Library of Heaven's Path

Luo Chengxin had spoken of the young prodigy of the Zhang Clan as a being who wielded unfathomable power in the world, but as the person who possessed the Library of Heaven’s Path, Zhang Xuan was confident that he would be able to crush the other party with sufficient time and make him doubt his own existence.

For no reason other than the fact that he had caused Luo Ruoxin so much grievance over the past few years!

Anyone who dares to touch my woman will have to suffer my wrath!

Noting the killing intent in Yang shi’s eyes, Luo Chengxin shuddered once more. With a wary tone, he said, “Yang shi, since Zhang shi is your student, I shall not impose on you any longer. I’ll take my leave…”

If only that he had known that Yang shi had left his will within the young man’s body, he would have never dared to come over and warn the latter…

“Go.” The young man waved his hand.

“Thank you, Yang shi…” Luo Chengxin quickly turned around to flee. But barely after taking a few steps, he suddenly halted and hesitated for a moment before fearfully turning around. Mustering all the courage he had, he said, “Yang shi, pardon me for saying this, but I hope that you will talk Zhang shi into letting her go. Our little princess has suffered too much while growing up, and I really hope that she won’t be hurt by this matter.”

Those words left Zhang Xuan with a deep frown on his face. But knowing that the other party was really thinking for Luo Ruoxin, he shook his head and said, “I’ll think about it. You may leave now.”

“Thank you, Yang shi.” Heaving a sigh of relief, Luo Chengxin quickly left the area.

Watching as the other party disappeared into the distance, Zhang Xuan finally heaved a sigh of relief himself. That earth-shattering aura vanished in an instant, and as if a deflated balloon, he felt so weakened that it was difficult to even lift his own arm.

That was a close shave. I was nearly unable to hold on anymore! Zhang Xuan patted his chest in relief.

Even though Vicious was able to exert an incredibly powerful aura after consuming Kong shi’s writing, the fact was that he could not maintain the state for too long.

It was fortunate that his Soul Depth was only slightly beneath the other party’s, allowing him to avoid giving himself away.

It was also fortunate that he had dashed out of the city to a remote location earlier, or else with the abrupt emanation of such a powerful aura, it would have surely drawn the attention of the experts within the city.

Alright, I should hurry up and leave. If that fellow finds that something is amiss and returns, I won’t be able to deal with him again, Zhang Xuan thought as he quickly rushed back to the Combat Master Hall.

Not too long later, he finally returned to his accommodation. The tension in his mind finally snapped, and a weariness similar to a soldier who had just fought a war consumed him, lulling him into a deep sleep. However, he forced himself to remain awake so as to ponder over the information he had just received.

Even though he had managed to beguile the other party through his means, he knew that luck had a factor to play in it as well. Putting on a disguise before experts of the other party’s caliber was no different from dancing above a bed of knives; a single wrong move could very well have cast him into oblivion.

Had it not been for his superior mental resilience, he would have long been seen through.

Taking a seat on the ground, Zhang Xuan meditated for roughly two hours before the exhaustion finally receded from his body.

I need to possess the strength to stand against the Zhang Clan by the third month of next year!

Recalling the conversation that he’d had with Luo Chengxin earlier, Zhang Xuan could not help feeling greatly pressured.

Judging from the other party’s tone, it seemed like the marriage was not just to create a bridge between the both clans; it also involved an extremely important matter as well, thus fixing it in stone. Not even the beloved little princess of the Luo Clan, Luo Ruoxin, had a say in the matter!

As talented as Zhang Xuan was, it was too dangerous for him to reveal the fact that he was a Celestial Master Teacher to others. After all, he could not tell for sure what the Luo Clan and Zhang Clan’s attitude toward a Celestial Master Teacher would be, so until he had sufficient power to back up his identity, it was best to keep it under wraps.

Thus, he was not intending to play the card unless it really became necessary.

So, if he really wanted to marry Luo Ruoxin openly, he would have to swiftly raise his cultivation and his standing!

By the third month of next year, he needed to possess sufficient strength to stand toe-to-toe with the Zhang Clan!

Only then would the Luo Clan take him seriously and consider their relationship.

Otherwise, there was no way they would offend the Zhang Clan and choose a ‘supposed’ genius over a prodigy whose very birth had caused Kong shi’s tablet to levitate in the air.

There is still another eight months or so. I am currently only at Saint 2-dan pinnacle. If I wish to gain enough power to negotiate with the Luo Clan and the Zhang Clan, I must at least cultivate to the same level as Luo Chengxin… Saint 7-dan, Zhang Xuan thought as immense pressure weighed down on him.

Even though he had taken less than a year to advance from the bare bottom to Saint 2-dan, he knew that it would be harder and harder for him to advance higher from this point onward!

Not only would it be harder for him to find the necessary cultivation technique manuals, more importantly, there was a lack on cultivation resources as well!

In the past, a couple of low-tier spirit stones were enough for him to advance several realms at once, but now… he was not even certain how long concentrated high-tier spirit stones would suffice for him before he would require pinnacle spirit stones!

And more importantly, advancing one’s cultivation in Saint realm required one to cultivate one’s soul and mind as well. Sufficient spiritual energy was only the minimum requirement to achieving a breakthrough at this point. Without accomplishing the required state of mind, it was impossible to achieve a breakthrough.

Tempering one’s state of mind had to be done over a long period of time; it was not something that could be accomplished within a short period of time.

As such, even though it was only five realms, he knew that it would be extremely difficult for him to cover the gap within just eight months. Even he did not have absolute confidence in being able to pull it off! Thus, all he could do was work himself down to the bone and make every single second he had count.

“I must hurry up and cultivate… Ruoxin, wait for me. I won’t let you suffer any grievances,” Zhang Xuan muttered with unwavering resolution.

After his conversation with Luo Chengxin, it was not hard for him to imagine how difficult it had been for Luo Ruoxin to accept his confession back then.

Since the other party had chosen him over everything else, as a man, he could not possibly let her down.

No matter what, he was determined to have her marry him openly. He did not want her to suffer the fate that Mu shi had suffered over the past few centuries.

If the Zhang Clan stood in his way, he would just have to trample them!

With this newfound determination in his mind, he felt his mind suddenly clearing up. His soul seemed to have undergone some kind of change, and his soul energy became even purer than before.

Time to cultivate… At the very least, I should try to aim for Saint 4-dan before daybreak!

Sitting on the floor once more, Zhang Xuan began browsing through the Saint 3-dan and Saint 4-dan Heaven’s Path Divine Arts, which he had compiled previously.

He had already successfully compiled them back at the Qingyuan Empire Master Teacher Pavilion earlier, but in a rush to attend the Appraisal Convention, he did not have time to look through them.

After internalizing the content of both manuals, he flicked his wrist and whipped out the 17 concentrated high-tier spirit stones that he had obtained from Chu Tianxing.

At his current level, even high-tier spirit stones were no longer effective on him anymore.

Calming his mind, he drove the zhenqi in his body before turning his consciousness toward his Origin Core.

Saint 3-dan Embryonic Soul realm was also known as the Origin Soul realm, and it served to fuse one’s Origin Core with one’s soul to create an embryonic Primordial Spirit.

The hardest aspect in this breakthrough was to shatter one’s Origin Core and facilitate its fusion with one’s soul in order to create the embryo.

There were many cultivators who were unable to overcome in this challenge, resulting in the stagnation of their cultivation.

Having cultivated the Heaven’s Path Divine Art, even though bottlenecks were pretty much nonexistent in his cultivation, it proved to be a problem for him at this point. As his Origin Core had been tempered to the level of perfection, it was incomparably resilient. It would take a lot more effort for him to shatter his Origin Core compared to other cultivators.

Soul!

With a thought, Zhang Xuan channeled his soul toward his Origin Core.

There were two steps to achieving a breakthrough to the Embryonic Soul realm.

Firstly, the cultivator had to fuse their soul together with their Origin Core. Secondly, the cultivator had to shatter the fused Origin Core and facilitate its development into an embryo.

According to the description in the Heaven’s Path Divine Art, I just have to open a small door in the Origin Core to fuse my soul together with my Origin Core.

Going through the content of the Saint 3-dan Heaven’s Path Divine Art, Zhang Xuan focused his attention on his Origin Core and created a small passageway in it.

After which, his soul swiftly dived into the passageway to enter his Origin Core.

Kacha!

But barely after diving in, its movements suddenly came to an abrupt halt.

This is bad… My soul is stuck!

Zhang Xuan’s soul was simply too big. After undergoing the Saint Ascension Ordeal, it had returned to its original size of ten meters. While his Origin Core was much stronger than that of other cultivators, it was still too small to house his soul!

He had never thought that he would face such a problem in his cultivation.

While it was possible for one to morph the size of one’s soul, there was a limit to doing so. This was just like how an elephant would never fit into a walnut no matter how it squeezed itself together.

After struggling for a very long to no avail, Zhang Xuan could only retract his trapped soul with a conflicted look on his face.

He already had the required concentrated high-tier spirit stones, and his Heaven’s Path Divine Art had also been perfected, but… his soul had turned out to be too big to enter his Origin Core! If that was the case, he would not even be able to complete the first step of his breakthrough.

At this rate, would he be unable to even achieve a breakthrough to Saint 3-dan?

What should I do…

Zhang Xuan gave it a few more tries, but each time, his soul ended up being stuck without fail. There was even one instance when he was nearly unable to pull out his trapped soul. At this point, he felt like he was going to burst into tears.

It had not been easy for him to gather so much drive to cultivate, and he had put his mind to achieving a double breakthrough to the Primordial Spirit realm… but he had already encountered a bump at the very first step of his cultivation.

There’s no error in the Heaven’s Path Divine Art, but due to me cultivating my soul, it’s not suitable for my current state… Zhang Xuan rubbed his glabella.

In the previous realms, the cultivation of his zhenqi and soul were separate, so he had not faced such a problem to date.

But the Embryonic Soul realm required the fusion of the both of them.

Typically speaking, zhenqi cultivation and soul cultivation were considered two different branches. Both paths would lead to the peak, so there was little point in pursuing both paths simultaneously.

Furthermore, the flaws in the cultivation techniques of the soul oracles made it impossible for one to cultivate both simultaneously.

By perfecting the cultivation techniques of the soul oracles, Zhang Xuan had managed to achieve the impossible, developing his physical body and soul simultaneously. There had not been many problems in the earlier stages, but it was proving to be a problem for him at this moment.

What should I do now?

Retracting his consciousness from his dantian, Zhang Xuan rubbed his glabella in frustration.

This was the first time he had encountered such a situation.

In the past, he had been able to advance easily just by compiling the knowledge of the predecessors through the Library of Heaven’s Path… but treading on a path that none had walked on before… there was no one he could see for help.

It’s no wonder Kong shi said that I have to pave my way forward myself if I wish to achieve greater heights. Blindly following the wisdom of the predecessors might bring me to greater heights in the short term, but it’ll only narrow my future path, possibly bringing me to a dead end even. Perhaps, he might have even predicted the problems I would face in my cultivation!

Back in the Qiu Wu Palace, Kong shi had warned him that he should not just follow the teachings of the predecessors but seek his own individual path instead.

He had kept the other party’s teachings in mind, but it was only at this point that he truly understood what it meant.

Walking my own path… how can I do so?

In the face of such a situation, with no one whom he could learn from, he could not help but feel completely lost. With a deep frown on his forehead, he fell into deep contemplation.

Walking one’s own path was easier said than done. That was equivalent to venturing into uncharted territories, an extremely dangerous feat.

After a long moment of contemplation but still coming up with nothing at all, Zhang Xuan sighed deeply.

Should I head to the Qiu Wu Palace to take another look? Perhaps, I might be able to find something that Kong shi left behind that will bring me some inspiration…

Flicking his wrist, a sphere appeared in his palm. Unique patterns reminiscent of a map were carved on top of it.

Back then, he had kept the entirety of the Qiu Wu Palace in the sphere through fusing the map together with it, allowing him to bring it around anywhere he went.

Let me go in to take a look!

As the master of the sphere, he could easily open a passageway into it. With a thought, he vanished from the spot.