Chapter 177: Zhang Lin

Passing the place where the stone books were stored, the party of three walked onto a small path surrounded by thorns and vines, heading toward the deepest part of Zi Shan.

The surrounding vines and thorns were emerald green and glistening, looking quite full of life force, but beneath these thorns and vines lay a field of corpses, their Primordial Qi drained and weathered over a long time until only bones remained.

But these corpses were not human; they were all kinds of strange, bizarre shapes.

"These things look truly disgusting; could they be some animal's bones?" Even the clear-headed and detached Zi Xia was frowning at this moment.

"These are all ancient creatures' bones; some of their structures differ from humans." Jiang Xuan walked along the secluded path and said calmly.

Yao Xi, on the other hand, curiously examined these bones, as if wanting to see how ancient beings differed from humans.

The small path gradually widened; the thorns and vines disappeared, replaced by a cascading waterfall, brilliant with five colors, Spiritual Qi swirling around it, looking just like a fairyland.

Jiang Xuan raised his head to look at the sky; the Rule Power of this place was resisting the three of them approaching, but thinking about it, that was quite normal.

After all, this also counted as the Wushi Great Emperor's cenotaph; without the Wushi Jade as proof, being repelled was also a very normal thing.

Fortunately, its power still remained at the level of Rules and had not involved Dao Patterns, so Jiang Xuan was able to shelter the three of them to enter freely.

Before the waterfall was an opened Divine Source, which had already lost the energy within it.

"Such a large piece of Divine Source, what a waste!" Yao Xi stared wide-eyed and said.

Jiang Xuan laughed lightly: "Would you lack cultivation resources in Yaochi Holy Land?"

Yao Xi shook her head: "That's different! The feeling of treasure hunting is what makes people happy!"

"Didn't see you interested in the Wu Shi Sutra just now, either."

"The Yaochi Holy Mother once said the Wu Shi Sutra can only be cultivated by an Innate Dao Body Sacred Body; even if I got it, it would be of no use." Yao Xi argued confidently.

Passing the waterfall, ahead was a row of crystal coffins, engraved with dense but lusterless Dao Patterns, and some Tai Gu Wen; these were all the Undying Heavenly Emperor's former subordinates.

Inside the crystal coffins were terrifying corpses, their faces withered and ferocious, skin pitch-black, hair withered yellow; just one glance made one feel Yin Qi swirling around the body, shrouded by all kinds of ominousness.

Jiang Xuan raised his head to look behind that row of coffins; a black human-like shadow streaked across the distance, as if probing the intruders' strength; Jiang Xuan didn't need to look to know that shadow was Zhang Lin.

"Let's go! These coffins are too creepy!"

The three passed the coffins and continued inward; after only about ten minutes, the ancient path finally reached its end, the surroundings became peaceful and quiet, the quantity of orchids and dragon grass gradually increased, and faint purple auspiciousness appeared on the cliff walls.

At the end of the path was a massive Dao Platform; the platform itself was empty, but Chaos Qi swirled in the sky, condensing and coiling, occasionally a strand falling onto the platform; just a single thread of Chaos Qi made one feel heaviness, as if it would crush this heaven and earth.

As the Chaos Qi descended, hazily Jiang Xuan seemed to see an eternal figure sitting cross-legged on that platform, unchanged through the ages, emitting a confident aura that came from the Cosmos and suppressed all things; those unclear eyes seemed to gaze through Time at the three people present.

Jiang Xuan's brows furrowed slightly; just a remnant shadow of the past, or a lingering of history, already made him feel the Heaven and Earth pressure from instinct; he and the Wushi Great Emperor were still very far apart.

"I seem to have seen the Wushi Great Emperor!" Yao Xi swallowed hard with difficulty; a moment ago she seemed to have lost her memory, her mind leaving only an eternal figure.

Zi Xia's expression didn't change; she closed her eyes as if comprehending something!

The Wushi Great Emperor's Innate Dao Body Sacred Body, though just a fleeting glimpse, let her feel too much power; her body trembled under the influence of their shared origin.

"Haha! Didn't expect there to be so many Medicine Kings here! This trip down the tomb I've really struck it rich!" Duan De's cheap voice came from behind the three.

Turning to look, Duan De's eyes shone, staring at the dozen or so Medicine Kings beneath the Wushi Dao Platform, drool almost flowing out!

Jiang Xuan looked at Duan De behind him, brows raising slightly; from when they passed those dozen coffins, he could sense the Red-haired Monster had been following them toward the depths; now Duan De had caught up, only a few meters from the Red-haired Monster, hidden in the darkness above, yet Duan De still hadn't discovered the other party.

"Jiang Xuan! I'm Ye Fan's good brother! I've heard Ye Fan mention you so many times, never thought we'd actually meet here!" Duan De acted like an old friend, walking toward Jiang Xuan.

Just then, the Red-haired Monster lurking in the darkness suddenly pounced, its blood-red eyes filled only with rampant killing intent, not a shred of personal consciousness!

"What is this thing!" Duan De cried out in alarm; his fat body looked surprisingly agile.

"Hey! Brother Jiang Xuan! Save me!" Duan De screamed miserably.

Jiang Xuan watched quietly; don't be fooled by his loud cries, he wasn't injured yet; in his heart he merely thought of diverting trouble eastward.

"Brother Jiang Xuan! Ye Fan and I are life-and-death friends! You can't just watch me die!"

"Life-and-death friendship — you mean when you swindled him out of many treasures and sold him to the Yao clan?" Jiang Xuan laughed lightly.

Duan De froze at those words, and in that instant the Red-haired Monster tore a gash in him; he hissed in a breath of cold air: "That was how long ago! Besides, he still took a piece of my Mysterious Green Copper! Let him suffer a loss!"

"So you left your aura on me to see why my progress is so fast?"

Duan De stared wide-eyed: "No! How do you know everything! What's the point of me playing then!"

Seeing Jiang Xuan had no intention of moving, Duan De had no choice but to sacrifice the Swallowing Heaven Demon Jar Lid, transforming it into a great curtain that enveloped them both!

Watching the Red-haired Monster temporarily unable to break through, Duan De again looked at Jiang Xuan provocatively.

"Wait till this Red-haired Monster switches targets; let's see if you'll be begging me for help then!"

But the next second, Jiang Xuan waved his hand lightly; Gray Fog enveloped the three of them; though they stood in place, they felt not a shred of fluctuation or life force, like a stone standing in place.

The Red-haired Monster had no other target, and continued frantically attacking Duan De, forcing Duan De to constantly pour out power to protect himself!

"Brother! You're my real brother! Saving a life is better than building a seven-story pagoda; I've got lots of good things on me!!" Duan De frowned with his fat face, looking pained, as if giving away a few treasures was like cutting his own flesh.

Jiang Xuan still didn't move; Duan De saw a crafty smile on his face.

"How about you throw out the treasures you're giving me first; I'll see if they're worth saving your life!"

Duan De gritted his teeth, pulled out a few Magic Weapons from his bosom, face full of reluctance and pain: "Big Brother! I'm almost out of strength!"

Jiang Xuan waved his hand to collect these Magic Weapons; looking at their quality, one could only say they were barely passable; added together they couldn't even compare to the Heavenly Emperor Sword currently being suppressed in the Eight Trigrams Furnace!

"I'm not very satisfied with this price; looks like you'll have to face it yourself!" Jiang Xuan shook his head, looking like he couldn't help even if he wanted to.

Duan De's eyes nearly popped out: "If you can't help, don't take my Magic Weapons! You took them then said you can't help — are you the swindler or am I the swindler!"

"Hm? Brother Duan De, I see you have quite an opinion! Could it be you feel one Red-haired Monster isn't enough pressure?" Speaking, the Immortal Slaying Sword appeared in Jiang Xuan's hand, a sword intent targeting him soaring skyward.

Feeling the sharp sword intent like it was scraping his body, Duan De felt his whole body involuntarily tremble; he hurriedly piled on a smile: "How could there be, Big Brother! I'm frowning only thinking of giving Big Brother more things, can't let Big Brother suffer a loss!"

Speaking, Duan De poured out a huge pile like beans; among them were Source Stones, Magic Treasures, ores, damaged Ancient Medicines, etc.; Yao Xi and the other beside him looked astonished, never expecting this little fatty could produce so many good things!

Jiang Xuan waved his hand as usual to collect everything into his space; examining carefully, this time's quality was indeed much better than last time, but whether it reached one-tenth of Duan De's reserves was hard to say.

"How about it! This time little brother me is full of sincerity!"

Jiang Xuan shook his head: "Brother Duan De, I see your Swallowing Heaven Demon Jar Lid has pretty high defense! I happen to be going to a very dangerous place; how about lending it to me?"

Duan De stared wide-eyed, as if silently accusing: "Is this human? Took two waves of stuff, now wants his most precious treasure? Though it's just a lid without Extreme Dao Emperor Soldier power, it has at minimum Emperor Soldier defense! This isn't an Emperor Soldier, it's his life and livelihood!"

Jiang Xuan laughed: "Of course I won't let you suffer a loss; I'll compensate you with two strands of World Life Force!"

"What bullshit life force, I, Duan De, haven't seen what I haven't seen, this life force isn't even worthy of being compared to my Emperor Armament……"

Jiang Xuan extracted a thread of life force from the Micro World, transmitting his perception of life force into Duan De's consciousness.

This is World Life Force; don't look at Jiang Xuan only using it to recover his condition, but its effect is actually stronger than the Immortal Divine Medicine.

It can not only extend at least a thousand years of lifespan, but below Immortals, it can repair all injuries on the body!

Note that it is all injuries, even Dao Injuries can be repaired, it's just a matter of how much is used.

Duan De sensed this World Life Force immediately, even forgetting to continue channeling power into the Swallowing Heaven Demon Jar, and the defensive shadow began to shatter under the Red-haired Monster's attacks.

Regaining his senses, Duan De glanced at the Red-haired Monster beside him, turned to look at Jiang Xuan, his eyes full of fervor: "Trade! A thread of this thing can at least be exchanged for an Emperor Armament!"

As his words fell, the Red-haired Monster finally stopped attacking from the darkness, slowly walking out of the darkness.

This Red-haired Monster had red hair over half a chi long on its body, its face completely covered by red hair, leaving only a pair of gloomy eyes, eyes full of chaotic killing intent, the sound it emitted like a yin wind scraping past, chilling to the bone.

"You are Zhang Lin! The fifth-generation Source Heaven Master Zhang Lin!" Jiang Xuan said softly.

Only chaos remained in the other's soul, but his resilient will still blocked Jiang Xuan from breaking through and occupying his Sea of Consciousness, so Jiang Xuan could only inject news about Zhang Lin from his memories into it, while controlling the other's body and soul to separate, completely quieting down.

Seeing Jiang Xuan so easily make the Red-haired Monster quiet down, Duan De put away the Swallowing Heaven Demon Jar Lid, muttering in his mouth: "Suppressed so easily, I always feel I've lost out!"

As Jiang Xuan's vast consciousness poured into the Red-haired Monster's Sea of Consciousness, it actually gradually dissipated the killing intent in the Red-haired Monster's eyes.

If the Beginningless Bell's resonance was forcibly dragging Zhang Lin back to clarity, then Jiang Xuan pouring in vast and repeated information was guiding Zhang Lin to find himself!

Although the final result was the same, the latter caused less harm to his body.

One hour later, clarity returned to the Red-haired Monster's eyes, and he also gained the ability to think: "I am Zhang Lin! I am……Zhang Lin!"

The Red-haired Monster suddenly lifted his head, brilliance bursting in his eyes, the red hair on his face slowly falling off.

"You are……you have the shadow of the Source Heaven Technique within you, but have not formally cultivated it?"

"I am a friend of the current generation Source Heaven Master!"

"Thank you for letting me briefly regain consciousness, but unfortunately I am already dead, I can live at most two more days, otherwise I could have a heart-to-heart long talk with you, young friend, and discuss the Dao together." Zhang Lin sighed softly, asking doubtfully: "Young friend, what business brings you into Zi Shan?"

Brilliance flashed in Jiang Xuan's eyes, the White Tower's Authority seriously appraising the other's body, while analyzing the other's current physical condition, while explaining: "I came specifically for you; now the Ancient Times Ten Thousand Clans are about to enter the world, and I need some helpers."

"Unfortunately, I've let you down, young friend! The reason I'm still alive is just relying on this mad power! Once I return to sanity, I can't escape death!"

Jiang Xuan said nothing, seriously examining Zhang Lin's body.

Just as Zhang Lin said, because of the Source Stone he became a Red-haired Monster, the real him had already died, leaving only the Red-haired Monster!

When he realized he was the fifth-generation Source Heaven Master Zhang Lin, the vitality belonging to the Red-haired Monster gradually faded, leaving only a rotten and dead body, and as for his soul, rather than a soul, it was just a thread of shattered consciousness and belief; even World Life Force could not restore things that were already dead and already dissipated.

"Don't waste your effort, young friend! While I still have two days left, let me shine one last time for the Human Race! You say who we should attack! Also, I want to beg you to help me save someone!" Zhang Lin's eyes were full of death intent; he never expected to live, and while he could still move, he hid into the darkness, and in a moment came out holding a huge Source.

Sealed within the Source was a beautiful woman, like a lotus rising from water, unstained by dust.

"I owe her too much! I'm unwilling for her to die for me!" Zhang Lin looked at the woman in the Source with deep affection, and after a long while sighed softly, unable to express the sorrow and guilt within.

"She'll be fine!" Jiang Xuan's life force was more useful than Immortal Divine Medicine; saving Yang Yi was simple for him.

"You won't die either! I have a way to let you live, but your cultivation level and Source Heaven Technique cannot be preserved!" Golden light gradually faded from Jiang Xuan's eyes.

Zhang Lin was once a Heaven's Pride of a generation, his strength was not weak, and his self-sacrificing aura was also appreciated by Jiang Xuan.

(Chapter End)