Han Sen didn't know if the teachings he had been given were illicit or forbidden, so he wasn't going to be honest.
The man nodded and just said, "It must be very difficult for you, to make progress without the guiding hand of a teacher."
The man walked towards the tower, looking at the sky. There, he said, "Perhaps I spent more time with Xuan Men than was good for me. Feelings and emotions are almost a foreign concept, now. I am... numb. Dulled like an old blade. I am afraid Xuan Men is in its twilight years, and no true successor will trumpet its name and carry its torch onwards."
The man went on to say, "Perhaps it was fate for you and I to meet here on this mountaintop."
The man then pulled out an item and threw it to Han Sen.
Han Sen caught the item and noticed it was a memory card.
The man said, "Consider that a compendium of my knowledge regarding all things about Xuan Men, skills included."
Han Sen was delighted to receive this, so he wholeheartedly thanked him. "Thank you so very much. I am honored to receive this. Would it be boorish of me to request to become a student of yours?"
Han Sen had studied many ancient languages, but the Dongxuan Sutra was still too difficult, even for him.
Now that he had met a member of Xuan Men, he figured he could ask him for elucidations.
The man replied, saying, "I must decline. I don't want to teach, and time is preciously short."
The man continued staring into the sky and said, "I might not have the talent my master had, but I practiced for two hundred years. I can break the door."
Han Sen was shocked, hearing this, and he said, "Are you talking about the door? The door which will allow you to become a demi-god?"
The man smiled and said, "You know about the doors, do you? Men can become demi-gods through the Evolution Pool, but through the practices of Xuan Men, we can use the doors."
The man then told Han Sen, "I cannot be certain if we will meet again. But if you have a question you wish to ask me, ask me now."
Han Sen asked the man about every word he did not know, and he received an answer for each.
Now, Han Sen understood everything in the Dongxuan Sutra he had not known before. His mind envisioned a dam blocking a river, and his new learnings had blown it up, releasing the flow of knowledge.
When Han Sen asked his first questions, though, the man frowned. He said, "Your Xuan Men is different than the one I have. It almost seems as if your Xuan Men does not come from a true member. The card I gave you possesses the real stuff."
Han Sen only nodded. Dongxuan Zi had created the Dongxuan Sutra himself before he died. It was only natural for it to be somewhat different. Han Sen took advantage of this encounter to ask more about the nature of the Dongxuan Sutra, too.
The sun rose before long, though, and it prompted the man to hurry things along, saying, "You can ask me one more question."
Han Sen devised his final question and asked, "Back in the day, aside from Xuan Men, were there any other large factions?"
The man did not expect Han Sen to ask this, so he said, "Back then, there weren't any sanctuaries. Even if there had been, new stuff to learn included, the practices of their ways and methods would be difficult. Aside from us, there is only one more I can think of."
"Which one would that be?" Han Sen asked.
"Blood Legion. If you meet any of its successors, watch yourself! Their skills can be passed on to others completely, so they must be very powerful," the man said.
Chapter 1220: A Place Where Spirits Grow
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Han Sen still had a trove of questions he wished to ask, but the man had started to shine with a purple light. An ancient stone door appeared in the early morning sky, and after it did, the man approached it without hesitation.
"What is your name?" Han Sen repeated his first question.
The man had been kind enough to answer all his questions so far, and he had even been kind enough to give him the memory card on Xuan Men. Yet strangely, he hadn't mentioned his name.
"It does not matter," the man said without looking back. He continued onwards toward the door.
Han Sen felt that it was all quite peculiar. The man had given Han Sen so much, except the simplest of ordinary niceties: a name.
The skeleton followed the man to the door. This was a surprise, and it made Han Sen think, "How can the skeleton follow behind him? Can other creatures traverse the same door? Is that skeleton even strong enough to withstand the fires of those steps?"
As Han Sen pondered this, the man pushed the doors open. The typhoon-like gusts of wind began to blow through the opening and expand, blowing the man's hair.
The man pushed it open effortlessly, and then he ascended the steps with the skeleton in tow. Perhaps because there were two beings passing through the door, but the fires seemed stronger and more ferocious than the ones Han Sen had seen before.
The man continued to shine and glitter like amethyst, and a purple mist warped around them like a shield against the scorching whips that lashed out. The man and the skeleton walked the ten steps without trouble, and then the door shut behind them.
Han Sen was shocked. It was very different than what had occurred with Xiang Yin, Yaksha's intrusion aside. That man walked as if he was going shopping, and the fires were nothing but bothersome pedestrians.
"Awesome!" Han Sen believed if that man could do it, he could do it, too.
Of course, he still had a while to go before he could attempt the feat. He still needed a fair amount of additional strength, and the timeframe for when he achieved the necessary amount of power to traverse the steps was still up for debate.
The Dongxuan Sutra seemed different from Xuantian, and Han Sen did not know if their levels were the same.
Regardless, he was eager to find out more about this new Xuantian he had just learned about. He had the memory card, but that could not be used in the sanctuary.
Boom! Boom!
Amidst Han Sen's excitement, the sound of thunder rolled. The snaps of what seemed like lightning pummeled the mountainside, vibrating the entire landmass.
"What was that?" Han Sen looked down at the chasm that had recently formed on the peak.
"A man like that wouldn't just go for a nap, here of all places, for no reason. There must be something around here worth investigating. I might find a souvenir, and it might be something that helped him. If it helped that fellow, it can surely help me." Han Sen's mind scrambled to keep itself composed, thinking of the treasure that might lurk in the darkness.
Boom!
An energy pulsed out of the hole, blowing Han Sen away a few hundred meters.
Han Sen kept his body straight as he flew backward, watching a purple light stem from deep inside the chasm. It was like an eerie, purple volcano that was seeking to erupt.
Han Sen was shocked, to say the least. He flew around the area, but he noticed many creatures had started to ascend the mountain. When the purple light began to beam up and up into the sky, it exploded in a dizzying array of fireworks. The purple light was soon like rain, cascading over the mountain.
All the creatures on the mountain were washed with that purple rain, Han Sen included. The purple rain landed on Han Sen and moisturized his skin. The substance was warm and soothing to the touch.
He used his Dongxuan Aura to absorb the warmth, and almost immediately, he felt as if his seventh gene lock was going to burst right open.
Under the purple rain, a lot of plants came out of the soil, making the mountain bloom with lush plant life and an unrivaled vibrancy. The creatures that touched the rain were all shining now, as well. They too were opening gene locks.
Katcha!
Han Sen felt like a restrictive chain had been severed inside his body. It delighted Han Sen to confirm that he had indeed opened his seventh gene lock with the Dongxuan Sutra.
As Han Sen sought to absorb more of that rain, though, the rain came to a stop.
The tower below became purple as a holy presence and aura started to form around it. The tower started to grow, becoming much larger. Suddenly, the tower overtook the entire mountain, becoming one incomprehensibly large spire.
Han Sen looked around and stared into the crowds of creatures that had come together, but he could not find the silver fox.
"Strange. Did none of the Ghost Buddies actually come here, then?" Han Sen frowned.
But then, Han Sen watched the creatures resume their ascent and hurry towards the tower. Not wanting to leave with his curiosity unsatiated, Han Sen followed them.
After he entered the tower, though, Han Sen was shocked. The minuscule tower had transformed into a shelter, and a king-class one at that. Han Sen followed the creatures and reached the top. There was a spirit statue there, with a spirit stone lodged in its forehead.
Han Sen realized that man had overtaken the location where a spirit could be born. The man had absorbed its energy, and when he left through the door, the spirit was free to continue its growth.
"I wonder what the spirit's level is. If it was worthy for that man to take its power, it must be a strong one." Han Sen's face started to turn grim as he felt the power of that stone become tangible.
The lifeforce was much stronger than he expected it to be.
"It cannot be an emperor with ten of its gene locks opened, can it?" Han Sen stared at the purple spirit stone in awe.
Chapter 1221: Born Emperor
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Looking at the spirit stone directly before him, Han Sen quickly fell into the grasp of greed. He flew towards the forehead of the statue and to grab the stone. Han Sen knew he would have to grab it before it completely formed and the spirit was given shape.
The creatures roared at the intruder that soared above them as if he was humiliating their god.
Not that Han Sen cared for their audible complaints; he just sped up in his rush to take the spirit stone. This could very well be the only chance he would have to take control of a newly-born emperor. It was an amazingly rare opportunity, one he'd be foolish to ignore.
The creatures moved to stop his intrusion, but much to their dismay, they were all slower than the human.
Han Sen's fingers felt as if they were just about to touch the spirit stone when suddenly, a sharp purple light surged out of the crystal.
When Han Sen touched the light, it was sharp and made him bleed. The beam of light took the shape of a blade and extended from the stone.
He hurriedly brought his hand back and healed. When he next looked at the spirit stone, he saw the figure of a humanoid-shape gathering.
Han Sen could not see the spirit's face, but the purple smoke that built it formed wings on the humanoid figure's back. It was looking like the hazy, disturbing image of a reaper.
The newly-born spirit lunged towards Han Sen. It was still three meters away, but the sword had already traversed that distance and tried to cut him.
Han Sen wielded Phoenix Sword and Taia, and he tried to block the attack. It was successful, but the strike was too strong and it knocked him to the ground.
The sword forged of light did not disappear as the spirit finished his lunge. The sword did not need the hand of a user, and it was relentless, controlled by the mind of its operator.
The power came against Han Sen's swords again, and he held strong as it pushed and inched its way closer and closer to his chest.
Boom!
The reaper-looking king spirit tried to slash Han Sen again.
Han Sen's eyes turned white along with the rest of his body. His hair flowed down to brush the ground, like a creamy cascade of milk.
Han Sen lifted his swords and threw away the first blade of light. Then, with Taia, Han Sen knocked another one away.
Pang!
The purple blades of light were shattered beneath Han Sen's supreme surge of power, and so was the white light that carried Taia.
Loads of super creatures stepped forward to take advantage of any opening they could find to maul the human intruder. Seeing this, Han Sen knew it was time to call in backup. He summoned Disloyal Knight, Little Angel, and Thorn Queen.
Disloyal Knight used its halo to weaken the surrounding creatures and the newborn king spirit.
"Thorn, restrain those creatures!" Han Sen shouted over the chaos. Then, he and Little Angel pushed on to tackle the king spirit.
Thorn Queen used her Equinox Flower. A wall of thorns emerged from the ground to subdue the approaching army of creatures.
Han Sen, in the meantime, moved on the king spirit alongside Little Angel. He had realized the king spirit was unusually strong, and it was probably of an emperor status, all things considered.
But Han Sen had gone up against Sky King not so long ago, and there was a clear and discernible difference between the two. This king spirit was not in Sky King's league, that was for sure.
Han Sen thought it might be because its ten gene locks had not yet been opened, or perhaps the man had stunted its growth by absorbing the spirit's nutrition.
Whatever the case might be, Han Sen was sure of one thing above all—he could kill it. Creatures were everywhere, anyway, and fighting his way out would be difficult enough task by itself. So, he planned to take it down and perhaps earn another servant in the process.
Han Sen and Little Angel approached the king spirit with care, as it summoned more blades of light in an attempt to cut them down.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The purple light and holy light collided in a dizzying array of sparks. The king spirit, however, had no trouble in suppressing the two.
After an evil blade of light was shattered, it'd reform easily and come at them again, putting Han Sen and Little Angel at a disadvantage. More and more blades were summoned, and the spirit started to gain ground. With less and less space to dodge, Han Sen was in trouble.
"He must be a born emperor; there can no longer be any doubt about that!" The spirit had most certainly opened ten of its gene locks. A super creature with nine gene locks open was not even close to the level of power Han Sen was having to deal with.
It was probably an insufficient amount of nutrients that had kept this spirit from becoming as strong as Sky King.
The born emperor used his purple blades like mad, filling the entire tower with them. They cut down anything and everything they touched.
"Little Angel, it's time we combine!" Han Sen ran over to her.
Little Angel ran towards him, too. When they met up, Little Angel's wings embraced Han Sen, and the two moved to lock lips and kiss.
The purple blades of light came towards them relentlessly, and now, hundreds were all coming at once.
Boom!
A crazy white light exploded out of them, destroying each and every one. The purple pieces scattered everywhere.
Then, a beautiful white figure with angel wings and a halo emerged from the blinding flash, wielding a transparent greatsword over its head.
Boom!
The greatsword was brought down on the newborn king spirit.