Chapter 2084: Heavenly Dao Hammer Technique

In his perception, the pointer spun ceaselessly above, never able to stop.

This situation meant either the spiritual energy was too chaotic, or too stable—the thickness of spiritual energy in all directions was exactly the same.

“Spiritual energy is like flowing water; the water in a dry well can be still and waveless, but as soon as someone or something enters, ripples will inevitably appear…”

Thought after thought flickered through his mind, like sparks bursting forth.

“The spiritual energy before me—I entered it, yet it showed no change at all. This can only mean one thing: either the spiritual energy here is too bizarre and defies common sense, or… the spiritual energy I perceive is wrong! This trapping formation creates an illusion that prevents cultivators from even distinguishing spiritual energy!”

Although he had never seen this formation before, countless books and knowledge about formations from the Master Teacher Continent and the Firmament flooded his mind. What was difficult for others to understand was not complicated for him.

“Seal the six senses!”

Realizing that the greatest effect of the trapping formation was to influence the cultivator's senses, Zhang Xuan closed his eyes, moved his mind, and sealed his six senses.

In an instant, he seemed to enter a dark and gloomy place, unable to see, hear, or even feel his spirit, which fell into slumber.

After a moment of stillness, he seemed to “see” a water clock appear in his vision.

The water clock was small, and the water inside dripped drop by drop onto the ground, making a ticking sound.

“That's it!”

With a low cry, Zhang Xuan did not move. In his dantian, a sword cry rang out, and the divine sword intent fused with his body leaped out, gently shaking, transforming into a giant sword that spanned heaven and earth, slashing down at the water clock.

Whoosh!

The dark curtain was split open, and light returned to his sight.

Zhang Xuan opened his eyes and indeed saw that the previously pitch-black hall was now blazing with countless torches, illuminating it like daylight.

“This trapping formation indeed traps the heart…”

Letting out a breath, Zhang Xuan understood that he had bet correctly.

This kind of formation completely trapped a person, preventing even the soul from escaping. The only way to break it was to disbelieve everything seen, heard, or sensed by divine consciousness, seal the six senses, and use the purest inner perception to seek.

It had little to do with understanding formations; as long as one had a pure heart and a strong mind, one could quickly discover and break it.

In other words, even someone completely ignorant of formations could break it just like him.

“Breaking the [Heart-Piercing Formation] in less than a tenth of the allotted time shows considerable cultivation and mental state. You are now qualified to enter the second level!”

Confucius's voice continued.

A row of stone steps suddenly appeared.

“Heart-Piercing Formation? Qualified? What are you up to?”

Zhang Xuan was utterly confused.

He had thought that since the other party had guessed he would teleport through the altar, they would have prepared an ambush with countless false gods to kill him. He never dreamed it would be formations and a second level…

What was this guy playing at?

The surroundings were silent, still no one answered.

Taking a deep breath, Zhang Xuan stepped onto the stairs.

As soon as he stepped onto the first step, he felt a special pressure bearing down on him, as if trying to expel his soul from his body.

“It must come from the gods…”

Raising his eyebrows, Zhang Xuan continued forward.

The power before him evoked a sense of helplessness from deep within, like the suppression of bloodline or biological chain.

It was like an ordinary person seeing a roaring tiger, involuntarily feeling weak in the knees.

It came from the depths of the soul, impossible to hide from or refuse.

But… for him, it was nothing.

Hum!

The pendant on his chest emitted a warm sensation, and the pressure instantly dissipated. Zhang Xuan walked slowly and soon reached the second level of the room.

It was also a spacious hall. On the surrounding walls hung eight paintings arranged in the pattern of the Eight Trigrams, as if suppressing something.

Zhang Xuan looked.

The paintings depicted eight people, some holding long swords, some long blades, some iron whips, some iron hammers… different appearances, various forms.

Before even approaching, he felt a sense of oppression penetrating through the paintings, pressing onto him, giving a feeling of sharpness.

“The skill of these paintings is not high, but… the painter is very strong! Though just a few simple strokes, they infused the spirit of the subjects into them, making them unassailable even for peak false gods…”

Zhang Xuan had already reached the level of a nine-star painter on the Master Teacher Continent. His understanding of painting was not far behind Confucius's.

The paintings before him had simple brushstrokes and rough style. On the Master Teacher Continent, an ordinary three-star painter could produce them, but the spirit and power contained within could not be achieved by such a painter.

Even he might not be able to do it.

“Could it be… a god personally painted them?”

Only a god personally painting could infuse such powerful force into ordinary paper, allowing it to retain such strength for so many years.

Of the eight paintings, six were colored, one had faded like a black-and-white photo, and another had lost half its color, looking neither fish nor fowl—perhaps it was never colored in time, or for some other reason.

After looking a while longer, finding no useful clues and hearing no more from Confucius, Zhang Xuan approached one of the paintings.

To leave, he must be connected to these paintings and find a way to solve their mystery.

The painting before him depicted a tall, burly man with eyes like copper bells, holding an iron hammer, full of strength.

Hesitating slightly, he reached out and touched it.

Whoosh!

He vanished from the spot and appeared in an extremely vast wilderness.

Here, everything was pale white, with no grass, no vegetation, no walls, as if in an illusory dream.

“Make your move!”

Zhang Xuan looked up and saw the man from the painting, now holding two huge iron hammers, staring coldly at him.

“Did I… enter the painting?”

Zhang Xuan was stunned.

This was the man from the painting. Unexpectedly, by touching it, he had entered the painting and become part of it.

“Why should I make a move?”

Seeing the murderous intent from the opposite side, Zhang Xuan frowned.

He didn't even know why he had entered the painting. Make a move… why?

“If you don't fight, you'll be trapped here forever and never get out…”

Snorting coldly, the burly man with double hammers, regardless of whether he agreed, swung the hammers with a whistling sound and pressed down.

Before they even reached him, Zhang Xuan's whole body stiffened, and cold sweat broke out on his forehead.

The strength of the man in the painting actually surpassed that of the self-destructing peak false god from before, and even… compared to Confucius, he was only stronger!

“A god…”

In an instant, he understood that this man, even if not a true god, was not far off.

Raising his hand to summon his long sword, he found that his storage ring had lost contact with his spirit, and in his palm, two huge iron hammers identical to the opponent's had appeared.

Unexpectedly, the painting also restricted weapons. Zhang Xuan's face twitched, his expression grim: “I've never specifically trained in hammer-type weapons…”

He had practiced swordsmanship, spearmanship, and bladework… but never touched hammers, nor used them.

Before this thought had even passed through his mind, the opponent was already before him, the hammers descending with a tremendous roar, breaking through the air.

In hammer attacks, strength was key; the techniques were not as agile as swordsmanship, but they gave a sense of having to block yet being unable to.

Stepping back to dodge the attack, Zhang Xuan felt anxious: “I'll have to learn on the spot…”

Although he didn't know hammer martial techniques and combat methods now, from the Master Teacher Continent to the Firmament, he had read countless secret manuals on such techniques, all stored in the library, just not retrieved!

Since the painting only allowed the use of this weapon, he might as well learn it now.

“Correct!”

Gathering all the secret manuals on hammers from the library, he moved his mind.

A brand new book appeared before him. With a light tap, knowledge flowed into his mind.

Although using the library often produced grayish gas, at this critical moment, he couldn't care about that.

He could deal with that later, but if he didn't use it, he might be beaten to death by this guy's random hammer strikes.

With the Heavenly Dao sealed, the library here could only not probe other items' flaws; forming correct techniques from the books it contained was still easy.

While dodging and learning, after a few breaths, the Heavenly Dao Hammer Technique was fully comprehended and became his own knowledge.

With his understanding of hammer techniques, Zhang Xuan's aura suddenly changed. He became like a drawn sword, sharp and cold.

Bang, bang, bang, bang!

Hammers clashed, and Zhang Xuan's tiger mouth went numb, but the opponent didn't gain an advantage either, and his attacks slowed down.

“Fighting like this, even if my true energy is exhausted, I may not win. I need to think of another way…”

Although the opponent was just a figure in a painting, his strength was comparable to a god. After his breakthrough, Zhang Xuan could contend with him, but winning was not easy. If it continued, he would eventually fail due to excessive energy consumption.

After all, the figure in the painting, as long as inside it, was like a perpetual motion machine with inexhaustible power. He, on the other hand, no matter how deep his reserves, would eventually run out.

“His hammer technique is even more advanced than my Heavenly Dao Hammer Technique. If I can integrate it into my martial skills, I should be able to win…”

An idea emerged.

Although he had learned the Heavenly Dao Hammer Technique, compared to the opponent, it was still slightly inferior. Winning was not that simple… unless he fully learned the opponent's moves.

Then fuse the two and create an even more powerful martial technique!

Thinking this, he didn't hesitate and quickly looked over.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

The opponent's hammers continued to press down, and Zhang Xuan memorized every move.

After a hundred exchanges, he frowned, a strange expression appearing in his eyes.

“His hammer technique only has… twelve moves. The rest are all variations and derivations of these?”