Chapter 1360: The Vine

No wonder Zhang Xuan was dejected.

He had performed well in front of his brother-in-law all along, even taming the Azure Dragon Beast with ease—so perfect, so flawless... Never in his wildest dreams had he imagined that at the final moment, he would be beaten by a gourd!

Being unable to defeat a sacred beast or weapon was one thing, but a gourd hanging from a vine had knocked him senseless... The more he thought about it, the more humiliating it felt.

"Beaten by a gourd?"

Startled, Luo Xuanqing caught on, his breathing quickening involuntarily. "Does that mean Teacher Zhang has seen the Dongxu Gourd? Is it real, not an illusion?"

"Yes."

Zhang Xuan nodded.

Earlier, Yun Lianhai had sensed no treasure, leading everyone to think it was also an illusion. Hearing this, they all breathed a sigh of relief.

Since it was real, their trip wasn't in vain.

"The Dongxu Gourd can help one comprehend the Dongxu realm, and its combat strength is likely no weaker than an early-stage Saint Realm Level 8 expert. Although Teacher Zhang's talent is unmatched, he is only at the peak of Saint Realm Level 5, the Nascent Soul Departure stage—a significant gap. It's perfectly normal that you couldn't defeat it. Even I would probably be no match..."

Seeing his dejection, Luo Xuanqing comforted him.

How could a gourd that could help someone break through to Saint Realm Level 8 be simple?

Without sufficient strength, not only could one not capture it, but even if caught, one couldn't refine it!

Hearing this, Zhang Xuan felt somewhat better. He looked up at the others. "I've already deciphered the space before us. In a moment, I'll take you all to find this gourd. However, it's very irritable and might attack on sight. So, you need to heal your injuries in advance and adjust to your best condition!"

"Alright!"

Everyone nodded simultaneously and sat down cross-legged.

Without hesitation, Zhang Xuan opened all his acupoints, rapidly absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth to restore the true qi he had expended in the sword strike that split the sea and to heal his internal injuries.

Within the folded space, the spiritual energy was rich. It took less than two hours to fully recover.

"This gourd is indeed strong..."

While consolidating his cultivation, he pondered countermeasures.

He thought of several methods, but none could overcome it.

As Luo Xuanqing had said, this creature likely possessed combat power equivalent to the initial stage of the Dongxu realm, far beyond what he could contend with now.

Unless... he released the Maniac—not just the finger bone, but also the skull—to fight together!

But doing so would expose the Maniac's identity. As a master teacher harboring an Otherworldly Spirit... if word got out, the Master Teacher Pavilion headquarters might investigate and even revoke his master teacher qualification.

"Let's set out!"

After thinking for a while with no good solution, he saw Luo Xuanqing and the others stand up.

Though their injuries were severe, they had taken the healing elixirs Zhang Xuan gave them, and as juniors of major powers, they possessed many treasures. By now, they had mostly recovered.

"Follow me, and don't take a single wrong step!" Zhang Xuan instructed.

Knowing the danger, everyone nodded.

Without further ado, Zhang Xuan sealed his cultivation and led the way inside.

Having comprehended the third level of the Derivation Space Scripture, his mastery over space had become immensely powerful. Coupled with his understanding of the spatial formation's secrets, he encountered no danger upon re-entering.

Though he might be inferior to Luo Xuanqing in spatial combat, here, the latter was far behind him.

With the experience of the first entry, the second was much simpler. Before long, they arrived again at the spiritual vein river, with a gourd hanging not far away.

"It's the Dongxu Gourd..."

Luo Xuanqing trembled with excitement.

From a distance, it wasn't clear, but up close, he knew this was indeed the Dongxu Gourd, a heavenly treasure that, when refined, could greatly increase the chance of breaking through to the Dongxu realm.

"I'll wait here. You all make your move!"

Zhang Xuan waved his hand.

After all, if he didn't go all out, his skills wouldn't stand out among the group, and his involvement or not made little difference.

"Alright!"

Luo Xuanqing and the others were full of fighting spirit. "With the few of us joining forces, we'll definitely subdue it!"

Zhang Xuan raised his fist and smiled encouragingly. "Go for it!"

Three minutes later.

Back outside the formation, Luo Xuanqing and the others sat on the ground, bruised and battered, their faces full of dejection.

The four experts had combined their strength, their techniques exquisite and powerful, but... they too had failed to defeat the gourd and had been thoroughly thrashed. Yuan Xiao, in particular, bore several gourd-shaped bruises and looked the worst.

"Maybe... Teacher Zhang could bring the Azure Dragon Beast over. If it acts, it can easily crush this thing!"

After hesitating for a while, Yun Lianhai spoke.

The Infernal Azure Dragon Beast possessed strength comparable to the peak of Saint Realm Level 8, far beyond what the four of them could handle together. If it acted, it should be simple.

"This..."

Zhang Xuan was troubled.

It wasn't that he didn't want to do that, but if he called his beast pet to fight whenever he encountered a powerful opponent he couldn't beat... and against a mere gourd at that...

What authority would he have left in front of them?

Besides, Saint Realm Level 8 experts couldn't enter this place. He could store the beast in his folded space, but releasing it would destabilize the space and cause even greater trouble.

"How about this: everyone guard me while I use my bloodline power..."

Just as he was torn, Luo Xuanqing's eyes flashed, and he gritted his teeth.

"Use your bloodline power?"

Bi Hongyin frowned. "You need to think carefully. Once you use it, you won't be able to use your power for at least a month..."

Although bloodline power could temporarily boost combat strength, it heavily drained the body. Even clan members hesitated before using it.

"I know. As long as I can capture it, after a month, when my strength recovers, I can refine it and attempt to break through to Saint Realm Level 8... No matter the cost, it's worth it!"

Luo Xuanqing said.

Given his current strength and accumulation, under normal circumstances, breaking through to Saint Realm Level 8 would take years, or even decades, if it were possible at all.

But with this item, he could succeed within three months. Even if he had to recuperate for a month, it was definitely a gain!

"In that case, let's prepare!"

Bi Hongyin nodded.

Obtaining a treasure inevitably came at a cost. There was no free lunch in the world. Before coming, everyone had mentally prepared themselves.

With the decision made, they said no more and focused on recovering their strength as quickly as possible.

Three hours later, they stood before the gourd again.

"Hongyin, use your demonic sound to interfere. Yuan Xiao, find a way to block the gourd's main attacks. Yun Lianhai and I will engage it head-on. Let's make sure we succeed this time!"

Luo Xuanqing's expression was grave.

"Alright!"

Everyone acknowledged.

"Begin!"

With a low shout, Luo Xuanqing's body roared with power, and his aura instantly surged. The space around him began to warp.

He stepped forward and reached out his hand. The space around the gourd seemed to freeze instantly.

Whoosh!

Sensing hostility, the gourd angrily charged outward. However, with his bloodline burning, Luo Xuanqing's strength had become immense. The gourd charged several times but couldn't escape the sealed space.

Ding-dong! Ding-dong!

Then, the sound of a zither rang out as Bi Hongyin began to play. Yuan Xiao and Yun Lianhai charged in together.

"This time, we should be able to catch it..."

Seeing that Luo Xuanqing, having activated his bloodline, had more than doubled his combat power and his mastery over space was now comparable to a Dongxu realm expert, Zhang Xuan breathed a sigh of relief.

As expected of a genius from the Sage Luo Clan—activating his bloodline was like becoming a different person.

Previously, when fighting Zhang Qian, he had seen the latter use the Zhang Clan's bloodline. Though it increased power, it was far inferior to what he saw now.

It seemed the purer the bloodline, the greater the effect upon activation.

After a moment of admiration, he looked up and saw the four experts pressing the gourd to the ground, kicking it wildly. Bi Hongyin had even raised her zither and was smashing it with all her might.

Under their combined assault, the previously arrogant gourd was now trembling uncontrollably, looking utterly miserable.

"Let you be arrogant..."

Recalling his own miserable beating, Zhang Xuan nodded with satisfaction, feeling an indescribable pleasure.

Weren't you so cocky?

Not so smug now, are you?

Knowing that the battle was no longer in doubt and that the others could capture the gourd without his help, Zhang Xuan stopped paying attention and looked up at the spiritual river in the sky.

As mentioned before, this was a spiritual vein.

However, it had been extracted from underground to nourish this gourd and maintain the operation of the various spaces, so it was mostly depleted.

"What a pity..."

He sighed.

If this spiritual vein had been discovered when it was first extracted, though not extremely powerful, it would have been worth dozens or even hundreds of top-grade spirit stones.

But now, although the spiritual energy was still abundant, its purity was insufficient, comparable to high-grade spirit stones, and of little use to him.

"Hmm, this vine is a good thing..." Shaking his head, he was about to look away when his expression shifted, and his eyes fell on the vine within the spiritual vein.

It was only about as thick as a finger, but it shimmered with spiritual light, like jade. He hadn't paid much attention before, and it was hidden within the spiritual vein, easily overlooked. Now, with his Insight Eye, he saw that it was not only extremely hard but also contained abundant spiritual energy, far denser than even top-grade essence spirit stones.

"Let's go take a look!"

His eyes lit up, and unable to contain himself, Zhang Xuan flew over.

Soon, he arrived before it. The vine was entirely green, like emerald, cold to the touch, and seemed to contain countless folded spaces, as dense as a honeycomb.

"This..."

Blinking a few times, Zhang Xuan was stunned.

He had clearly sensed this power on the gourd earlier—like spatial extension, but actually it was Dongxu power.

It was this power that could help one break through to Saint Realm Level 8.

He had thought only the gourd possessed it, but it turned out the vine also had it.

"Let's see if I can refine it..."

His eyes brightened, and he quickly reached out to touch it. A cool sensation entered his body, and a book appeared in his mind.

With a faint smile, he extended his finger and tapped on it.

Crack! Crack!

A series of crisp sounds. The long vine, as if meeting its master, emitted a series of excited cracks and flew straight toward him.

"Collect!"

Without any hesitation, Zhang Xuan grabbed it with his hand.

Whoosh!

In the blink of an eye, the vine was stored in his storage ring and disappeared.