you to continue learning it!"

Zhang Nuo's mind stirred; listening to what Nanxuan Laozu meant, he was also very knowledgeable about the 'Shangqing Sword Art'.

"Take out your Magic Treasure sword box and let me have another look at it!"

Before Zhang Nuo could even figure out the previous matter, Nanxuan Laozu spoke again immediately after.

At the mention of the 'Nine Dragon Sword Case', Zhang Nuo was startled at once. This Magic Treasure had been passed down from ancient times; if it were still in its discarded state from back then, he naturally would not fear Nanxuan Laozu looking at it, but the current sword box had already recovered somewhat and could be used completely normally. If the Nascent Soul Stage old monster before him developed greed for the sword box, he would have absolutely no way to deal with it!

Especially since a Remnant Soul of Chunyangzi was hidden inside the sword box; he did not know if it would be discovered by him. Chunyangzi was a cultivator from the Immortal World, and in terms of cultivation, as long as he provided a little guidance, Zhang Nuo would avoid many detours. By comparison, the Remnant Soul of Chunyangzi was even more important than the 'Nine Dragon Sword Case'.

Seeing Zhang Nuo's slight hesitation, Nanxuan Laozu chuckled softly and said:

"Rest assured! This old man will not snatch the Magic Treasure of a junior disciple of this sect! Even though I have already guessed what the Magic Treasure you use is! But this old man has no interest in it!"

Hearing Nanxuan Laozu say this, Zhang Nuo finally breathed a sigh of relief. He immediately patted his Storage Bag, and the sword box flew out from within; after spinning around, it stopped right in front of him.