206 Chapter 1364: You Again! (1/2)
Back in the Qingyuan Empire, the Qingtian Emperor visited the Painter Guild with a copper mask in hand, seeking help to remove the seal on a painting he had. In the end, Zhang Xuan was the one who managed to remove the seal, and beneath it, he found an illusory image of Kong shi.
And for him to see a higher level painting that depicted the identical mountain range to the one he had seen before… Could they be depicting the same location?
”Kong shi's image isn't on the painting though. Did the painter intentionally choose not to draw it, or did he not notice Kong shi's presence?” Zhang Xuan frowned.
Flicking his wrist, Zhang Xuan took out the painting he had acquired from the Qingtian Emperor and compared it to the mountain range on the ninth level painting before him. The features were completely identical to one another, well, with the exception of the lake of bathing ladies.
”That's the [White Creek Mountain] of the Empire Alliance. It's located at a place very far away from the Sanctum of Sages, such that even a Saint 7-dan beast would require a flight of three months in order to reach there!” Taking a glance at the painting in Zhang Xuan's hand, Luo Xuanqing said.
He was slightly surprised initially to see that Zhang Xuan had a painting of the same scenery as the ninth level painting before them, but he didn't think too much into it. After all, due to the splendid scenery at the White Creek Mountain, there were quite a few paintings of it circulating out there in the world.
”White Creek Mountain…” Zhang Xuan muttered beneath his breath as he tightened his fists.
”While the painting you have can't compete with the ninth level painting up there, it's still a commendable work of art. It has managed to bring out the splendor and beauty of the mountain range in full.” Luo Xuanqing complimented.
This was a painting that could astound all painters in the Qingyuan Empire, but to Luo Xuanqing's eyes, it could only be considered to be 'commendable'.
”Indeed…” Zhang Xuan replied perfunctorily as he kept the painting back to his storage ring with his mind wandering somewhere else.
Now that he knew that the mountain range depicted in the painting was the White Creek Mountain, he would have to make a trip over there to take a look. Since Kong shi's apparition was spotted there, there was a good chance that he might find Kong shi's ancient domain over there too.
Hu!
While the two of them were chatting, the spatial bubble rose up from the river and arrived before the massive ninth level painting.
”Are we able to enter this painting too?” Looking at the lifelike painting before him, Zhang Xuan asked in curiosity.
There was bound to be a reason as to why the elder who had left the Dongxu Gourd here would leave a ninth level painting here as well. If they could enter the painting, they might just be able to unravel the secrets behind this folded space.
”It should be possible…” Luo Xuanqing pondered for a moment before nodding.
”I'll head in to take a look then.” Zhang Xuan said with a smile before heading in.
This painting was not drawn on a paper but on top of the folded space. It consisted of multiple layers stitched together by the fabric of space, so Zhang Xuan had to fly for quite some time before he finally arrived before the massive mountain range.
The sheer expanse the mountain range took granted it an imposing and grand aura.
Flying upward, Zhang Xuan soon arrived at where he had replaced Kong shi's image with the bathing ladies, and he swiftly scanned the area. A moment later, he shook his head in disappointment.
There was nothing special to be seen here. There was no apparition of Kong shi or any hidden folded spaces and the such.
”Nevertheless, there should still be some reason why the elder chose to leave this ninth level painting in here…” Zhang Xuan mumbled contemplatively beneath his breath.
If this ancient domain was really left behind by Ancient Sage Qiu Wu, everything would make perfect sense.
He was Kong shi's servant, and the reason why he left behind this painting was likely to remind future generations that there was something lying in the White Creek Mountain!
Zhang Xuan continued scanning through the mountain range, but he was unable to find anything or note. Eventually, he could only return with empty hands.
When he finally returned back to Luo Xuanqing and the others' side, the mountain range suddenly shuddered slightly before dissipating silently.
”This painting has been around for too long. It's likely that time had already left it tattered throughout, and the only reason why it's still able to maintain its original appearance is likely only because no one has touched it yet. Your act of entering the painting had placed too much stress on the painting, thus inevitably resulting in its dissipation.” Luo Xuanqing explained.
The slightly stunned Zhang Xuan nodded in realization.
In a sense, this was similar to how even if old possessions were able to retain their beautiful outer appearances, their worn out within would only cause them to crumble to dust upon touch.
Zhang Xuan took one last glance at the dissipated painting before turning his gaze back forward. A rather wide passageway had appeared before them.
Following behind Luo Xuanqing and the others' footsteps, he landed on top of the passageway.
After all of the spatial distortion he had been through, it felt reassuring to have his feet planted onto solid ground.
”The artifact that I sensed is in there!” Yun Lianhai said with eyes gleaming with excitement.
As soon as he stepped onto the passageway, the fuzzy feeling he had received from the treasure before suddenly turned extremely distinct. As long as they were to walk down this path, they should be able to find quite a few good stuff.
”Great!”
Hearing that the treasure was located not too far away from them, the crowd immediately felt energized, and they began making their way forward.
Before long, a palace unfolded before their eyes.
While it was called a palace, it wasn't too big or extravagant. Instead, its ancient design seemed to be communicating the long history behind it.
”It's likely that there might be danger in here. Let me head in to take a look first.” Luo Xuanqing said before taking the lead forward.
The gates of the palace were carved from stone, and it was densely filled with inscriptions.
”These are Spatial Inscriptions, unique characters which Ancient Sage Qiu Wu has created! Through studying these characters, one could comprehend the essence of space. Our clan has a detailed interpretation of these words.” Luo Xuanqing exclaimed in astonishment.
”Spatial Inscriptions?” Zhang Xuan looked at those characters contemplatively for a moment before nodding.
He had seen those words at the Qiu Wu Palace as well.
The Heavenly Demon Great Sorrow Palm was written using these words. Back then, he had no idea what those words meant, but he still managed to learn the battle technique through emulating the form of those words.
”If that's the case, does that mean that the ancient domain is really left behind by Ancient Sage Qiu Wu?” Bi Hongyin asked in agitation.
Even though Ancient Sage Qiu Wu was Kong shi's servant, his true strength was no weaker than the founder of the Sanctum of Sages, Ancient Sage Bo Shang. More importantly, his comprehension of space had reached an extremely high level. If they could obtain his heritage, it would only be a matter of time before they achieved a breakthrough to Saint 8-dan or even Saint 9-dan.
”That's most likely to be the case… But it's a little weird though. My clan has a huge collection of books detailing the life of Ancient Sage Qiu Wu, but we have never heard that he has left behind such an ancient domain before!” Luo Xuanqing said with a bewildered frown.