Familiar opponents

"Are you kidding me?"

When Zhang Xuezhou used the shuttle device to turn towards Kunlun Ruins Kunlun Ruins, he saw fourteen cultivators walking in unison, also approaching the shuttle device, preparing to use it to cross the secret area.

He arrived quickly and almost bumped into the cultivators who were preparing to enter.

Some of the veiled cultivators were unidentifiable, but Zhang Xuezhou immediately spotted Ao Sheng walking ahead with a Qi Ingestion expression.

Among the cultivators Zhang Xuezhou had seen, Ao Sheng was not among the most powerful, but he was definitely a pillar of strength.

If we define Ao Sheng within this generation of young people, Ao Sheng can be considered an all-rounder, after all, he can fight and withstand attacks, he can breathe clouds and smoke, he can swim in the sea and soar in the sky.

After receiving instruction from the Celestial Venerable Yuanshi, Ao Sheng was also able to unleash the Auspicious Cloud Technique, making his defense top-notch.

Zhang Xuezhou didn't talk about other cultivators; he got a headache just looking at Ao Sheng.

Ao Sheng's repeated Qi Ingestion and challenge to Ao Li demonstrate his genuine skill. Given Ao Sheng's reaction speed, Zhang Xuezhou felt that before he could launch a sneak attack, Ao Sheng's spear would already be thrusting into him.

He felt a headache just looking at Ao Sheng, let alone seeing fourteen equally skilled young masters.

Zhang Xuezhou thought he was someone of importance; even if he didn't win the Centennial Tournament, he wouldn't lose too badly, especially since he had a shameless sneak attack mentality. But he found himself only good enough to make up the numbers.

Looking around, Zhang Xuezhou spotted the bald-headed Buddha Son Shigong, Rulai Shi Gong, in the crowd.

"I'm going to die! I'm going to die!"

He shouted a couple of times, but realized he couldn't win in a one-on-one fight. If these people swarmed him, even a holy son like him wouldn't stand a chance.

"How can this be played? How can this situation be allowed to exist? Let's not even talk about fighting for an unfair two-on-one match, shouldn't it at least be two-on-two?"

Zhang Xuezhou glanced inside the shuttle device, then turned the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches compass and chose to leave quickly.

"Should we hide the teacher's glass lamp first?"

Zhang Xuezhou's wicked thoughts took hold; he even considered hiding the object that everyone was after.

But he quickly abandoned that idea and instead looked for a place to ambush and launch a surprise attack.

Without the glass lamp on the bronze chair, these people would inevitably stick together, and even a troublemaker like Ao Sheng wouldn't rashly start a war.

Disputes only arise when cultivators vie for the Glazed Lamp, and Zhang Xuezhou wouldn't do something so foolish.

He found a patch of eaves, then slipped behind the door of a small side room. After hiding for a few seconds, Zhang Xuezhou felt that his hiding place was barely suitable for a sneak attack, but these cultivators had no reason to enter such a small side room.

The room was filled with old looms; it was an abandoned weaving workshop.

Anyone with a modicum of common sense would not believe this is the main hall of Kunlun.

He quickly emerged from the weaving room, and as his gaze swept around, Zhang Xuezhou felt as if he were being bathed in a bright moonlight, with a cool and refreshing sensation washing over his body.

Looking up, Zhang Xuezhou saw a tall mirror, as tall as a person, hanging high in the sky, with more than ten beams of light illuminating the four directions of the secret place.

The numerous participants in the century-long pact have undoubtedly been identified, making it possible to detect their movements and even observe their whereabouts.

"How do you resort to underhanded tactics?"

Zhang Xuezhou only had time to tilt his head to the side.

When he raised his head again, his face showed signs of aging; he had quickly changed his appearance using Aging Technique.

The bad news was that he had been located and could even be observed. The good news was that, with the help of the long mirror, Zhang Xuezhou knew that the contestants were completely unfamiliar with the Western Kunlun Secret Land and were using the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches plate arbitrarily, thus enabling him to make a preliminary group segmentation.

One beam of light even penetrated into the vicinity of the rear area of the secret realm, not too far from Zhang Xuezhou.

He reached into the weaving room and grabbed a long stick, as tall as a person, then started digging at the ground.

This long stick was probably used to hang the woven cloth; the stick's length was equal to the length of a roll of cloth.

Zhang Xuezhou originally wanted to find a broom to pretend to be someone else, but the conditions here were too rudimentary. He could only see if he could use a stick to fool people and then try to get close enough to launch a sneak attack.

"Ahem, young man who has come from afar, what are you searching for here?"

Zhang Xuezhou already knew that few people would search the dilapidated weaving workshop. Seeing the cultivators who entered the area cautiously heading in another direction, he, who was constantly putting on an act, had to call out.

"Searching... you must be the old sage here?"

The person who answered Zhang Xuezhou was a robust man who was about forty years old.

The other person was dressed in a fiery red robe and carried a jewel-encrusted staff. After walking a hundred meters, he greeted Zhang Xuezhou with great politeness.

"There's no such old immortal, cough cough cough, I'm just sweeping the floor around here in the Weaver Girl's Chamber," Zhang Xuezhou, brandishing his long cane.

"This is the Weaver Girl's Chamber?" the middle-aged man exclaimed in utter disappointment. "No wonder this place lacks any of the majesty and grandeur of the Heavenly Court!"

"The Weaver Girl is a low-ranking deity, only fit to live in such a small palace," Zhang Xuezhou said. "The majestic and imposing palaces of Heavenly Court are not here!"

"Where is it?"

The middle-aged man's accent was rather stiff and awkward, somewhat like the Western Regions accent of the Buddha Son Shigong, and also somewhat like the language of the Greater Yuezhi Kingdom.

This language was very similar to the language Zhang Xuezhou had learned at the Yedie River Holy Land, and Zhang Xuezhou's communication with the other party was relatively normal.

"To get to the main hall of Heavenly Court, you need to go that way. Only by adjusting your Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches to Guihai, Gengshen, Wuwu, Bingchen, or Jiayin can you pass through the weaving room and enter the main hall area!"

"Wait, old sage, how do you adjust the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches chart? I can't understand those ancient texts, and I don't know how to adjust it according to the order you described!"

Zhang Xuezhou spoke eloquently, leaning on a wooden stick.

What he said was absolutely true, including the Weaver Girl's Chamber area and the method for adjusting the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches on the way to the main hall.

But the middle-aged man clearly didn't understand at all; he didn't turn around and leave after getting close and receiving the information.

Zhang Xuezhou, carrying a long stick, felt that it would be difficult to injure someone from behind.

"Has our Heavenly Court's script become ancient script?" Zhang Xuezhou shook his head and asked.

"There aren't many people learning these characters outside, and we don't usually use them, so we haven't followed suit," the middle-aged man said awkwardly.

"These characters aren't difficult. You should really study them regularly. It's not just about learning knowledge, but also about showing respect for our Kunlun Heavenly Court," Zhang Xuezhou admonished.

"The old sage is right! I hope the old sage can teach me; I'm willing to learn now!"

"It's not difficult for you to learn how to rotate the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches chart. Come with me to the room and get the ancient book on the mud and stone slab to look at!"

Zhang Xuezhou bowed and walked back to the weaving room. The middle-aged man looked to the left and then to the right, and followed Zhang Xuezhou inside.

"I remember there's a record of the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches on a mudstone slab here. You can take a look at it and you'll be able to learn it. Rotating the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches plate shouldn't be a problem," Zhang Xuezhou said.

"Old sage, where is that mudstone slab with inscriptions?"

"It should be this way. Let me look for you. It's a bit dark in this hall. Could you light this tinderbox for me and take a look?"

Zhang Xuezhou rummaged through his Lesser Heaven and Earth Bag and then pulled out a stick of Five-Step Bewitching Smoke Incense.

He picked up the poison incense, and the middle-aged man shook the staff in his hand twice. A flame appeared on the top of the staff, and then he reached out and lit it.

"Old... old sage, this... tinder... keeps... smoking... ah!"

The Five-Step Bewitching Incense ignited instantly, producing a large amount of white smoke.

Zhang Xuezhou waved his hand haphazardly through the white smoke a few times, and the burly man was already slurring his words and staggering.

"The tinderbox has gotten damp from being left out for too long. Just light it a couple more times with a fire poker and it'll be dry!"

Zhang Xuezhou responded fluently, and a trace of crimson blood appeared at the nostrils of the burly man, while blood vessels began to appear in his eyes.

"Zoroastrian Junggar Gyaltsen is willing to withdraw!"

Just as Zhang Xuezhou gripped the long stick in his right hand, preparing to strike the swaying, robust man on the neck, a sound came from above the weaving room.

A long rope flew over and entangled Rongerjia, then pulled the burly man who had inhaled a large amount of Five-Step Bewitching Smoke out.