Library of Heaven’s Path

“The realms have never been officially fixed, but there’s a standardized way of classifying the strength of an Ancient Sage through their difference in strength and special characteristics. I think you should be able to use it as a reference,” Zhang Hongtian said.

“After achieving a breakthrough to Ancient Sage, a cultivator will be able to pass down the unique traits of their bloodline to their descendants, similar to our Zhang Clan. The reason that our clan members wield the power of the Time Quintessence is because we had an ancestor who had once reached such a realm. As such, the term used for the first realm is ‘Bloodline Continuance’. This serves as an indicative sign as to whether one has achieved a breakthrough to Ancient Sage yet or not.”

“Bloodline Continuance…” Zhang Xuan repeated the term as he nodded in response.

That did make sense.

Most likely, Yuan Tao, the Infernal Blacksaber, and Vicious were at this realm. The Otherworldly Demon Ancient Sage that he had crushed with the Book of Heaven’s Path back at the Seer Guild was likely at this realm as well.

They formed the bottommost layer of the Ancient Sages.

“The second realm is the highest level that the seventy-two Sages, with the exception of the Ten Apostles, reached in their lifetime. As such, it eventually came to be known as the Great Philosopher realm,” Zhang Hongtian explained.

“Great Philosophers? That’s the name of a realm as well?” Zhang Xuan was stunned.

“It’s just a term that we use, so there’s no need to be too fixated on the name,” Zhang Hongtian remarked. “As for the third realm, it’s known as Blood Reincarnation. As long as those who have reached this realm haven’t come to the end of their lifespan yet, even if one severs their head and minces their body, they will still be able to come back to life with a single droplet of blood. It’s because I have reached this realm as well that I was able to survive much longer than the other Ancient Sages and am able to stand my ground against them.”

Zhang Xuan widened his eyes in surprise.

Until that moment, he had thought that all Ancient Sages were capable of Blood Reincarnation, but it seemed like that had been a misunderstanding on his part.

Those who were able to pull off Blood Reincarnation were the top existences even among the Ancient Sages.

“What about the final realm?”

“The final realm is a level that no one on the Master Teacher Continent or Hundred Schools of Philosophers, other than Kong shi, has been able to reach. It’s said that a person who has reached the final realm will be able to shatter the void, similar to how an envoy of the immortals tears through space to descend to the mortal world. As such, the final realm is known as ‘Dimension Shatterer’ or ‘Immortal’s Envoy’! I’m still a long way off from reaching that realm, so I’m also not too sure what the realm encompasses,” Zhang Hongtian said.

“Immortal’s Envoy?” Zhang Xuan’s eyes widened in astonishment.

He had heard this term before!

The first time that he met Vicious in an underground cavern, the latter had told him that he had reached the level of an Immortal’s Envoy. Back then, he had not understood the different levels of cultivation, so he had not paid much attention to it. Who would have thought that Vicious had actually reached the very pinnacle of Ancient Sage!

In other words, even though Vicious did not seem to be anything much, the truth was that he had been one of the strongest people on the Master Teacher Continent during his lifetime!

It was no wonder that even Kong shi had ended up being cornered by him at one point in time back at Chen-Cai.

“Then… what realm has Ancient Sage Yan Qing reached?” Zhang Xuan asked.

He could not help but recall Old Geezer Yu saying that Ancient Sage Yan Qing possessed the highest cultivation among all those gathered there. If so, just what level had he reached?

“He’s at Blood Reincarnation realm as well, just like me. It’s just that he’s a single cultivation stage stronger than me!” Zhang Hongtian replied. “However, he hasn’t reached the pinnacle of Blood Reincarnation either. Without the sustenance of the Aeon of Ancient Sage, it is hard for one to advance any further in this realm!”

Zhang Xuan nodded in realization as he understood the crux behind Zhang Hongtian’s words. “In other words, I should ask for the blood of Blood Reincarnation realm Ancient Sages?”

“That’s right. The blood of Ancient Sages who have reached such a realm will be the most valuable!” Zhang Hongtian replied.

“Got it!” Zhang Xuan nodded.

Their conversation was through telepathic communication, so their exchanges were swift. All in all, it barely took up a few seconds. Shortly after they ended their conversation, the White Overlord spoke up. “Fifty droplets of Ancient Sage blood? Very well, our Beast Tribe will be taking it!”

Its voice had a ferocious edge to it, reminiscent of an imposing conqueror gazing down upon the world.

“White Overlord, please hold it for a moment. I haven’t finished yet. The fifty droplets of blood that I want have to come from Blood Reincarnation realm Ancient Sages!” Zhang Xuan added with a composed smile.

“You want fifty droplets of blood from Blood Reincarnation realm Ancient Sages? You greedy little swine…” Hearing those words, the White Overlord nearly exploded from rage.

A heavy silence also swiftly settled upon the crowd.

Ordinarily speaking, fifty droplets of ordinary Ancient Sage blood could be considered an astronomical sum. Yet, that fellow actually wanted all fifty droplets to be from Blood Reincarnation realm Ancient Sages.

“You’re dreaming!”

“Who would be so foolish to fork out such a ridiculous price?”

“Even for an entrance slot into the Prime Hall, this isn’t worth it at all…”

…

The quiet mutterings of the Ancient Sages could vaguely be heard.

It was true that an additional slot would put a power in a more advantageous position, but even so, fifty droplets of Blood Reincarnation realm Ancient Sage blood seemed too hefty a price to pay. It did not seem to be worth paying the price for it.

Seeing the hesitation among the crowd, Zhang Xuan interjected quietly with a confident smile, as if everything was in his grasp. “I’ll leave it to you to ponder over whether it’s worth the price or not. The Great Codex of Spring and Autumn is the greatest artifact that Kong shi left behind. If you obtain it, what will Blood Reincarnation realm Ancient Sages count for?

“This opportunity will only come once. If you miss it, it will be gone for good. Of course, if none of you want the slots, that’s perfectly fine with me. I am only proposing this auction as a show of goodwill to the other three major powers. If none of you are interested in it, I will just arrange more personnel on my side!”

Since he had already set the price of the auction, he would have to make sure to stand his ground. Otherwise, once he started lowering the price, the others would push him to go further.

“This…”

The crowd fell silent after hearing Zhang Xuan’s words.

It was true that the blood droplets of Blood Reincarnation realm Ancient Sages were invaluable, but the value of the Great Codex of Spring and Autumn was immeasurable. Whether the price was worth an additional sliver of hope or not, that was a decision that they would have to make.

Breaking the contemplative silence, Ancient Sage Yan Qing said, “Our Hundred Schools of Philosophers will be buying the first slot!”

“He’s buying the slot?”

The crowd quickly turned their shocked gazes over.

On the other hand, Ancient Sage Yan Qing flicked a jade bottle toward Zhang Xuan without any hesitation.

Catching the jade bottle, Zhang Xuan pried open the lid, and a gush of energy immediately flowed out from within. All in all, there were fifty droplets of Ancient Sage blood.

He shot a glance at Zhang Hongtian and saw a slight nod from the latter. That was verification that the blood droplets were indeed from Blood Reincarnation realm Ancient Sages. Smiling in delight, he stowed the jade bottle into his storage ring before turning to address the crowd. “Alright, the first slot goes to the Hundred Schools of Philosophers! Moving on, the second slot costs sixty droplets of Blood Reincarnation realm Ancient Sage blood!”

“Sixty droplets? Why did the price suddenly increase so steeply?”

“Wasn’t it fifty droplets a moment ago?”

“It’s the exact same slot, so how could he increase the price just like that?”

As if water poured upon burning oil, a huge uproar broke out amid the crowd.

They had thought that the second slot would be the same price, which was also why they had taken their time to make their decision. Who could have known that the fellow would hike up the price by twenty percent in a heartbeat?

“You can choose not to buy it; I’m not forcing you into anything. However, I would just like to say that our Master Teacher Continent has seven slots at the moment and the Hundred Schools of Philosophers have three. In contrast, both the Beast Tribe and Otherworldly Demonic Tribe only have one slot each,” Zhang Xuan said with a confident smile. “Ultimately, it’s just a question of how much you want the Great Codex of Spring and Autumn.

“Besides… the two remaining slots will be even more expensive. The more limited a commodity is, the pricier it’ll be, don’t you agree?”

“Sixty droplets? So be it then! I’ll be taking it…” the White Overlord spat through tightly clenched teeth.

No one could have known that the prodigy who had managed to obtain the Prime Amulet and five cruxes would actually be a crooked businessman.

This was exactly the type of person whom no one would ever want to deal with!

Before the White Overlord could finish his words, Old Geezer Yu had interjected. “If it’s sixty droplets, we want it as well!”