Chapter 1294: A Harem of Three Thousand Beauties

The scene before him shook violently. Zhang Xuan knew that the teleportation array, which involved space, would greatly aid his comprehension of the Heavenly Book of Space. As soon as he entered, he activated his Eye of Insight, hoping to observe the specific workings.

Around him, colorful lights flickered continuously, as if he were flying through the air. Countless patterns densely appeared before his eyes, like a beautiful painting.

“They look somewhat similar to the patterns of the Sealing Saint Art…”

His heart stirred.

Under the illumination of the Eye of Insight, the teleportation array’s patterns indeed resembled those of the Sealing Saint Art, like lines from one to nine tightly fused together, forming length, width, height, and space.

Whoosh!

He stumbled, and the light before him vanished. Looking around, he found himself in a small valley.

The surroundings were lush with forests, and a stream flowed down, striking rocks like a musical instrument.

He glanced around.

On both sides were green vegetation, somewhat similar to the Sword Pool Island he had entered earlier, except this place looked like a canyon.

“First, find sacred beasts. The more I defeat, the higher my score!”

Knowing that time was of the essence, Zhang Xuan did not hesitate and flew upward along the canyon.

He didn’t know many other rules, but defeating sacred beasts would certainly earn points. Since that was the case, he would rely on his strength to beat up as many as possible.

Back when he took the assessment for the Hongyuan Master Teacher Academy, he had experienced a similar situation, taming hundreds of spirit beasts and thus far surpassing others in score.

Taming beasts and dealing with sacred beasts… Even if his opponents were stronger, in a real contest, he would surely come out on top—this was definitely a great tool for racking up points.

Flying swiftly, various plants passed before his eyes.

Truly a place abundant with spiritual energy, the variety of plants was vast; even he could not name many of them.

On the way here, aside from cultivating, he had been reading books in his sea of consciousness. The books he had collected earlier were now almost all read.

In terms of erudition, even a Nine-Star Master Teacher might not match him. With such a wealth of knowledge… there were still plants he couldn’t name, showing just how diverse the species were.

“Hmm? Something’s off…”

After carefully observing the various plants and flying for a while, Zhang Xuan frowned.

Given his range of spiritual perception, after flying this long, even if he hadn’t encountered powerful sacred beasts, he should have met ordinary life forms. Now, aside from vegetation, he had found nothing—this was somewhat strange.

“Could it be that I was directly teleported into some kind of formation?”

He stopped flying, and layers of radiance shimmered in his eyes as he looked around.

The Eye of Insight could dispel illusions. After a moment, he indeed noticed something amiss.

“It’s an illusion formation…”

Shaking his head, he moved his body to a spot and lightly stamped his foot.

Hum!

Countless vegetation collapsed in an instant. Before him, the stream still flowed, but it was different from before. It was no longer a valley but a small thatched cottage nestled among green hills and clear waters, serene and peaceful. Even before approaching, it naturally relaxed one’s mind.

Knowing that he was still in the assessment to enter the mountain gate, Zhang Xuan dared not let his guard down and advanced slowly.

Sizzle, sizzle!

Before he reached the cottage, a scraping sound came. Peering around a corner of the wooden house, he saw an old man squatting by the stream, incessantly grinding something.

It was an iron rod.

Under constant grinding, the iron rod had begun to thin, its tip as fine as a needle.

“Grinding an iron rod into a needle?”

Zhang Xuan was taken aback, full of confusion.

A sacred beast ambush, a siege by others, being trapped in a formation… none of these would be surprising, but seeing someone grinding an iron rod left him completely baffled.

“Do you know what I’m doing?”

Just as he was wondering, a faint voice sounded. The old man grinding the iron rod seemed to have noticed him, continuing his motion while asking with a tone of inquiry.

“You’re grinding a needle!” Zhang Xuan replied.

“Eh?” The old man was startled and turned his head. “You know I’m grinding a needle?”

Such a thick iron rod—an outsider would only think he was sharpening some weapon. This person saw at a glance that he was grinding a needle, which surprised him.

“Yes, you’re using an iron rod to grind a needle, trying to tell me that as long as one has determination and puts in effort, even the hardest task can be accomplished… As the saying goes, ‘With perseverance, an iron rod can be ground into a needle!’”

Zhang Xuan said.

“This…”

The old man blinked.

He hadn't been especially gifted during his lifetime, always feeling he couldn't catch up with others. Later, one day he went out and saw a teacher grinding an iron pestle, telling him he wanted to grind it into an embroidery needle, and then spoke the earlier words, which greatly benefited him. From then on, he advanced all the way to his current level.

He made the same move, hoping to inspire and encourage later generations. How... this fellow before him saw through his purpose in one sentence, leaving him with many words stuck in his chest, unable to speak them out?

Swallowing, the old man was about to speak when he saw the young man before him shake his head and sigh: "Though the intention is good, in my view, it's a futile effort!"

"Why?" Frowning, the old man couldn't help but look over.

He had been greatly inspired back then—how could it be futile?

"Simple. If I'm not mistaken, you're not a real person but a soul imprint. What you're grinding is a piece of Star Spirit Iron, extremely hard, even more precious than Gold Crystal Mystic Stone. What you're grinding with is an ordinary bluestone... The gap in grade between the two is like using cotton to polish an iron rod. Do you think it can succeed?"

Zhang Xuan said.

With his Eye of Insight activated, he could already see that the old man before him was not a real person but a soul imprint.

The iron block in his hand was a very rare Star Spirit Iron, extremely hard, difficult to melt even for an eight-star artifact smith. Grinding it with an ordinary stone... was simply a joke.

"Even if perseverance pays off and you can achieve something by grinding persistently... but as a soul imprint, how long can you sustain yourself? If I remember correctly, soul imprints cannot last long in the outside world!"

Zhang Xuan continued.

He had seen soul imprints many times. If not activated, they could exist for a longer time while dormant, but once awakened, they generally didn't survive long.

For example, the ancient sage Qiu Wu, the Sword Elder he had met before... despite their immense strength in life, the imprints they left didn't last long before dissipating.

"This..." Seeing his analysis was well-founded, the old man helplessly shook his head, put down the iron pestle, and looked at him with approval: "You're very clever, and your eyesight is good. You saw through it so quickly..."

His purpose in grinding the iron rod here was not only to inspire later generations but also to test them.

The other party saw through his purpose at a glance and recognized him as a soul imprint, showing good eyesight and intelligence.

"Seeing through these is simple!" Zhang Xuan shook his head.

Even if he hadn't been a learned man in his previous life, he had still heard the story of grinding an iron pestle into an embroidery needle. Using this to educate others might inspire and shock them, but to him, it was already a familiar tale, stirring no waves.

"Actually, if you really want to grind this Star Spirit Iron into a fine needle, it's not impossible. This ordinary bluestone won't do; you need Mystic Gold Stone combined with Suspension Wood Sap!"

Zhang Xuan said with a slight smile.

"Oh? You say Mystic Gold Stone combined with Suspension Wood Sap can grind Star Spirit Iron into a fine needle?"

Stunned, the old man's words caught in his throat, unable to believe it.

"That's right!"

Zhang Xuan smiled lightly: "Simple. Suspension Wood Sap has a corrosive effect. Combined with Mystic Gold Stone and a few other herbs, it can easily corrode the hard parts of Star Spirit Iron. As long as you calculate the mass and size of the iron rod in your hand and prepare enough solution, it can be corroded into the size of an embroidery needle in just a few minutes, no grinding needed!"

"A few minutes?"

"I happen to have these herbs here; I can show you."

With a flick of his wrist, he took out a pile of herbs and moved his fingers like the wind.

Having seized the storage ring of the black market boss Ji Lingfeng, the herbs and treasures inside were even more abundant than what he had collected before. Though these herbs were precious, he could still gather them.

Soon, the various liquids were blended together to form a special solution.

He took out a piece of Mystic Gold Stone, evenly coated it with the solution, then took the iron rod and placed it inside.

Sizzle sizzle!

A white mist rose, and the Star Spirit Iron rapidly shrank. As Zhang Xuan had said, in a few minutes, it turned into a fine embroidery needle.

The herbs and Mystic Gold Stone were also consumed exactly, not a bit more or less, as if precisely calculated.

With a flick of his finger, the fine needle flew into his palm. Zhang Xuan casually handed it to the old man opposite: "I've helped you finish it. No need to keep grinding here from now on. It's quite hard... so much effort with no effect..."

"..."

The old man's mouth twitched uncontrollably.

He had only wanted to test the other party, but this fool before him had actually ground his iron pestle into an embroidery needle... Wasn't this too much?

Most importantly, he had even lectured him, like an elder encouraging a junior...

Do you know who I am? Talking to me like that?

Shaking his head to cast aside his frustration, the old man looked over: "You calculated the dosage of the herbs after just one glance at the iron rod... It seems your Eye of Insight has reached the realm of 'meticulous detail, not a hair's breadth off'!"

"You know I have the Eye of Insight?"

Zhang Xuan was startled.

After four Heavenly Recognitions of Masters, his Eye of Insight could be completely concealed. Unless he willed it, even an eight-star high-grade master might not be able to see it.

This old man, being a soul imprint, couldn't be assessed for strength, yet he recognized it at a glance... His cultivation in life must have been extremely profound!

"Could he be... a nine-star master?"

His heart stirred, and Zhang Xuan couldn't help but look over, his fists clenching involuntarily.

The most powerful master he had ever seen was Elder Haoyu, who had just instructed them to enter here. He had never seen a so-called nine-star master, not even knowing their names.

If this old man had reached that level, perhaps he could indeed see that he possessed the Eye of Insight.