Chapter 226: 84 Giant Wave Formation

“I…”

Trembling, Min Jiangtao turned around, only to see his “junior brother” sitting upright in the room, holding a teacup and slowly pouring tea. The rich aroma of the tea filled the entire room, but he couldn’t smell it; instead, he sensed an intense killing intent and the scent of death.

“Don’t be nervous, sit!”

Zhang Xuan beckoned.

With a rigid body, Min Jiangtao knew better than to disobey. He approached with cautious steps, nervously lifting the teacup and forcing an awkward smile, “Junior brother, you didn’t rest…”

“There’s no need to be tense. If I really wanted to kill you, you would have already been dead the moment you were rude to me…” Zhang Xuan waved his hand dismissively.

Only then did Min Jiangtao breathe a sigh of relief.

Indeed, if the other party truly wanted to kill, there was no way he could have lived till now.

Seeing that he remained silent, Zhang Xuan gently tapped on the tabletop with his fingers, looking over with a calm expression, “Since you already know, there’s no need for me to cover it up anymore! You understand what a Mandate Chaos Master is without me telling you. My intentional impersonation was to infiltrate their ranks, a decision made by all the elders at the Heaven Mandate Hall headquarters. You should know what that means!”

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After killing Mo Qing, he knew the Mo Blade Sect would not let things slide and would surely send masters, perhaps even Elder Bai Ye himself.

Therefore, he had arranged this ploy in advance to bait and hook the other party.

Explaining face-to-face, claiming to have an “extraordinary identity” and killing Ling Buyang as part of a “ploy”—no one would believe it. But by providing clues that lead him to “discover” it on his own, he would naturally be convinced.

People tend to believe that whatever they achieve through their own hard work is right.

That’s why he had just pretended to be injured, allowing the other party time to “investigate the case.”

“I know…” Min Jiangtao nodded repeatedly.

From the other person’s words, he gleaned two pieces of information.

First, everything that guard leader had said was true; the person in front of him masquerading as Ling Buyang was geared towards dealing with the Mandate Chaos Master.

Second, the other party’s identity was not simple—at least of an elder’s status from the Heaven Mandate Hall headquarters.

No wonder Elder Ouyang Hai held him in such high regard. In terms of both status and strength, he far surpassed the other.

“It’s good that you know. I hope you can keep this matter to yourself; it should end with you. I don’t want the Mandate Chaos Master to detect it prematurely. If all our hard work were to be ruined because of this, not only you, but the entire Mo Blade Sect, even the entire Zhou Yi Dynasty, would have to bear the wrath of the Heaven Mandate Hall headquarters…”

Zhang Xuan’s eyes narrowed, and in the blink of an eye, a powerful aura swept through, like a mighty dragon spanning the nine heavens, startling Min Jiangtao to the point where he almost couldn’t stay seated and nearly fell off the stool.

Just from this aura alone, he knew the cultivation of the person before him was beyond imagination.

“I, I understand…”

Min Jiangtao’s voice trembled, unable to hold onto the Mo Blade any longer; it clattered to the ground.

Seeing his reaction, Zhang Xuan nodded in satisfaction.

The so-called aura was naturally related to the fragment of the heavens bestowed by Ouyang Hai, tied to “Strength.” Although he had yet to study it in detail, just by activating its contained power, the man before him was left gasping for breath.

“Now that we’ve met, I’ll offer you an opportunity.”

Seeing the time was ripe, Zhang Xuan gave a slight smile, his demeanor becoming friendly and approachable, “Your current cultivation is at the Star River secondary pinnacle. You’ve been unable to make a breakthrough because your heart is not clear, your spirit is not bright, and you have innate defects leading to an inferiority complex. If I could help you solve that, would you then be successful?”

“I…”

Min Jiangtao was wholly shaken, his eyes filled with incredulity.

His condition had persisted for many years with no suitable remedy in sight, despite consuming countless tonics with no effect. Yet, it had been seen through with just one glance by the person before him.

Even without considering anything else, just this discernment ability far exceeded that of anyone he had previously known.

No wonder he was an exceptional individual from the Heaven Mandate Hall headquarters.

Slowly rising to his feet, Zhang Xuan placed his hands behind his back, “Humans have six sense organs: eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind. Only with all six intact can one attain Knowing One’s Fate and establish one’s destiny. A defect in your body means an incomplete set of senses, making a breakthrough even more difficult. I can show you a clear path. Forget Flower Grass, you’ve heard of it, haven’t you?”

Min Jiangtao nodded, “I’ve heard of it! It’s a type of aromatic herb with a special fragrance. Wearing it can induce illusions and make one forget worries, also known as Forget Love Grass or Forget Sorrow Grass.”

“That’s the herb. On a rainy night, before attempting to reach the Star River third level, consume one of these herbs, and you might see miraculous results… Of course, this is only a symptomatic solution, not a cure. To truly Know One’s Fate and Establish Destiny, you’ll need more profound methods.”

Zhang Xuan looked over, “Alright, I still need to recover from my injuries, so I won’t detain ‘senior brother’ any longer.”

“Yes!”

Discerning the intent to dismiss, Min Jiangtao quickly got up and hurriedly left the room, only then feeling sweat on his back.

The other’s pressure was too intense for someone of his strength and cultivation to endure.

“Forget Flower Grass… I’ll try it later!”

Recalling what had been said, Min Jiangtao’s excitement grew, and his fists clenched involuntarily.

Although it wasn’t expressed explicitly, the intent was clear—if he could show loyalty, not only could his hidden problems be resolved, but he could even be assisted in his surge to the third, perhaps even fourth level of Heavenly Mandate!

Were he to achieve this, he would be in charge of the Mo Blade Sect, and even his teacher would have to step aside.

“What an opportunity!”

His eyes glinted.

With guidance from such a high-level master, this was a chance cultivated over eight lifetimes, a true opportunity to change his destiny, provided he could grasp it.

A soldier who doesn’t aspire to be a general isn’t a good soldier.

In an instant, Min Jiangtao came to a decision.

Watching him walk away, Zhang Xuan finally let out a sigh of relief.

He had grasped the Heavenly Destiny of Pathos of Heaven, and although his strength had improved a lot, without burning Yuan Power of the New World, he still fell short when compared to this 2-dan pinnacle expert from the Star River.

So, putting on airs in front of this person still came with quite a bit of pressure, fortunately, he had managed to bluff his way through.

“This ‘power of currents’ is really useful, I should study it carefully…”

With a thought, Zhang Xuan’s divine consciousness entered the Library of Heaven’s Path, and with a gesture of his hand, a massive fragment of the heavens appeared before his eyes.

It was the “power of currents” that Ouyang Hai had given him.

The stream of bluish-grey qi, like wisps of smoke, flowed slowly. When his consciousness entered, he could see strength surging endlessly, just like a river.

With a thought, he arrived above the “river.”

The riverbed was extremely vast, but the water seemed rather thin, only enough for the very center stream to appear mighty. In reality, it didn’t even fill one percent of the riverbed.

“It seems that to fill it up, I will need Heavenly Mandate Vitality…”

Zhang Xuan guessed inwardly, flicked his fingers, and the more than two thousand Destiny Plates he had obtained from Ouyang Hai shattered instantly, turning into more than twenty million strands of Heavenly Mandate Vitality.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

“Infuse!”

With a point in the air, numerous strands of Heavenly Mandate Vitality surged towards the river in front of him, like hundreds of streams converging. The river of “power of currents” grew wider and more raging, eliciting louder and louder roars.

In the blink of an eye, all twenty million strands of Heavenly Mandate Vitality had poured in, and the river had regained about one-fifth of its former self.

“Such a large consumption?”

Zhang Xuan’s eyes darkened.

Initially, he had intended to infuse a little to test how much this river could absorb, but in the blink of an eye, it had swallowed up everything…

If it was only one-fifth now, wouldn’t it mean that to fill up the entire river, a total of one hundred million strands would be needed?

With such a bottomless pit, even if he were rich, how could he possibly fill it?

Feeling somewhat depressed and looking at the Heavenly Destiny of Pathos of Heaven in the sky, he felt even more dizzy.

This fellow alone had consumed 5 million strands just to form, and to break through to the second realm, an estimated 20 million strands would probably be needed…

The third level, the fourth level…

The very thought made his heart flutter with anxiety.

“Let’s first see what this Heavenly Mandate actually is!”

Seeing that he had become destitute in the blink of an eye again, Zhang Xuan helplessly shook his head, his gaze returning to the river before him.

Accompanied by the infusion of Heavenly Mandate Qi, his consciousness entered the river, and a powerful aura immediately spread from within Zhang Xuan’s body, making his whole person seem as towering and majestic as a mountain.

“Clang!” With a crisp sound, Sun Qiang, who had just walked into the room, softened his grip, and the food he was carrying fell to the ground. Dao Li, following not far behind, also went weak at the knees and fell to the ground.

“What’s wrong with you?”

Seeing their state, Zhang Xuan frowned slightly.

Noticing his displeasure, Sun Qiang and Dao Li immediately felt a sense of panic that arose inexplicably from the depths of their hearts, and they could no longer control their bodies, trembling uncontrollably.

Too terrifying!

The young master, whom they were very familiar with, gave them a feeling as if they were facing a hundred-zhang-high tidal wave, so small and insignificant like ants. It wasn’t just about anger; it seemed that a mere trace of unhappiness could completely overwhelm their souls, causing them to collapse on the spot.

“Young Master… please retract your divine power!”

Sun Qiang said weakly.

“Divine power?”

Zhang Xuan realized and his consciousness withdrew from the lengthy river.

In the blink of an eye, Sun Qiang and Dao Li felt the pressure lift, both man and horse tumbling to the ground, gasping for air.

“What happened? Tell me in detail…”

Zhang Xuan couldn’t help but ask.

He was unaware of his own aura, so naturally, he couldn’t understand why the others reacted so.

“It was like this…” Sun Qiang explained his experience in detail.

“Feeling like facing a hundred-zhang-high tidal wave, constantly on the verge of not being able to withstand?” Zhang Xuan blinked.

“Yes, like the might of… a tidal wave! If… if the young master had truly expressed anger just now, I’m afraid I would have been scared to death on the spot…”

Sun Qiang looked embarrassed.

Zhang Xuan nodded.

It seemed that Ouyang Hai indeed hadn’t deceived him; this Heavenly Mandate was truly of a high tier, and it appeared to be a branch of the “power of currents” kind of Heavenly Mandate as he had said, the Giant Wave Formation!

“With such an aura, if used well, posing as a master, I’m afraid no one would doubt it…”

Zhang Xuan’s eyes lit up.

Previously, without an adequate aura, even if he wanted to pose as a master, no one would believe him. Now, having comprehended this Giant Wave Formation, even if he claimed he wasn’t a master, no one would believe it!

“I can finally go to the Zhou Yi Dynasty to find Empyrean Kong shi…”

Zhang Xuan smiled faintly.