Chapter 136: Three Hundred and Sixty Stone Tablets to Nurture a Single Sword

A gentle breeze blew past.

Inside the Main Path Guild, everyone was astounded.

People who could enter the Main Path Mausoleum were all geniuses and could all be considered a group of elite practitioners.

However, even the disciples did not have the bravery to say that they could solve the stone tablet mystery left behind by the first leader of the guild. Thus, the Main Path Guild founder was a distinguished predecessor who left behind a supreme foundation!

Over the centuries, the Main Path Guild disciples who had solved the stone tablet of the guild founder could be counted on one hand.

Each one of them was extremely illustrious and well-renowned. For example, the current sect leader—Zhao Longshi and the First Pride of the younger generation under 30 years old—Xu Qingyang.

Apart from this, there was an extremely special person. This person managed to enter the Main Path Guild ten years ago and defeated the sect leader —Zhao Longshi, when he was at his prime! It was the First Sword—Xuanyuan Taihua.

Xuanyuan Taihua was the only one who managed to ascend to the Main Path Mausoleum with the identity of a sword disciple. Besides that, she managed to solve the tablet mystery of the first guild leader.

Today, another sword disciple had managed to ascend the mountain and solve the tablet mystery of the first guild leader!

The disciples all wore complicated expressions as they looked at the youth walking along the steps in the breeze. They all felt as though they were looking at the legend of this generation!

An Fan looked at the tablet mystery of the first guild leader. Unfortunately, based on the complexity of the rune, there was no possibility of solving this tablet mystery with his level of learning and current standard.

However, Fang Lang had managed to solve this tablet mystery after spending one day and one night on it!

The First Pride of the younger generation of the Main Path Guild, the champion of the Imperial Examination in Wen Ting’s year—Xu Qingyang had spent seven days and seven nights before the stone tablet of the first guild leader. However, he did not sleep nor rest over those seven days and nights before he could solve the tablet mystery.

Did this mean that Fang Lang was more powerful than Senior Xu Qingyang!?

The disciples of the Main Path Guild followed behind Fang Lang. They did not make a sound. Instead, they quietly observed him.

They no longer mocked Fang Lang for not knowing his strength. This was because Fang Lang had taken practical action, giving them a massive slap in the face.

The breeze blew through the bamboo grove as the gentle drizzle continued to fall.

The stone path on the mountain came to a bend.

In his white robes, Fang Lang came to stand in front of the second stone tablet under a hut. He frowned, deep in thought, then stretched out his hand.

Whether or not Fang Lang’s guess was right, this stone tablet would be able to give him an answer.

…

The Main Path Guild disciples, elders, and vice leader Zhao Zhenshi were all gathered in front of the gated arch at the foot of the mountain.

The Main Path Mausoleum possessed an extremely powerful force that isolated it from the spiritual probing of outsiders. Hence, neither Zhao Zhenshi nor Huang Zhihe would have any way of knowing what was going on inside the Main Path Mausoleum.

The thing that astonished Zhao Zhenshi and the elders were that a full day and full night had passed but Fang Lang had still not retrieved the sword. So even though they had sent their disciples to prevent and try to delay him, Fang Lang should have retrieved the sword by now.

Did this mean that… Fang Lang was not able to retrieve the Reincarnating Lotus Sword?

After all, Xuanyuan Taihua’s plunged the sword into a stone tablet in the Main Path Mausoleum. As soon as it was withdrawn, it would definitely trigger a huge change.

Warriors such as Zhao Zhenshi and Huang Zhihe could definitely be able to sense the change.

Zhao Zhenshi stroked his beard and narrowed his eyes until they were as thin as a sword edge. “I think that we can say that Fang Lang must be trying to solve the tablet mysteries in the Main Path Mausoleum.”

“However, based on his performance at the first 500 steps of the Thousand Cloud Stairs, it’s a fool’s errand for him to even attempt solving the tablet mystery.”

“The time limit for entering the Main Path Mausoleum is seven days. If Fang Lang is not able to retrieve the sword within seven days, you can’t blame me for showing him the door,” said Zhao Zhenshi with a slight smile.

Ni Wen, Huang Zhihe and Zhao Wuji were all sitting on the ground to one side. Ni Wen took out some food packs and brought out some delicious snacks for Huang Zhihe to taste.

Huang Zhihe was eating a glutinous rice cake when he heard Zhao Zhenshi’s words. He could not help but smile and say, “What’s the rush? There’s still six more days left.”

A Main Path Guild elder stroked his beard and smiled. “Six days is not considered a lot of time nor is it a short amount of time. If this kid does not know the limits of his own strength and is too engrossed in trying to solve the tablet mysteries, six days will pass in the blink of an eye.”

Huang Zhihe frowned. It was true. This elder’s words made a lot of sense.

Ni Wen and Zhao Wuji could not help but raise their heads and look towards the Main Path Mausoleum on the mountain summit shrouded in mist.

All of a sudden, the atmosphere at the foot of the mountain changed. Both Zhao Zhenshi and Huang Zhihe raised their heads.

They saw a blue-robed Main Path Guild disciple walkout from the Main Path Mausoleum and return to the foot of the mountain.

“What’s going on?” asked Zhao Zhenshi.

That blue-robed disciple’s eyes were still filled with a sense of shock. “Vice leader, Fang Lang entered the Main Path Mausoleum. He spent a full day and night in front of the first stone tablet of the guild…”

“He was successful in solving the tablet mystery and received the gift of the first sect leader!”

The blue-robed disciple’s words were like a boom of thunder that exploded next to everyone’s ears.

The atmosphere at the foot of the mountain instantly became extremely tense.

“That’s impossible!”

“He’s a sword disciple. How could he have solved the difficult rune problem left behind by the first sect leader!!?”

All the elders exclaimed in voices full of disbelief.

“Don’t forget, Xuanyuan Taihua is a sword master… Didn’t she also manage to solve your tablet mystery?”

How was that possible!?

Were they comparing Fang Lang to… Xuanyuan Taihua?

Zhao Zhenshi’s complexion was ashen. He was extremely shocked and felt horrible inside.

After all, the gift of the Main Path Guild founder had been received by an outsider instead of a Main Path disciple! This was absolutely… atrocious!

“It’s impossible… How could the boy solve the difficult question left behind by the first sect leader?” muttered Zhao Zhenshi.

Even he had failed to solve it!

Based on Fang Lang’s performance on the first 500 steps of the Thousand Cloud Stairs, he could not possibly solve it successfully!

…

Naturally, Fang Lang was unaware of the shock that erupted at the foot of the mountain.

His hand made contact with the second stone tablet below the eaves of the hut, which spread out in all directions, protecting him from the drizzle.

As soon as his fingers touched the mirror-like surface of the tablet, it seemed to trigger multiple ripples, like waves on a pond’s surface.

Another difficult rune question appeared. However, this stone tablet was left behind by one of the great spell masters of the Main Path Guild that was of the eighth-class, forbidden-curse realm. The tablet mystery that he had left behind was much simpler than the tablet mystery of the first sect leader.

Of course, to Fang Lang, this was still an impossibly difficult rune to solve. The type that made him feel dizzy as soon as he saw it.

It was like going from an international-level olympiad question to a national-level olympiad question.

To Fang Lang, there was no difference between the two.

However, Fang Lang’s eyes lit up all the same. He could also sense a hint of blade energy and a trace of sword intent.

The blade energy approached!

Out of the blue, the blade energy began to flow out from the depths of the stone tablet. Bit by bit, it traced over the solution to the rune pattern.

Whoosh!

Blade energy and sword intent gushed into his body. The tablet mystery had been solved!

An uproar broke out outside the hut.

When they saw the pure spiritual sense bursting out of the tablet, the disciples of the Main Guild could hardly believe their eyes. Fang Lang stood in the downpour of spiritual sense and took out spirit crystals. His cultivation slowly increased.

The main point was that Fang Lang seemed to solve this tablet mystery… much faster compared to the previous one, which took him a full day and night!

One of the Main Path Guild disciples had previously tried to solve this tablet mystery but he made no headway.

To see Fang Lang solve it so quickly, he felt extremely crushed and defeated!

“Is he… a genius!?”

That Main Path Guild disciple’s eyes were filled with shock and disbelief. He cradled his head as his lips quivered.

All they felt was an incomparable sense of pressure and oppression to be in the ancient path of the mausoleum with a genius like this!

An Fan was completely dispirited. However, he was not the only one. All the disciples had lost their wits.

The rain continued to pour down upon the stone tablet.

Time passed slowly by.

Fang Lang held the Blooming Lotus Sword and began to walk off. A crowd of disciples who looked like they had lost their souls followed behind him.

As the more time passed, the more shocked they became.

This was because Fang Lang continued to solve tablet mysteries one after another. Besides that, his speed at solving these tablet mysteries became faster and faster. The stone tablet of the first sect leader was the only one that took up a lot of time. Fang Lang was now able to solve ordinary tablet mysteries extremely easily.

This feat caused all the Main Path Guild disciples to be awestruck. It was like they were face-to-face with a god!

The gap between them was… far too wide. So wide that one would not be able to see the end of that distance!

Each time Fang Lang stepped away from a stone tablet, they could see a warm smile on his face. It was unbelievable.

He must be ridiculously happy now.

Was this the happiness of a genius?

Of course, the happiness of solving the tablet mysteries was not something that ordinary people like them would be able to understand!

In reality, Fang Lang was extremely happy. It was the happiness of discovering a huge secret.

Of course, he did not know how to solve tablet mysteries. However, he had someone helping him!

His master must have left behind this blade energy. Perhaps, his master had predicted that he would come to the Main Path Mausoleum. Hence, she had left behind a secret weapon to help him, who had no idea how to solve tablet mysteries, to solve them with the help of the blade energy inside the stone tablets.

This was not solving the tablet mysteries. He was solving the runes by copying the model answer!

Of course, Fang Lang would be able to do this much!

The thing that surprised Fang Lang more was the discovery of Xuanyuan Taihua’s terrifying boldness and strategic planning.

His master Xuanyuan Taihua was nurturing a sword!

She had borrowed the gifts left behind by the founder of the Main Path Guild for his disciples to nurture her sword!

She had used 360 stone tablets to nurture a single sword!

The sword that she had nurtured was the Reincarnating Lotus Sword that she stuck into a stone tablet here!

If Fang Lang hoped to retrieve the sword, he needed first to solve the tablet mystery and absorb all the blade energy within the tablet. The blade energy was the crux to being able to retrieve the sword!

When Fang Lang discovered this secret, all he felt was a sense of overbearing power. His master… was extremely ruthless!

Fang Lang was speechless due to the carefree manner of his master in nurturing her sword.

If this was exposed, he feared that as the person retrieving the sword… he would have his legs cut off by the warriors of the Main Path Guild!

Fang Lang now felt a little hesitant about retrieving the sword.

Would he be able to leave if he took the sword?

The sound of the winds, the sound of the rain and the sound of footsteps…

The sound of the bamboo leaves was like the sound of the ocean waves, ringing through every corner of the Main Path Mausoleum.

There were three-hundred and sixty-one stone tablets in the mausoleum. One of them was an unfinished tablet.

Xuanyuan Taihua’s sword was stuck in the deepest corner of the mausoleum, on the unfinished tablet.

Over six days, An Fan and the others had quietly followed behind Fang Lang as he solved tablet mysteries unceasingly. They watched as the happy smile he wore never left his face.

Their faces were frozen stiff.

The feelings of joy and sorrow experienced among humans were different.

As Fang Lang solved the tablet mysteries, he received gifts after gifts which provided many advantages. His cultivation level increased non-stop.

His sword mastery had reached the sixth-grade, sword-wave realm. His spell mastery was at the eighth-grade spell advisor level. His phantasm form was nearly complete.

Fang Lang’s martial arts mastery slowly rose to the fourth-grade, blood-bending realm.

As he walked, the aura upon Fang Lang’s body gradually strengthened.

However, Fang Lang grew more worried as he went on.

When he arrived at the final stone tablet, the rainfall had become much heavier. The rain was beating down on the limestone path, sending splashes of water in all directions.

The world appeared blurry when seen through a curtain of bead-like rain droplets.

Fang Lang raised his head. He could see the unfinished stone tablet in the depths of the Main Path Mausoleum with the Reincarnating Lotus Sword stuck in it. It looked like a proud lotus flower growing on the side of a cliff, with a stubborn will to survive and thrive.

Many of the Main Path Guild disciples’ disciples came to their senses and their eyes swiveled to look at the Reincarnating Lotus Sword. Then, they suddenly recalled Zhao Zhenshi’s instructions.

They needed to stop Fang Lang from getting the sword!

Astir of emotion flashed in An Fan’s eyes. He looked at his fellow disciples and said, “Today is the sixth day. The Main Path Guild has determined that the Main Path Mausoleum can only be kept open for seven days. Once the seven days are up, everyone inside will need to be chased out.”

“Fang Lang has managed to solve all the stone tablets within six days. However, he doesn’t have much time left to retrieve the sword!”

“Hence, we should all take turns and try to retrieve the sword. We might be able to use up all the time he has left to grab the sword. As soon as the time is up, he won’t be able to blame the Main Path Guild if he’s unable to retrieve the sword!”

…

At the foot of the mountain stood Zhao Zhenshi covered in fine drops of sweat.

Fang Lang had solved all the tablet mysteries of the mausoleum in six days…

This kid was messing with his heart rate once again!

If he had not cheated, then it meant that this kid was a top genius in the world. He might even be a peerless genius that could surpass the levels of the ninth-class spell mastery realm!

“However, he had spent six days solving the tablet mysteries. He does not have much time left to retrieve the sword. As soon as the sky darkens, I will personally kick him out even if he hasn’t attempted to withdraw the sword!”

“He’s a freak of nature!”

Zhao Zhenshi felt a sense of pressure. It was as if he was looking at a second Xuanyuan Taihua.

In the distance, Huang Zhihe frowned. He was aware of Zhao Zhenshi’s motive. A worried expression appeared on his wrinkled face.

“Sigh… This kid, Fang Lang. He’s been too busy solving tablet mysteries…”

“I hope he has not forgotten the real reason for our visit to the Main Path Guild!”

…

The breeze began to stir, blowing through the stone tablet hut as a drizzle continued to fall in the night sky.

Fang Lang stared at the queue before the unfinished stone tablet with the Reincarnating Lotus Sword in shock and disbelief on the narrow limestone path.

He instantly understood the aim of these Main Path Guild disciples!

A blue-robed disciple standing in front of the unfinished stone tablet placed his hands behind his back and said, “This stone tablet was left behind by the sect leader at the time. However, before it could be finished, he was killed with one blow by First Sword Taihua.”

“Today, I’m waiting for my turn to attempt retrieving this sword in order to right the injustices suffered by our sect leader!”

As soon as the disciple finished speaking, he turned around and stormed off towards the stone tablet as Fang Lang looked on with a frown.

Fang Lang hung his hands by his side and stood quietly in the rain.

That Main Path Guild disciple drew closer to the unfinished stone tablet. He was almost there and stretched out his hand to withdraw the sword. However, even though he used all his might, the sword did not budge at all!

Boom!

A powerful sense of sword intent shot out and sent that disciple flying into the air.

Just as Fang Lang was about to step forward, another disciple immediately stepped into the hut and prepared to withdraw the sword. But, after a long and hard struggle, that disciple failed as well.

The third, the fourth…

Each time Fang Lang started to move, a Main Path Guild disciple would step into the hut and try to retrieve the sword.

As he watched the sea of blue before him, Fang Lang knew what the disciples were thinking. They were stalling for time so that he would run out of time before he could retrieve the sword.

However, each time they failed, the Reincarnating Lotus Sword would send out a blast of sword intent that sent the disciple flying into the air.

Dozens of Main Path Guild disciples wasted a significant amount of time.

An Fan was the last Main Path Guild disciple. He entered the stone tablet hut and attempted to withdraw the sword. However, he could sense an incomparable sense of heaviness, as large as an entire world hidden within the Reincarnating Lotus Sword. It seemed as though there was no way this sword could be retrieved.

This made An Fan feel extremely shocked. How would anyone be able to withdraw a sword like this? He did not believe that Fang Lang would be able to withdraw this sword without breaking a sweat!

An Fan walked out of the hut. By then, the sky was dark as ink. He glared fixedly at Fang Lang.

Fang Lang walked by, closely passing An Fan.

The drizzle continued to fall. It was close to the seventh day. There was not much time left. Would 15 minutes be sufficient time for Fang Lang to withdraw the sword that was as heavy as a mountain!?

At the foot of the mountain, a rune began to float around Zhao Zhenshi’s body.

Huang Zhihe gripped his hammer and narrowed his eyes. He planned to stop Zhao Zhenshi and help Fang Lang buy a little more time.

His breathing stopped. Everyone seemed to hear the sound of sand falling through an hourglass as time passed by.

Inside the Main Path Mausoleum.

The clear breeze blew through the bamboo leaves, causing them to rustle.

There was not much time left for Fang Lang. He walked up to stand before the stone tablet and looked upon the Reincarnating Lotus Sword that looked extremely ordinary.

This sword… was extremely tricky.

Fang Lang hesitated. He was not concerned about how long it would take him to retrieve the sword. Rather, he was busy figuring out if he wanted to retrieve this sword or not.

He let out a long sigh.

In the end, Fang Lang stretched out his hand and gripped the hilt of the Reincarnating Lotus sword.

His energy center exploded with all the blade energy he had absorbed from the 360 stone tablets in the Main Path Mausoleum!

Instantly, all the sounds within the mausoleum—the sound of the wind, rain and bamboo leaves… disappeared!

It was like everything was plunged into the dead silence that happened before something terrifying was about to awaken!