Library of Heaven's Path

Knowing that he would have to face the Luo Clan eventually, Zhang Xuan instructed, "Let them in!"

"Yes!" The guard nodded before rushing out.

"The Luo Clan sure is impudent! Did they not embarrass themselves enough the last time? Are they so desperate to make a fool out of themselves?"

"It's hard to say. I heard that they have found themselves a clan head who has comprehended the Spatial Quintessence of Sealing. Most likely, they are here to cleanse themselves of the humiliation they suffered back at the engagement ceremony!"

"Cleanse themselves of the humiliation? Humph! Just how far can their arrogance go? The name of their clan head is Luo Tianya, right? What right does he have to compete with our clan head?"

"He's just a member of the side family who managed to comprehend the Spatial Quintessence of Sealing by sheer luck. Just how arrogant must he be to dare challenge our clan head! We must make sure to teach him a lesson that he'll never forget…"

…

Such discussions could be heard around the room.

Hearing how the crowd from the Zhang Clan were putting down Luo Tianya to prop him up, Zhang Xuan suddenly felt incredibly exhausted.

When they learned that the new head of the Luo Clan was actually him… would they faint from shock?

How should he deal with this matter in order to resolve the conflict between the two clans once and for all?

If he told the Luo Clan that he was Luo Tianya, the Luo Clan would surely think that he was trying to humiliate them once more, especially after what had happened at the engagement ceremony…

On the other hand, if he told the Zhang Clan that he was Luo Tianya, the matter about him having a Luo Clan bloodline purity level of '9' would convince them otherwise too. In the worst-case scenario, they might even think that his father had been cuckolded.

What a frustrating situation to be in!

Everyone wants to be outstanding, but they don't understand the woes of being too outstanding!

All that comes with it is endless frustrations!

After pondering for a moment, Zhang Xuan was still unable to find a feasible solution to get him out of his current quandary, so he could only find a reason to excuse himself for the time being. "I'll leave it to all of you to host the Luo Clan for the time being. I suddenly had an epiphany and would like to cultivate right now…"

As long as he and Luo Tianya were not around, surely things would not get too far between the two clans…

His presence would only complicate things.

"Go ahead. Leave the Luo Clan to us," Sword Saint Xing replied with a nod.

The reason behind the conflict between the Zhang Clan and the Luo Clan was the rejection of the engagement, and the primary culprit behind that was Zhang Xuan. It would indeed be best for Zhang Xuan to stay out of the Luo Clan's sight so as to avoid triggering them, especially when they were clearly still in the heat of their anger.

After entrusting the problem to his father, Zhang Xuan quickly led Luo Ruoxin to his residence.

He settled her down in the adjacent room before returning to his bedroom. With a thought, he entered the Myriad Anthive Nest.

With his deepened understanding of space, he was able to expand and reinforce the Myriad Anthive Nest, making it far more resilient and larger than before. The entire folded space spanned several hundred li from one end to the other, and it was filled with countless buildings. In terms of size, it was already comparable to a major city.

Zhang Xuan swiftly found an empty clearing in the Myriad Anthive Nest and sat down. With a thought, a massive corpse fell onto the ground, crushing the bluestone tiles underneath. A cloud of dust rose into the air.

It was the corpse of the Otherworldly Demon Ancient Sage that he had killed back at the Harvest Valley City Seer Guild.

It had been difficult for him to deposit it into the storage ring, but taking it out was much easier. He could do it even without the help of the Dragonbone Divine Spear.

He had expended his three droplets of Kong shi's blood, his golden pages had been used up, and Vicious was currently in hibernation. This meant that he had no life preservation means with him at the moment, and this was extremely dangerous considering the current state of affairs on the Master Teacher Continent. As such, it was of the utmost importance for him to forge the Soulless Metal Humanoid as soon as possible!

Should I see if I can enter the corpse first? Zhang Xuan thought as he drew his Primordial Spirit out from his body.

Even though the Otherworldly Demon Ancient Sage was already dead, its corpse still emanated a crushing pressure on beings around it. Even from a distance away, it felt as if a squall was blasting his way, putting his Primordial Spirit under such strain that it almost seemed like it would be torn apart.

The might of an Ancient Sage is indeed not to be underestimated! Zhang Xuan thought grimly.

After tempering his Primordial Spirit under the pressure emanated by the Dragonbone Divine Spear, it had already become incredibly resilient. Even Great Sage cultivators would find it difficult to inflict any damage on his Primordial Spirit. Yet, he was actually having difficulties approaching a mere corpse…

This was truly inconceivable!

Zhang Xuan tried a few more times, but he was forced to retreat before he could come into contact with the corpse time and time again. In the end, he could only shake his head helplessly.

In order to forge a Soulless Metal Humanoid, his Primordial Spirit must first be able to enter the corpse. If he could not even come into contact with the corpse, how could he forge it?

It seems like I'll have to raise my soul cultivation as soon as possible. If I could just make a breakthrough to Great Sage, I might be able to successfully enter the corpse! Zhang Xuan thought as he returned his Primordial Spirit to his body.

He quickly sorted out the urgent matters that he had to complete in his mind.

First, I have to find the cultivation technique that Kong shi left behind to push for a breakthrough to Great Sage. Second, I should try to take in more students, obtain their gratitude, and form more golden pages. Third, I need to push for a breakthrough in my soul cultivation so as to forge this corpse!

While Zhang Xuan knew that the prowess of the golden page was formidable, he had not thought that it would actually be capable of smashing an Ancient Sage as well.

After all, Ancient Sages were symbols of invincibility in the hearts of all cultivators. Cultivators who had not reached an equivalent level could be crushed by a single thought from them, so those who had not reached Ancient Sage yet would never dream of opposing an Ancient Sage…

But he actually managed to kill an Ancient Sage with ease, using the golden page.

There would be no better life preservation method than that, so he would really have to try to obtain as many golden pages as possible.

The first and the second are rather difficult to accomplish at the moment, but for the third… I think I might just be able to do it!

He was not too certain about the circumstances in the Master Teacher Pavilion at the moment, so it would be particularly dangerous for him to head there, especially since he had lost his trump cards. If those who were in collusion with the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe sabotaged him, he might just lose his life there. Thus, he was not too keen on heading there at the moment.

As for the second, as powerful as the golden pages were, the issue was that the formation of the golden pages was an extremely spontaneous process.

He had previously deduced that its formation was triggered by the gratitude of his students, but it did not seem to happen for certain every single time. It might be due to the extent of their gratitude or perhaps some other factors, but in any case, it was not safe for him to bank on that.

Thus, after some contemplation, it seemed like only the third was within his control at the moment.

Having clarified such thoughts, Zhang Xuan leaped out of the Myriad Anthive Nest and left his residence. He found one of the elders of the Zhang Clan and instructed, "Bring me to the library!"

As the clan head, it went without saying that he had the authority to enter the Zhang Clan's library freely. He did not have to snoop around like he had done before.

…

Four hours later, Zhang Xuan walked out of the library with his head hanging in disappointment.

Although the Zhang Clan was the number one Sage Clan on the Master Teacher Continent, it did not have too many advanced books relating to soul. While he did manage to gather quite a few new books, he was still unable to perfect the Great Sage 1-dan Heaven's Path Divine Art.

In other words, he was not able to cultivate it yet.

Sighing deeply, he turned to the elder who had brought him over and asked, "How's it going with the Luo Clan?"

"Reporting to the clan head, the Luo Clan said that they have come to challenge you to a duel, but it happens that their clan head, the newly inaugurated Luo Tianya, had some urgent affairs to attend to, so he wasn't able to come over with them… So, we have settled them down in the guest accommodations for the time being!" the elder replied.

"Un, that's good!" Seeing that the situation did not blow up, Zhang Xuan heaved a sigh of relief. He pondered for a moment before asking once more, "Are there any occupations or powers that specialize in souls in the vicinity of the Zhang Clan?"

"Occupations or powers that specialize in souls?" The elder thought deeply for a moment before replying. "The Terpsichorean Guild headquarters is located in the Terpsichorean City, roughly forty thousand li away from the Zhang Clan. Due to the nature of their occupation, they are quite adept in the topic of soul.

"However, if we are speaking of the power that commands the deepest understanding of souls, it would indubitably be the Jiang Clan of the Three Premier Clans! Their predecessors comprehended Soul Quintessence, and their home base is located half a day's journey away from our Zhang Clan!"