"You?"
The copper-masked figure's eyes lit up as he clenched his fists tightly.
The crowd was also shocked by the sight before them.
"That's right!" Zhang Jiuxiao harrumphed coldly as he tilted his head upward. For a moment, he felt as if he had really soared into the heavens.
To think that the number one genius of the Qingyuan Empire would only be able to stand here. This had left him deeply frustrated. Now that he finally had a chance to shine, the excitement in his heart was unimaginable.
"Zhang Shi, I beseech you to undo the seal for me!"
The copper-masked figure clasped his fist.
Ever since he had arrived at the Qingyuan Empire, he had been an arrogant and haughty individual. He had not even placed Wu Shi and the others in his eyes. Now that Zhang Jiuxiao had mentioned the name of the seal and said that he could undo it, he could not hold himself back any longer.
"That's easy!"
Zhang Jiuxiao walked up to the painting and took out a brush. Then, he turned around and said, "Zhang Xuan, Zhang Shi, I'll have to trouble you to grind an ink ink for me!"
"Me?"
Zhang Xuan was taken aback.
"Indeed. I'm going to undo the seal, and there are so many people here who would be interested in seeing it as well. Since it's such an important matter, surely I won't shirk from it," Zhang Jiuxiao said.
Back at the Heart Tempering Bridge, the young man before him had already humiliated him, and he had even forced him to address him as' uncle '. Now that he had found an opportunity to humiliate the other party, he would have to show the other party that a genius was indeed a genius. Not just anyone could compare to him.
"Alright then!"
Zhang Xuan shook his head with a bitter smile.
If the other party could undo the seal, so be it. He did not mind grinding the ink ink for him. This was a good opportunity for him to see the wonders of a level eight painting as well.
Zhang Jiuxiao walked up to the painting and took out an inkstone to grind the ink ink.
"Un."
Seeing how the young man before him was obediently working under his superior disposition, not daring to utter a single word, Zhang Jiuxiao was indescribably pleased. He dipped the brush in the ink and tapped lightly on the painting.
Weng!
However, the ink did not drip onto the painting. Instead, it floated in midair, shrouding the white clouds.
Spatial Imagery!
In the blink of an eye, a cloud identical to the white clouds below appeared in the air, quietly floating in the air. After doing all this, Zhang Jiuxiao pondered for a moment. After confirming the location of the cloud, he waved his hand and returned the ink to the inkstone. Raising his eyebrows, Zhang Jiuxiao sent his Soul Strength into the painting.
"Hmm? His soul power is indeed very pure. It should be a special cultivation method … "
Zhang Xuan nodded to himself.
Even though the other party's soul energy was nothing compared to his, the fact that the other party was able to achieve such a feat meant that the other party had cultivated some kind of formidable secret art.
It must have something to do with the Sage Zhang family.
As expected of someone from a large clan. Even if he was just a collateral relative, whether it was knowledge or cultivation techniques, it was not something that a cultivator from a small place could compare with.
Sighing in his heart, Zhang Xuan quietly reached out and gently touched the painting.
Weng!
A book immediately appeared in his mind.
Just as Zhang Xuan was about to take a closer look, he suddenly saw Zhang Jiuxiao's face turning ghastly pale, and cold sweat trickled down his forehead.
"What happened?"
However, there was no time for Zhang Xuan to delve into the contents of the letter.
He wasn't the only one. The crowd also noticed that something was amiss.
If the painting was as simple as Zhang Jiuxiao made it out to be, there was no way it would have reacted in such a manner.
Peng!
Before anyone could ask what was going on, Zhang Jiuxiao's pale face suddenly flushed red. Following which, he staggered back eight steps before spurting a mouthful of blood.
Guild Leader Mu hurriedly rushed forward.
"I'm fine. It's just that my soul was attacked by the painting's spirit …" Zhang Jiuxiao shook his head and was just about to continue speaking when he suddenly saw Guild Leader Mu looking at him with a horrified expression.
"Teacher, what's wrong?"
Zhang Jiuxiao frowned.
No matter how outstanding he was and how he knew how to resolve the seal, there was no need for him to react in such a manner.
"Y-you … You have a durian growing out of your head!"
Guild Leader Mu exclaimed.
"Durian?" Zhang Jiuxiao was taken aback.
"There's a tail growing out of your bottom as well …"
An elder said.
"Hmm?"
Zhang Jiuxiao turned around to take a look, and what he saw left his eyes narrowing in astonishment.
There was a crimson tail growing out of Zhang Jiuxiao's bottom. It was furry, reminiscent of a green foxtail. Through his Spiritual Perception, Zhang Jiuxiao could also see the horns on his head. Just like a durian, there were sharp spikes growing all over his head, and they were even showing signs of blossoming …
"What's going on?"
Zhang Jiuxiao's face paled even further as he retreated several steps. He was on the verge of going insane.
All he wanted to do was to resolve the seal on the painting … Why would he be injured and have these things growing out of his body?
"You have a plant spirit implanted in your body … That plant spirit took root and sprouted, resulting in your current state. However, it's fortunate that it's only an ordinary plant spirit. Had it been any other plant spirit, it would have grown much faster …"
Noticing the problem, Guild Leader Ruan explained.
As a Seven Star pinnacle spirit awakener, she had heard of such situations before. However, seeing it with her own eyes still left her astonished.
"Plant spirit? What's going on? "
Hearing that a plant spirit had actually grown in his body, and it was even blossoming and bearing fruit … Zhang Jiuxiao's lips twitched uncontrollably, and he felt as if he was going insane.
All he wanted to do was to resolve the seal and make a name for himself while dealing a blow to Zhang Xuan. Who could have thought that not only would he fail to accomplish anything, he would end up with durians growing all over his head? In the blink of an eye, he had already borne four of them …
"You must have tried to get rid of the spirit implanted in the painting, but … you ended up suffering a backlash!"
Zhang Xuan said with a look of sympathy.
He had seen such a situation with Hall Master Xing before. He had tried to ignite the spirit implanted in the other party's Primordial Spirit, but … he ended up with horns growing out of his head and a tail growing out of his body …
The same thing was happening to Zhang Jiuxiao. Clearly, he had suffered a backlash while trying to get rid of the spirit implanted in the painting. Not only did he fail, he ended up being corroded by the spirit implanted in the painting, resulting in his current state.
"What should I do then?"
Zhang Jiuxiao's face paled, and his body swayed weakly.
He was the number one genius of the Qingyuan Empire, the idol of countless young ladies. If he were to go out with such a thing on his head, wouldn't he become a laughingstock?
"It's simple. We just have to get rid of the spirit implanted in your body!"
Zhang Xuan said.
Having dealt with such a matter once before, he had been shocked at the start, but now, he was no longer surprised by it.
"Get rid of it? How do I get rid of it? "Zhang Jiuxiao asked anxiously.
Back then, even with Hall Master Xing's powerful Primordial Spirit, he was still unable to get rid of the spirit implanted in the painting. In the end, Zhang Xuan had to do it personally.
"Open up your soul and allow me to inspect it. I'll help you find the spirit implanted in your body, and all we have to do is kill it," Zhang Xuan said.
"Open up my soul? That's impossible! "
Zhang Jiuxiao quickly shook his head.
As a member of the Zhang clan, there were many secrets hidden in his soul. How could he possibly open up his soul to an outsider?
What was the difference between opening up his soul and standing naked before the other party?
There was no way he would do that!
"That won't do? How about this? I'll take a look at the spirit implanted in the painting first before thinking of a way to deal with it. Perhaps, I might be able to concoct a poison that can erase the spirit implanted in your body … "
Zhang Xuan paused for a moment.
As long as he knew what the spirit implanted in the painting was, he would be able to concoct a poison that could kill it.
Back then, he had also introduced this method to Hall Master Xing, but it was a pity that the latter hadn't agreed to it.
"Alright, take a look!"
Hearing that there was no need to open up his soul, Zhang Jiuxiao hurriedly said.
"Un."
Zhang Xuan nodded before turning his gaze back to the painting. At the same time, his consciousness discreetly slipped into the Library of Heaven's Path to look at the book that had just appeared.
A moment later, a deep frown appeared on his forehead.
"Did you see anything?"
Seeing the look on Zhang Xuan's face, Wu Shi asked.
Instead of answering his question, Zhang Xuan turned to the copper-masked figure and asked, "Where did you obtain this painting from?"
"I'm only inviting you to undo the seal on my body. There's no need for you to tell me where the painting came from," the copper-masked figure replied in displeasure.
"Indeed, there's no need for me to tell you where the painting came from!"
With his hands behind his back, Zhang Xuan frowned. "The Marshlands of the Northern Meadows are extremely humid. Even though this painting is only a painting, it has been immersed in such a place for more than two thousand years, so there's still a lot of humid air around it. As long as you approach it, you'll be able to notice it. It's only because of the heat from the flames that the painting changes its color …"
"You …"
The copper-masked figure was taken aback by Zhang Xuan's words.
Just by looking at the humid air around the painting, Zhang Xuan was able to tell that it came from the Marshlands of the Northern Meadows?
Wasn't the other party's eye of discernment a little too good?
"The Marshlands of the Northern Meadows is fraught with danger, but there are also plenty of fortuitous encounters there as well. It's not too surprising that you were able to find a painting left behind by the Sorrowless Old Man, but … the fact that the Sorrowless Old Man intentionally hid the secret of the mountain range thirty years after leaving behind the painting meant that he didn't want his descendants to know about it.
Zhang Xuan continued.
The copper-masked figure narrowed his eyes. "If you are unable to undo the seal, I'll just take the painting away with me. There's no need for you to be so suspicious here …"
"Who said that we're unable to undo the seal?"
Zhang Xuan replied. "Since you aren't willing to talk about the origin of the painting, I can't be bothered to analyze it either. The material of the painting is a blend of the skin of the Blue-horned Fish and the skin of the White-horned Deer, and the ink is infused with the Sky Bluestone and the Golden Origin Water. As such, even though it has been around for two thousand years, not only has it not deteriorated in the slightest, it has become even more dazzling, leaving one with a deeper impression of it!
"Judging from the color and changes of the ink, it should have been around three years since you retrieved the painting from its original location, and it should have been completed 2142 years ago. Going by the timeline, it should have been painted by the Sorrowless Old Man when he was around 270 years old! The last cloud that you added was left behind when he was around 300 years old. In other words … after adding the painting, he went missing. No one knows whether he was killed or abducted! "
"This …"
The crowd was shocked.
Guild Leader Mu widened his eyes in shock.
He had been examining the painting for a long time, but he was unable to determine the exact age of the painting. Yet, the young man before him was able to deduce so much with just a single glance. His ability as a appraiser was way too frightening!
Even Zhang Jiuxiao, whose head was filled with durians, staggered weakly. His vision blurred, and he nearly burst into tears.
Didn't this fellow say that he was a 5-star appraiser?
He wouldn't even spare a glance at the 5-star appraisers of other appraisers … Yet, why did it feel like the other party was even more formidable than him, a Seven Star appraiser?
"The three-hundred-year-old Sorrowless Old Man's cultivation has already reached Leaving Aperture realm. The clouds that he left behind are infused with the painting's Evanescent Reality, making it difficult for one to decipher it …"
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