Chapter 23 Strength Rises Again

At this moment, Hei Zi, who had been hiding in Zhang Xiao’s embrace, immediately scurried out and burst into loud laughter. “Hahaha, seafood noodles! The young master’s knife skills are truly superb!” With that, Hei Zi began devouring the falling strips of meat by the mouthful.

Seeing this, Zhang Xiao’s lips curved into a smile. With a wave of his hand, half of the meat strips were instantly gathered into his bone ring. A Fusion-stage demonic beast had long since integrated with its demonic core, making not only the texture of its flesh exquisitely delicious, but also its spiritual energy far more potent. It was undoubtedly a rare and precious ingredient, and such a prize was naturally not something he would let slip away.

Before long, Hei Zi devoured the remaining meat strips completely, patted his bulging belly with a look of utter satisfaction, and trotted back to Zhang Xiao’s side. In Hei Zi’s heart, he felt more and more convinced of how wise and formidable his original decision had turned out to be.

Now, not only did he possess two ninth-grade magical treasures, but he could even feast on a Fusion-stage demonic beast as a grand meal. While one couldn't quite say he had no successors, he was definitely without any predecessors.

Zhang Xiao flicked his fingers, and a storage pouch materialized in his palm—it was none other than the Great Crow King’s storage pouch. The contents inside were rather sparse; aside from some spiritual stones, there were only a few miscellaneous crafting materials. A wave of disappointment washed over Zhang Xiao at this sight, and without a second word, he tossed the pouch directly to Hei Zi. Meanwhile, Ziyan had already activated the Grand Telecommunication Array. A pillar of white light pierced through the sky, instantly enveloping Zhang Xiao within it.

The next moment, Zhang Xiao found himself back within the Xuantian Immortal Cave. Gazing at the familiar grotto-heaven before him, a quiet sigh escaped his lips. Every time he returned, the feeling was entirely different—joy, disappointment, sorrow—emotions so intertwined that no one could clearly untangle them.

“Young master, we’re home,” Ziyan murmured softly, standing close beside Zhang Xiao.

Zhang Xiao nodded indifferently. “Yes, we’re home. Let’s go. Let’s head to the Treasure Pavilion and see what Master left for me on the second floor.”

Among all the places in the Xuantian Immortal Cave, the Treasure Pavilion remained the most enigmatic to Zhang Xiao. It was a seven-story pagoda, and logically speaking, the treasures on each higher floor should surpass those of the level below. Yet the first floor already housed ninth-grade magical treasures; what, then, would the second floor hold? Supreme treasures?

Fraught with curiosity, Zhang Xiao stepped into the Treasure Pavilion, bypassing the first floor entirely and heading straight for the second. Pushing open the massive doors of the second floor, his expression shifted slightly. Instead of the dazzling array of numerous magical treasures that filled the first floor, the vast space of the second floor held only a single jade box resting quietly in the center.

Zhang Xiao stepped forward and lifted the lid of the jade box to take a look. A pale golden pellet lay motionlessly within the box, causing his eyes to light up as he quickly picked it up for closer inspection.

Inside the pale golden pellet, a cyan flame was leaping about, resembling a gracefully dancing beauty—exotic yet undeniably mesmerizing.

“The Crimson Firmament Pill!”

A wave of irrepressible joy surged in Zhang Xiao’s heart. He had never expected that his master, True Immortal Xuancang, would leave behind a Crimson Firmament Pill for him on the second floor. The harsh foundational requirements of the Seven-Transformation Mysterious Heaven Scripture resulted in an excruciatingly slow cultivation speed, rendering ordinary medicinal pills utterly useless.

Only three methods existed to accelerate cultivation. The first was the Pure Yang Earth Fire, which was also the finest method. One merely needed to temper their physical body within the earth fire, and their cultivation speed would naturally skyrocket all the way.

However, Pure Yang Earth Fire was incomparable to ordinary earth fires and could only possibly exist in places of extreme yang. Zhang Xiao did not harbor any expectations regarding this method.

The second method was the Crimson Firmament Pill. The medicinal herbs mentioned in the pill recipe for the Crimson Firmament Pill were practically extinct, yet to his utter astonishment, his master Xuancang had left one right here for him.

One must never underestimate this single Crimson Firmament Pill. Although its efficacy fell short of Pure Yang Earth Fire, it easily surpassed the assistance of foreign flames by a wide margin. To put it bluntly, even if someone offered to trade a supreme treasure for this pill, he would never agree to it.

The third method involved foreign flames, but as time progressed, the utility of foreign flames would inevitably diminish. Thus, foreign flames were never a long-term solution.

After carefully stowing away the Crimson Firmament Pill, Zhang Xiao decided to enter seclusion immediately to prepare for a breakthrough into the Spirit-Refining stage. With the aid of the Soul-Suppressing Fruits and the Crimson Firmament Pill, he was confident his cultivation would be propelled directly to the late Spirit-Refining stage.

“Young master, a message has arrived from the Hong Sect,” Ziyan said, walking in from outside and handing a jade slip to Zhang Xiao.

Zhang Xiao took the jade slip and swept his divine sense into it, his expression instantly turning gloomy. Noticing his grim countenance, Ziyan asked in a hushed tone, “What is it, young master? Could it be related to the Nine Great Sects?”

She asked this primarily because, at present, the only matters capable of making Zhang Xiao look so grim were tied to the Nine Great Sects. Hearing her question, Zhang Xiao let out a sigh, shook his head, and said, “It has nothing to do with the Nine Great Sects, nor can it be said to be entirely unrelated. Rather, it concerns me greatly.” With that, he proceeded to explain the contents of the jade slip to Ziyan in detail.

It turned out that not long ago, the Peacock Buddhist Kingdom had suddenly allied with dozens of surrounding small nations to launch a surprise attack on the Crimson Blood Ridge. Although Wang Ben fought to the death and managed to hold the ridge, he himself sustained severe injuries inflicted by Buddhist experts.

This incident infuriated Emperor Qin Shi Huang to no end, but the Shaolin Temple ultimately stepped forward to negotiate with the Peacock Buddhist Kingdom. After all, Shaolin belonged to the Buddhist lineage, and having them intervene was naturally far more appropriate than other sects stepping in.

However, Shaolin’s subsequent attitude shifted dramatically, strongly demanding that Emperor Qin Shi Huang issue a nationwide arrest warrant for Zhang Xiao. They claimed that Zhang Xiao possessed a critical treasure vital to the rise and fall of Buddhism. This matter had escalated from a national conflict to a religious survival issue, causing the other sects to hesitate and refrain from casually intervening for the time being.

Shaolin’s proposal was eventually rejected by Emperor Qin Shi Huang on the grounds that religious matters could not be mixed with affairs of state. Nevertheless, the Emperor secretly urged Zhang Xiao under the table never to return to the empire lightly.

Zhang Xiao’s expression remained gloomy, while a deep sense of sorrow for Emperor Qin Shi Huang stirred in his heart. To think that a monarch in history who had unified the six states and established the very first centralized imperial empire was now restricted by the Nine Great Sects to the point where even a bunch of bald donkeys dared to make reckless demands and interfere in state affairs—it was truly pathetic.

Putting the jade slip away, Zhang Xiao strode into the seclusion chamber to prepare for his breakthrough to the Spirit-Refining stage. Time flew by; spring departed and winter arrived, and three years passed in the blink of an eye.

“BOOM!”

A monstrous pressure instantly erupted from the stone chamber where Zhang Xiao was in seclusion. Hei Zi, who had been fast asleep in the pond of the Xuantian Immortal Cave, was jolted awake by this pressure, which felt as heavy as Mount Tai. He hurriedly poked his head out of the water to see five-colored cloud waves rolling across the sky, while all the spiritual energy within the entire Xuantian Immortal Cave was thrown into absolute chaos in a single instant.

Due to consuming the flesh and blood of the Great Crow King, Hei Zi had also broken through to the mid-Spirit-Refining stage over the past three years. Yet, as a mid-Spirit-Refining beast facing such terrifying pressure, he suddenly felt as insignificant as a tiny ant standing before a giant. Instead of panicking, however, Hei Zi was thrilled and immediately dashed toward Zhang Xiao’s seclusion chamber.

Within moments, the pervasive pressure abruptly vanished. Zhang Xiao’s figure emerged from the stone chamber, his silver-white hair cascading down almost to the ground. His ordinary face bore an unshakeable resilience, and as flecks of silver light flickered within his pupils, they mirrored the swirling rivers of stars, dizzying anyone who looked upon them.

Opening his attribute sheet, he saw that his stats had reached their absolute limits:

Name: Zhang Xiao
Title: Sovereign Protector of the Realm
Level:
Cultivation Method: Prajna Zen Scripture (Eighth Layer), Seven-Transformation Mysterious Heaven Scripture (Late Spirit-Refining Stage)
Lifespan: 9,999 years
Strength: 9,999
Endurance: 9,999
Agility: 9,999
Faith Power: 2,160
Merit: Military Merit 0

Nine was the extreme number; his stats had reached the absolute peak. Advancing to the Fusion stage in the future would likely prove exceedingly difficult. Looking at his attributes, Zhang Xiao could not help but sigh.

Over the past three years, right after breaking through to the Spirit-Refining stage, he had immediately consumed all four Soul-Suppressing Fruits, hoisting his cultivation directly to the mid-Spirit-Refining stage. Afterward, aided by the Crimson Firmament Pill, he finally advanced to the late Spirit-Refining stage. Furthermore, the Seven-Transformation Mysterious Heaven Scripture had successfully progressed to the twenty-first layer with the help of the pill, meaning that as long as he acquired the appropriate divine beast organs, he could immediately begin cultivating the third transformation.

“Hmph! Nine Great Sects, just wait a little longer. Once my strength reaches its peak, even those ancient monsters within the sects won’t be my match. When that day comes, I will make all of you vanish from this world.” Thinking of Zhao Xiaofang, black demonic flames instantly ignited within Zhang Xiao’s eyes.

At that moment, Hei Zi came galloping from afar, clad in a suit of gleaming black armor that made him look exceptionally imposing. Seeing Hei Zi approach, Zhang Xiao calmly concealed the raging fire in his eyes. Hei Zi trotted right up to him and proclaimed loudly, “Young master is wise and martial, your divine arts are complete, you are unmatched under heaven, destined to unify the martial world and reign supreme for ages!”

Hearing this, Zhang Xiao’s eyes twitched violently. If this were a comic, his head would undoubtedly be covered in dark veins right now. Seeing no reaction from Zhang Xiao, Hei Zi raised his voice even higher, lifting his pincers in a gesture of absolute worship.

“Alright, alright, where on earth did you learn that?” Zhang Xiao rubbed the corner of his eye to mask the twitching.

“How is it, young master? Pretty good, right? I saw it in a book called *The Smiling, Proud Wanderer*.”

“*The Smiling, Proud Wanderer*?” Zhang Xiao froze, a look of puzzlement crossing his face.

Ziyan walked over at that moment and smiled softly. “Young master, it’s like this. Not long ago, someone from the Hong Sect came to visit you, but since you were in seclusion, the visitor simply left a jade slip and departed. On his way out, however, he ran into Hei Zi here. After being thoroughly shaken down by this scoundrel, the visitor ended up leaving behind a novel titled *The Smiling, Proud Wanderer*.”

Hearing Ziyan’s explanation, Zhang Xiao was utterly speechless regarding Hei Zi and chose to ignore him entirely. At that moment, Ziyan retrieved a jade slip and handed it to Zhang Xiao—it was the message left behind by the Hong Sect member.

After taking a quick look at its contents and putting the jade slip away, Zhang Xiao turned to Hei Zi with a smile. “Hei Zi, do you want to go eat the meat of Buddhist monks?”

Upon hearing the word “eat,” Hei Zi immediately raised both pincers high in the air to signal his absolute approval. Seeing this, Zhang Xiao had Hei Zi shrink down to the size of a palm, and with a flash of movement, strode toward the teleportation portal.

At the Hong Sect headquarters, Shangguan Tianheng was seated in the grand hall, reviewing various official dispatches sent from all directions. After such a long period of stealthy development, the influence of the Hong Sect had expanded massively. Its branch offices across the globe were interconnected, forming a vast intelligence network. Coupled with the support of Emperor Qin Shi Huang, the Hong Sect could now be said to rival any of the Nine Great Sects in every aspect—save for the backing of ancient monster-level figures.

“My lord, the Sovereign Protector has arrived,” a disciple reported, stepping into the hall.

Shangguan Tianheng continued studying the document in his hands without even raising his head. “Make him wait—”

Before he could finish his sentence, Shangguan Tianheng suddenly froze, looking up in shock. “What? Who did you say is here?”

Seeing his reaction, the disciple quickly repeated, “My lord, the Sovereign Protector has arrived.”