Shocking the Nine Heavens With My Sword

Black Donkey finally spat the truth. He did not possess any treasure-seeking abilities but, instead, had a strong sense for sensing powerful creatures.

In the Pingtian Mountain Range, he was able to get so many Spirit Herbs because he first found the Demon Beast guarding them and then swindled them away. This meant that Zhou Heng had been eating dirty items for three whole months!

Demon Beasts were easy to deceive, and people were easy to trick. Zhu Zhihe and his group had treated Black Donkey as if it were a Divine Donkey sent from heaven, and they were almost tricked out of their pants. This showed that Black Donkey was indeed capable. If he hadn’t met Zhou Heng first, who saw through his nature, even Zhou Heng might have been tricked.

After all, a talking donkey was truly shocking, and it was impossible not to treat it as a celestial creature.

"You worthless donkey, since you can’t treasure hunt, just stay wherever it suits you!" Zhou Heng waved his hand, his immunity to Black Donkey’s behavior already in effect, but An Yumei and Lin Fuxiang were almost mad with anger.

"Burning bridges after crossing the river, huh? I give you a face full of gold as a reward, you ungrateful wretch!" Black Donkey yelped repeatedly.

"If you want to follow us, keep your mouth shut. If I hear you say one word, I’ll throw you out immediately!" Zhou Heng said with a grin, watching Black Donkey.

"Scram, wanting me to keep silent; are you trying to murder me?" Black Donkey snapped opening its mouth to bite Zhou Heng—a master at dirty tricks and sly moves.

Zhou Heng activated his Swift Cloud Radiant Step just in time to dodge the sneak attack. However, knowing that Zhou Heng possessed a Space Artifact capable of holding living things stirred Black Donkey’s interest, making him refuse to leave.

"If you want me to leave, it’s simple—give me that Treasure Pagoda! Although I don’t fancy it much, I will reluctantly accept your filial piety!" Black Donkey shamelessly stated.

He followed doggedly, clearly intent on scheming and stealing the treasure the moment Zhou Heng was distracted. With the mystery of this Black Donkey, he might have a way to make the Nine Mystic Trial Tower acknowledge a new master once it was out of Zhou Heng’s control!

Zhou Heng could not afford to be careless. Black Donkey, capable of deceiving both strangers and acquaintances, definitely needed to be cautiously guarded against.

After five days of wandering in the Spirit Herb Garden, they obtained quite a few treasures, though none could be considered priceless. That was characteristic of the Spirit Herb Garden; one always found something, but the chance of encountering a thousand or even ten thousand-year-old Spirit Herb was almost nil.

Zhou Heng had no complaints; he had already obtained a piece of Bright Jade Bee Honey, which allowed the group to make significant progress. This trip was already worthwhile!

They finally left the vast garden and continued up the mountain. Though they met several groups of people, Zhou Heng was not prone to killing without reason. As long as Black Donkey did not provoke them, conflicts were generally avoidable.

They passed through various courtyards which had once been residences for disciples of the Dayan Sect but were now akin to haunted houses, empty and deserted.

It was unlikely that treasures could still be found here, for if there were any, they would have been taken long ago. Nevertheless, Zhou Heng decided to take a look, not to scavenge, but from an interest in what had happened to the Dayan Sect in the past.

"Nobody knows what exactly happened!" Gu Zi shook her head. In this regard, she had more authority than An Yumei and Lin Fuxiang, "The Dayan Sect was indeed suddenly destroyed by a power far beyond the Mountains and Rivers Realm!"

Thousands of years had passed since the incident, and even a Heaven-Opening Realm expert could only live just over a thousand years. Those who had lived during that era were long dead. However, the mysterious and complete annihilation of the Dayan Sect had been thoroughly researched and documented by generations.

But since all the members of the Dayan Sect were annihilated, there were not many details known to outsiders, and it remained a mystery.

"Some say the Dayan Sect offended an exceptional expert of the Nascent Soul Realm or even the Divine Infant Realm, which is why it was utterly destroyed, preventing even the curious experts of the Mountains and Rivers Realm or even the Spirit Sea Realm from daring to come here, in fear of inadvertently offending that powerful being!" An Yumei took over the conversation.

"The reason my father settled here was actually to try his luck at meeting that mysterious pioneer, hoping to receive guidance and break into the Heaven-Opening Realm!"

Zhou Heng carefully examined several courtyards, even finding two skeletons piled together in one of the rooms. From the pelvic bones, it was evident they were a male and a female, and from how closely they were entwined, it was likely they were engaged in the most intimate act between a man and a woman when alive.

"Utterly unguarded!" Zhou Heng frowned, "It was indeed a power far surpassing others, killing everyone instantly without them even realizing it!"

"I wonder who is stronger compared to the Heavenly Venerate? Pfft, the Heavenly Venerate could suppress this person with just one hand!" Black Donkey muttered quietly. ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom

"What are you muttering, you wretched donkey? Do you know something?" Zhou Heng did not hear clearly, only realizing Black Donkey was muttering.

"I was thinking about how to kick you!" Black Donkey sneered, mischievously changing the subject.

Zhou Heng naturally did not believe it, but the slippery Black Donkey would not divulge anything if unwilling, so he merely shook his head and asked, "Wretched donkey, what level of power is needed to achieve that extent?"

This time, Black Donkey did not make a joke, but thought seriously for a while before replying, "That freak from before was right; it requires at least the Nascent Soul Realm to do that!"

"Damn you, Black Donkey!" An Yumei kicked at him, but Black Donkey easily dodged.

"What unforgivable sin did the Dayan Sect commit at the time, or perhaps, did they inadvertently obtain some treasure that provoked that powerful figure into taking action, killing to silence them!" Zhou Heng tapped his head. Whether it was revenge or silencing, the method that instantaneously wiped out the entire Dayan Sect, which at its peak boasted at least ten thousand people, was extremely ruthless!

"Not necessarily!" Gu Zi expressed opposition, calmly saying, "In the eyes of the powerful, all the weak are just ants, and the elimination of many more ants’ lives will not weigh on the minds of the powerful!"

Everyone was silent, and as their strength increased, they felt even more a sense of crisis. If an expert who destroyed the Dayan Sect was in a bad mood and began a killing spree, it would surely result in rivers of blood, and no one could expect to be spared.

How innocent are the ants in the eyes of the powerful!

One must become stronger!

Zhou Heng clenched his fist, saying to himself that he must take control of his own fate.

The four, along with a donkey, continued forward, arriving at the Mystical Pill Pavilion.

Though called a pavilion, the Mystical Pill Pavilion was actually a very large stone palace with three floors, each containing many pill rooms that stored a large amount of pills. However, after years of plundering, not much was left.

The reason there were still some left was that each pill room had a protective restriction on the pill shelves. Some restrictions were easy to break, and others difficult; naturally, those that remained were the ones with the most formidable restrictions.

Restrictions weaken as their power source diminishes and eventually disappear, so the most foolish method is to wait, while the next best is to continuously trigger the restrictions—in doing so, one could speed up the disappearance of the restrictions.

Of course, those proficient in formations had the better option of breaking the restrictions.

Although the pills on the third floor were certainly of a higher rank than those on the first, the first floor might not lack top grade pills, and the key point was not the quality of the pills but whether one could obtain them; otherwise, what was the point of being able to see but not touch them?

Zhou Heng and the others swept through one pill room after another. After thousands of years, almost all the restrictions had lost their effectiveness, leaving room after room completely empty, with nothing but empty pill shelves along the walls and pill furnaces kicked over and opened, thoroughly cleaned out.

It was only when they had gone through half of the pill rooms on the first floor that Zhou Heng and the others saw a room that had not been completely emptied; three walls of pill shelves were empty, and only the top shelf of the last wall had a solitary pill bottle left on it.

There was a label on the pill bottle, which read "Yellow Dragon Pill."

"Zhou, I’m bored. Snatch that pill bottle for Donkey Master to whet his appetite!" Black Donkey couldn’t help but spout nonsense again.

"What’s the Yellow Dragon Pill used for?" Zhou Heng turned to ask, knowing well that Black Donkey’s instincts were sharp—anything it fancied was likely something good!

"What could it be used for? It’s just for me to eat like candy!" Black Donkey evaded the question, but its drool was already flowing unconsciously.

This Yellow Dragon Pill was definitely something valuable, otherwise the restriction’s power wouldn’t be so strong and unbroken even now. In these thousands of years of fierce elimination, finding a pill here was becoming increasingly difficult, but if one did manage to secure something, it was surely good.

Zhou Heng extended his right hand, which instantly turned metallic, reaching out for that pill bottle.

Bang!

As his hand came within an inch of the pill shelf, it seemed to touch a layer of ripples. The air immediately rippled with waves, then a surge of powerful force rebounded towards Zhou Heng, throwing him squarely against the opposite wall.

"Hahaha!" Black Donkey burst into laughter, nearly toppling over.

"Are you okay?" An Yumei and Lin Fuxiang rushed over to help him up, their concern evident in their voices.

Zhou Heng shook his head; although the restriction’s power was not enough to threaten him, it was mainly because he had lightly touched it—the greater the force, the stronger the counterattack.

If he had struck it with full force, it wouldn’t have been so simple.

He glanced at Black Donkey, who was still snickering, and suddenly kicked out, landing a quick and precise kick on Black Donkey’s rear. Not only had he used Swift Cloud Radiant Step, but he had also combined it with momentum. Black Donkey, usually escaping attack, was this time caught off guard by Zhou Heng’s sneak attack.

"You brat, I’m not done with you! Ah, my life as a donkey is in danger——" Black Donkey crashed heavily into the pill shelf, and bang, a ripple surged, creating waves that filled the entire pill room like a large stone thrown into a pond.

Buzz!

Black Donkey’s four hooves emitted golden light and forcefully shattered the ripple; amidst the quaking power, this cheeky donkey also hilariously fell to the ground, limbs spread out, froth flowing from its mouth.

Though it hadn’t died, its legs still twitched—breaking through the restriction had clearly cost it greatly.

Zhou Heng laughed heartily, scooping up the pill bottle that had flown up into the air.

This time, Black Donkey was truly outwitted by Zhou Heng!