Chapter 189: The Replica

Facing Zhuge Qing's questioning, Zhang Nuo gave a faint smile, reached out and took the Heaven-Turning Seal from his Storage Bag, held it in his palm, and said:

"This Ancient Treasure is merely a replica!"

Looking at the Ancient Treasure in Zhang Nuo's hand, Zhuge Qing's beautiful eyes kept darting over it.

"Oh? A replica?"

A trace of surprise flashed through the young girl's eyes. Looking at the Heaven-Turning Seal in Zhang Nuo's hand now, it was indeed radiant and completely different from when it was bought at the auction.

"Do you still remember that I went out for a period of time before I broke through to the Foundation Establishment Late Stage?"

Seeing the strange look on the young girl's face, Zhang Nuo had long guessed this result. He asked unhurriedly. The young girl nodded slightly and continued to listen to him.

"During that trip, I originally intended to purchase a few types of Pills, but unexpectedly, in a workshop, I encountered a master artifact refiner. He unintentionally learned that I possessed the discarded Ancient Treasure Heaven-Turning Seal, and he immediately requested to take a look at it. Since the other party was a Foundation Establishment cultivator, I had no way to refuse, so I let him see it. As a result, that senior was very happy; after just a few glances, he said he could create a replica!"

Zhang Nuo spoke vividly, as if it were the truth. Although the young girl was somewhat suspicious in her heart, the Tianyuan Continent was so vast that there were still many formidable artifact refiners.

Seeing that Zhuge Qing was not suspicious, Zhang Nuo continued:

"As a result, a few days later, that master artifact refiner really did create a replica of the Heaven-Turning Seal, though its power was only half of the original. In the end, he requested to exchange this replica for the discarded Ancient Treasure in my hand!"

Speaking to this point, Zhang Nuo deliberately revealed a look of difficulty on his face.

"You also know that my cultivation is not as high as the other party's, so having no choice, I had to exchange it!"

"You mean to say that the Heaven-Turning Seal in your hand now is a replica?"

Zhuge Qing snatched the Heaven-Turning Seal from Zhang Nuo's hand. Upon careful inspection, she was completely unable to distinguish the true from the false, but judging from the current power of this seal, it was indeed much smaller than the legends suggested.

"What about the large amount of Spirit Stones you returned to me?"

Getting to the bottom of the matter, the young girl pursued the issue of the Spirit Stones again. Such a large amount of Spirit Stones was not a small sum.

"This... hehe! I cannot tell you the truth!"

Zhang Nuo had never thought the young girl would ask about the Spirit Stones. After being momentarily speechless, he shook his head mysteriously. Once Zhuge Qing saw this, it was not appropriate to keep asking. She returned the Heaven-Turning Seal to Zhang Nuo, and the two chatted about other things before she left his room.

Seeing the young girl leave, Zhang Nuo let out a long breath. Perhaps this excuse of his could deceive Zhuge Qing for a while.

Three days later, Zhuge Qing found Zhang Nuo again, saying there was a mission to entrust to him. Following the young girl out of the room, the two arrived at where Zhuge An was. At this time, in the fortress hall, there were also several other Nanxuan Sect cultivators.

"You've come!"

Zhuge An smiled, and after seeing Zhang Nuo enter, he said very politely.

"Greetings, Sect Master!"

Since the great battle that day, no one on the Tianjiang Plain did not know Zhang Nuo's name. At this moment, several Nanxuan Sect cultivators standing to the side also smiled and cast envious glances toward Zhang Nuo.

"This time, I must trouble you to do one thing!"

Zhuge An's attitude established quite a bit of prestige for Zhang Nuo in front of the Nanxuan Sect disciples. Since even the Sect Master valued this person so much, the other disciples dared not act presumptuously.

"Please speak, Sect Master!"

Although Zhuge An was polite, Zhang Nuo did not dare to be too presumptuous and still said very respectfully.

Nodding slightly, Zhuge An was very happy in his heart. *A child worth teaching! He has merit but is not arrogant! *

"It is like this: in front of our fortress, there is a small fortress of the Five Great Demons. I want you to take a few people to probe its reality. If the dispatched disciples' cultivation is insufficient, they will be unable to scout it out clearly. Therefore, after the four Sect Leaders discussed it, only you are the most suitable!"

Although Zhuge An spoke lightly, Zhang Nuo understood in his heart that this kind of mission was the most dangerous. Once there were Golden Core cultivators in the fortress, none of the people they sent would be able to return alive.

He cursed Zhuge An thoroughly in his heart, but on his face, Zhang Nuo dared not show any disrespect. After hesitating for a moment, he agreed.

He couldn't guarantee anything else, but Zhang Nuo still had some confidence in escaping safely.

Seeing that Zhang Nuo had agreed, Zhuge An smiled slightly, gave him a few more instructions, and then let him go! Before Zhang Nuo left, Zhuge Qing gave him a few words of concerned advice, which made the surrounding Nanxuan Sect disciples even more jealous.

Now that Zhang Nuo's status in the sect was getting higher and higher, many cultivators were secretly discussing that Zhang Nuo would very likely be Zhuge Qing's husband in the future!

The dark night slowly descended. Zhang Nuo took three Nanxuan Sect disciples and, riding a Flying Magic Tool, left the fortress. Just after the four of them left, in Zhuge An's room, the father and daughter whispered in low voices.

"Will there be any accidents if he is allowed to take disciples out alone this time?"

Zhuge Qing asked her father with some worry.

"Girl, with your intelligence, can you not understand him?"

The old man smiled slightly, but there was a feeling of ill intent within the smile.

"This person Zhang Nuo is not simple at all. Beneath his honest and reliable exterior hides an extremely sharp mind. He is definitely a rare military talent, but he does not seem keen on these matters. I must temper him so that he can become the right-hand man of the Nanxuan Sect."

"So that is what Father meant!"

The young girl suddenly realized and chuckled.

"Besides! Hehe, Qing'er, I also know what you are thinking in your heart. What do you think of this person Zhang Nuo?"

Being suddenly asked this by her father, Zhuge Qing's face turned slightly red. With her level of intelligence, she completely guessed what her father wanted to say in the next sentence.

"You have always been high-minded and would not look upon those vulgar people, but Zhang Nuo is no ordinary figure and will surely achieve great things in the future. If you want him to stay in the Nanxuan Sect wholeheartedly, I am afraid this is the only way! Otherwise, with the current strength of the Nanxuan Sect, it is very difficult to keep him!"

Zhuge An had already spoken to this point; anyone would understand his meaning.

"Father, just as you said, Zhang Nuo is not a simple guy. I am afraid that even I cannot keep his heart!"

A slight bitter smile appeared on her pretty face. Through her contact with Zhang Nuo during this period, she discovered that Zhang Nuo was not interested in women at all.

Zhuge An frowned slightly. He had heard all of this from his daughter, but at the moment, besides this method, it seemed there was no better way to be found.

"Father! This matter needs to be discussed in the long term. For the time being, it seems Zhang Nuo will not leave the Nanxuan Sect!"

Seeing her father worried, the young girl smiled faintly and then comforted him.

"Sigh! What a troublesome guy!"

With a long sigh, Zhuge An really wanted to keep Zhang Nuo in the Nanxuan Sect for a long time. Only with such a cultivator would the sect be invincible. Currently, it was precisely because of the existence of the Nanxuan Laozu that no one dared to provoke the Nanxuan Sect easily.

In the dark night, Zhang Nuo led three Nanxuan Sect disciples and quietly approached a small fortress. A hundred feet away from the fortress, the four of them landed on the ground. At this time, Zhang Nuo had the other three stop, took out the Nine Dragon Sword Case himself, and slowly approached the fortress.

Without using any techniques, the Spirit Power fluctuations on Zhang Nuo's body were completely absorbed by the sword case. At the same time, he took a deep breath, and the life signs within his body also became much weaker!

Keeping his body low, Zhang Nuo slowly approached the fortress. This fortress was not large, and it looked like there were about a dozen demonic cultivators inside. When Zhang Nuo was still a dozen feet away from the fortress, Chunyangzi's voice suddenly came from the sword case.

"Kid Zhang, don't get any closer. There is a warning Restriction ahead; if you move forward, you will trigger it!"

After hearing this, Zhang Nuo was stunned for a moment, then released his Divine Sense to carefully sense the front, but his Divine Sense felt nothing at all. A look of surprise appeared on his face. Chunyangzi's senses could not be wrong! But why was he unable to sense it himself?

"This must be a Restriction set by a Golden Core stage expert; it is truly ingenious!"

At this moment, the voice of Chunyangzi sounded from within the Sword Box once again.

"Is there a way to break it?"

"With your current strength, it is not possible!"

Without any hesitation, Chunyangzi said directly.

Zhang Nuo lowered his head and remained silent; if he could not pass through this Restriction, he would have no way of seeing what was inside the fortress, and in that case, he would have to return empty-handed this time.

After thinking for a moment, Zhang Nuo suddenly revealed a cold sneer and raised his hand to grab at the void in front of him!

"What are you trying to do!"

Upon seeing this, Chunyangzi exclaimed loudly, but just at this moment, Zhang Nuo's hand swept across the void in front of him, and suddenly, several streaks of light flashed through the previously empty void, just like drops of oil falling onto a calm surface of water.

Immediately, four streaks of light flew out from inside the fortress; these people were piloting Flying Magic Tools and arrived in front of Zhang Nuo after a few flashes in mid-air.

Having intentionally triggered the Restriction, Zhang Nuo was not panicked; he looked up at the demonic cultivators in the air and saw that their cultivation was at most at the Foundation Establishment stage.

"Who goes there!"

The four demonic cultivators unleashed their Divine Sense, and with one sweep, they discovered Zhang Nuo's presence; they saw a young cultivator standing alone on the flat ground, looking up at them.

"It's a cultivator from the Tianjiang Plain!"

At this time, another demonic cultivator shouted loudly, and at the same time, six more demonic cultivators flew out from inside the fortress one after another; the ten people stood side by side, all bringing out their Magic Treasures, ready to attack Zhang Nuo.

Zhang Nuo remained motionless, and no fear or surprise could be seen on his face!

"Kid Zhang, what exactly are you trying to do?"

The questioning voice of Chunyangzi came from within the Sword Box.

"Senior, you don't need to worry about it; you will naturally know in a moment!"

Zhang Nuo sent a voice transmission back, his body suddenly retreated, and he piloted his Flying Magic Tool, quickly leaving the area!

Seeing this, the ten demonic cultivators behind naturally would not let him go, and with a flash of their figures, they chased after him!