Chapter 509: The Soul Sorcerer Takes the Bait

Pfft!

Hearing this, Zhao Feiwu, Sect Master Sai, and the others nearly spat blood.

Weren't we in great danger, with the other side clamoring to kill?

Soul sorcerers, one of the most bizarre professions of antiquity, even more terrifying than poison masters, and on top of that, the opponent was so strong, reaching as high as six stars...

How, in the middle of all this, did it turn into taking on a student?

Could it be any more absurd?

Even if you are a renowned teacher, your own strength has just stepped into the Mortal Transformation realm, while the other is at the peak of Mortal Transformation—the gap is immeasurable. Saying that... aren't you afraid of death?

Luo Zhu's eyes widened even further.

This Master Zhang, when he came to the Soul Sorcerer Tomb, knew nothing. He took one look at the Soul Guidance Art, and not only did he recognize the Five Declines of Soul Power, but he also found a solution...

Isn't that too heaven-defying?

No wonder he's a renowned teacher acknowledged by heaven itself—this ability... is truly terrifying!

Sun Qiang and the others were filled with admiration.

The young master (teacher) is the young master (teacher), simply too fierce. What soul sorcerer, what six-star powerhouse, they all get fooled just the same...

"Become your disciple?"

The owner of the voice seemed taken aback as well.

He, a dignified six-star soul sorcerer, a super powerhouse at the peak of Mortal Transformation, and you, a little fellow at only the first level of Mortal Transformation, want me to become your disciple? What a joke!

"How dare you..."

In anger, the voice turned sharp, somewhat piercing.

Crack!

The sound of a mechanism rang out, and a sword beam shot straight toward Zhang Xuan, as if to teach him a lesson for his insolence.

Whoosh!

But before it reached him, Zhang Xuan had already left his spot, easily dodging.

No matter how powerful the mechanism, it was still inanimate. With his Insightful Eye, he could judge in advance, and with his Heaven's Path movement technique to evade, hitting him was not so easy.

"Don't waste your efforts. If you attacked in person, you might be able to injure me, but mechanisms... save it. I was the one who broke the earlier mechanisms; do you think these things are of any use to me?"

Zhang Xuan said calmly.

"Hmph!"

The voice snorted.

The entrance mechanism was so powerful, yet this youth stopped it with a single kick. Even if his current mechanisms were formidable, they probably couldn't harm him in the slightest.

With that thought, the owner of the voice said no more and ceased using the mechanisms.

This Soul Sorcerer Tomb had been buried underground for who knows how many years. Even if the mechanisms hadn't failed, they had a limited number of uses—each use depleted one. Since they were useless, using them more would only waste them.

Seeing that he truly stopped using the mechanisms, Zhang Xuan breathed a sigh of relief.

For mechanisms, he had to touch them with his palm to reveal the book and know their flaws to counter them.

The one the opponent used now, he didn't know where it was. He had been lucky to dodge once; if a volley of arrows were fired, with his current mediocre skills, he couldn't possibly evade.

His words just now were only a bluff to make the other hesitate, and unexpectedly, it worked.

Against this kind of opponent hiding somewhere unknown, one had to use wit and courage, trying to suppress them with words.

"What a pity!"

Seeing the other party fall silent and not activate any mechanisms, Zhang Xuan didn't pause but shook his head, sighed, and showed a desolate expression: "Such a good opportunity, and you don't seize it. Ah, you really are a soul without a brain!"

"You..."

Hearing this, the icy voice was so angry it nearly spat blood and died on the spot.

Your sister!

I am a dignified six-star soul sorcerer, and what kind of attitude is this?

Other Mortal Transformation first-level, even fourth-level cultivators tremble and dare not breathe heavily when they see me. But you, not only do you want to take me as your disciple, you also call me brainless...

You're the one without a brain, your whole family without a brain.

"Don't think that because I want to possess you, I'll be hesitant. If I really wanted to kill you, I wouldn't mind doing it now..."

The voice turned ferocious.

"Kill me? Do you dare?"

Looking forward calmly, Zhang Xuan's face was full of disdain: "Besides, you're just a monster who died who knows how many years ago, only able to rely on mechanisms to show off. If you could kill me, you would have done so just now, wouldn't you? Why wait until now?"

"You..."

"What 'you' and 'I'? If you have the ability, hurry up and stop dawdling. Otherwise, just get on with setting up the three trials. A six-star soul sorcerer, and you're this stupid!"

Zhang Xuan sighed: "Forget it, even if you want to become my disciple now, I don't want you. I'm afraid it would damage my reputation!"

"You..."

The owner of the voice was about to explode.

Become his disciple and damage his reputation?

Could he be any more shameless?

"What? So you only know how to talk, but don't actually dare to act?" Seeing the other party fuming but not making a move, Zhang Xuan continued.

"You're asking for death!"

Seeing his utterly brazen demeanor, the owner of the voice was already furious.

Rumble!

A violent roar and a powerful pressure instantly descended, enveloping everything.

This witch soul master, who had slept for who knows how many years, had been afraid of exhausting himself in battle, but now he was truly choked to death by this fellow and could no longer hold back, striking out directly.

Whoosh!

Zhang Xuan's neck tightened, as if gripped by an invisible hand, and he was lifted straight up.

Teacher...

Master Zhang!

Seeing the witch soul master provoked into action, everyone was extremely anxious and rushed over.

Kill me? Not so easy!

Gripped by the opponent, Zhang Xuan was not nervous; instead, he smiled lightly, and with a thought, a gray object resembling a scale appeared before him.

Hum!

A soft chime sounded.

A light membrane appeared on his body, and the hand gripping Zhang Xuan recoiled as if burned by hot oil.

Ah...

Cries of pain followed; it seemed this blow had inflicted serious injury.

Dragon Scale Amulet!

He had acquired this treasure back at the Appraisal Pavilion, and the Library of Heaven's Path had detected that it could defend against attacks from a Mortal Transformation Ninth Layer expert. Now it finally came in handy!

The amulet could only protect its owner and would not actively attack, but once activated, it could still counter any incoming damage.

For this reason, Zhang Xuan deliberately provoked the opponent with words, luring him into striking, and then used the amulet's power to defeat him.

Since it could be used three times, in this situation, if he didn't make the move, everyone would be at the opponent's mercy, so it was better to strike decisively.

Moreover, the opponent was just a witch soul that had slept for who knows how many years; his strength was far from its peak. How could he possibly withstand an amulet that even a Mortal Transformation Ninth Layer expert couldn't break?

With a single blow, he was severely injured.

This...

Everyone had thought that with the opponent personally making a move, Master Zhang would surely be in trouble. They were all startled to see that the sudden appearance of this object was so powerful that it even injured a six-star witch soul master.

I'll kill you...

Severely wounded, the witch soul master became frantic and roared wildly, seemingly about to attack again.

Kill me? That might have been uncertain just now, but now... I'm afraid you've lost your chance!

The light membrane could last for a few breaths and had not yet dissipated. Zhang Xuan raised his eyebrows, suddenly lunged forward, and charged straight at the stone tablet before him.

Earlier, he hadn't known where the opponent was, so even if he had means, he couldn't attack. But now that the opponent had used martial techniques, the Library had not only marked his position clearly but also listed his weaknesses.

Boom!

He had reached the peak of the Mortal Transformation first level, possessing a tremendous force of two hundred thousand cauldrons. How could the stone tablet withstand such an impact? It instantly shattered into powder, fragments flying in all directions.

Having shattered the stone engraved with the Soul-Commanding Art with a single shoulder strike, he did not pause but continued charging forward. In the blink of an eye, he arrived before the coffin. Just as everyone thought he would surely open the lid, he brushed his palm over it, then turned into a phantom and slapped around it more than a dozen times in succession.

Slap, slap, slap, slap!

Sixteen slaps in total, with no pattern to where they landed and not much force behind them. They might have been enough to shatter ordinary rock, but against a coffin crafted by a master refiner, they had no effect at all, leaving everyone baffled as to what he intended.

After finishing the slaps, he stopped and made no further move. Just as everyone was wondering, he suddenly turned his head and said, "Sect Master Sai, the blade!"

"Blade? Good!"

Sect Master Sai was taken aback for a moment, then understood. He flicked his wrist, and a long blade shot straight toward him.

Back when he had carved a formation plate at the Formation Masters Guild, he had used it once. Since Master Zhang asked for a blade, it must be this one.

Catching the long blade in his palm, Zhang Xuan, now standing before the coffin, underwent a change in demeanor. A dense weapon intent surged forth from him.

Swish!

The blade's gleam was like a rainbow, its aura like the sea, as it slashed straight down.

Boom!

As the long blade made contact with the coffin, a tremendous roar erupted. The entire casket seemed to have ignited gunpowder, exploding instantly. The massive, thick coffin lid flew outward, embedding itself firmly into the solid wall.

"Red gold locks sealed, none can break; sleeping peacefully for ten thousand years, no worries... This is a Red Gold Coffin. Even a Mortal Transformation ninth level cultivator couldn't break it, yet Master Zhang split it open with one slash... How is this possible?"

Seeing this, while others felt nothing, Luo Zhu trembled uncontrollably, on the verge of going mad.

"Red Gold Coffin? You mean... the Red Gold Coffin that only a six-star artificer can forge using deep-sea cold iron and molten gold?"

Seeing his reaction, Pavilion Master Sai paused for a moment, as if recalling something, and suddenly his pupils contracted.

"That's right. That... is the Red Gold Coffin!" Luo Zhu nodded.

"Wasn't it said that once this thing is sealed shut, it can't be broken open, that no one can open it? How..." Pavilion Master Sai was also losing his mind.

As the head of the Treasure Appraisal Pavilion, he had seen countless treasures and heard of many rare artifacts.

Ordinary coffins were divided into nine grades, like the four outside earlier, which were called Fine Gold Seventh-Grade Coffins, cast from fine gold and extremely sturdy—even a spirit-grade mid-rank weapon would find it nearly impossible to break them open.

Above Fine Gold Ninth-Grade was Red Gold!

The Red Gold Coffin, forged by a six-star artificer, once sealed, no grave robber, no matter how skilled, could open it—unless they surpassed the ninth level of Mortal Transcendence.

Hence the saying: 'Red Gold locked, none can break; sleep ten thousand years without a care!'

Many powerful cultivators, to avoid being disturbed after death, would commission such coffins, which could both preserve the corpse and deter petty intruders.

A coffin that even a peak Mortal Transcendence expert couldn't break open had just been split in two by Master Zhang with a single slash, blasted into pieces—how could they not be shocked?

It was a miracle they hadn't been scared to death on the spot.

Spotting the flaw in the Soul-Commanding Art at a glance, injuring a six-star soul shaman with one blow, cleaving the Red Gold Coffin with a single stroke...

His techniques were profound, his divine might invincible.

Was this Master Zhang... really only at the first level of Mortal Transcendence?