Library of Heaven's Path

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

"He crawled back in himself?"

Everyone stared at one another in bewilderment, as though someone had struck the back of their heads with a wooden bat.

"Do you take me a for a fool? His soul has left his body, and he's no different from a corpse now. How could he possibly crawl back into the Cleansing Lake himself?"

Princess Fei-er glared at Luo Xuan angrily.

Even if you wish to scare us, you should find a more believable story!

I took a look at Zhang shi myself, and his heartbeat and breathing had halted, and his body was stiff and cold. He was no different from a corpse.

Under such circumstances, how could his body possibly crawl back into the lake by itself?

Ye Wentian, Hong shi, and the others shared the same thoughts as well. They turned to look at Luo Xuan, wanting to hear his explanation.

"I'm not lying!"

Seeing how everyone was staring at him as though he was a lunatic, Luo Xuan found himself on the verge of really going insane.

The commotion caused by the Cleansing Lake previously was too large, and everyone's attention was captured by it. He was no exception as well. However, at that moment, he saw a black shadow in his peripheral vision.

It was from the corpse-like Zhang Xuan!

Somehow, the fellow seemed to have found a surge of strength within him. Through pushing his hands against the ground, that fellow swiftly crawled toward the lake. Everything happened so quickly that Luo Xuan barely saw a gray blur.

Seeing the incredibly stifled expression on the other party's face, Luo Qiqi asked, "Calm down, how did he crawl into the Cleansing Lake? Did he wake up, or was he still in his previous state?"

"H-his eyes were still closed, and his body was still stiff and lifeless. It didn't seem like he had woken up at all…"

Even though it was just a momentary glance, as a half 5-star master teacher, Luo Xuan was still able to notice some details regarding the incident.

While that fellow did move, his movements looked like a puppet on a string that was being drawn forward instead.

But of course, that was also the limit of his eye of discernment.

"His body was stiff, and his eyes were closed… and he crawled to the Cleansing Lake by himself?" Princess Fei-er frowned. "You mean that… he has been possessed?"

"Cough cough!"

Ye Wentian choked on his own saliva. "Zhang shi's soul has only escaped his body, he isn't truly dead yet… so it is impossible for him to be possessed!"

"Then… what was with him crawling away by himself?" Hong shi asked.

Among those present at that moment, only he and Luo Xuan knew that Zhang Xuan was the direct disciple of an 8-star master teacher. Even though Bi Jianghai had participated in the Hongfeng Empire Master Teacher Tournament as well, he wasn't present for the affairs that night, so he wasn't too sure about the details.

If Yang shi were to learn that on top of having his soul missing, his disciple had his body possessed as well… Hong shi trembled.

"I'm not too sure either." Ye Wentian shook his head.

He had never stumbled before such a bizarre incident in his life before.

Hong long!

Just as everyone was completely perplexed by how a fellow who had his soul missing could possibly crawl away, the ground suddenly shook violent once more.

Everyone immediately staggered, nearly falling to the ground.

"We're in a dire state now! The strength of the earth vein is growing by the moment, and the formation is on the brink of collapse. Everyone, we need you to infuse your zhenqi into the lake to maintain its stability!" Guild Leader Wu yelled anxiously.

Hearing the shout, no one could spare a single thought for Zhang Xuan anymore. They quickly turned their attention to the formation before them.

The lake water which had been sealed by the formation flag bubbled once more. As though it was set on fire, it threatened to knock down the barrier.

In order to stabilize the barrier, Elder Lu, Elder Han, and the others had infused all of their zhenqi in, and their faces paled in frailty. They seemed as though they would collapse at any moment.

"Alright, quickly infuse your zhenqi into the lake!"

Hearing his words, Ye Wentian understood that they were at an extremely crucial and dangerous moment. Thus, without any hesitation, he stepped forward and pumped his zhenqi into the lake.

Hong long!

With the infusion of fresh zhenqi into the lake, the shaking formation flags stabilized slightly.

Following which, Wei shi, Hong shi, Luo Qiqi, Princess Fei-er, and the others who were cultivating at the Lake Eye stepped forward and did the same as well.

Under the massive influx of zhenqi, the shaking formation flag began to show signs of stabilization. The rampaging lake water below also gradually regained its calmness. Even so, the furious rumbling of the volcano could still be heard below. It was as if even though the massive beast had been suppressed for the time being, it would still break free with sufficient time.

"Guild Leader Wu, such a forceful measure isn't feasible in the long-run!" Wei shi commented.

For the time being, they were still able to maintain the formation and suppress the earth vein and the volcano with brute force… but once everyone's zhenqi ran dry, the situation could possibly rebound on them!

Besides, as time passed, the earth vein would gather more and more strength. In a way, it was similar to a spring. The further one tried to suppress it, the greater it would rebound back at one. By then, they would be placed in an even more dangerous situation.

"Indeed. You all continue suppressing the formation first, I'll study the formation and see how I can re-establish the balance between the earth vein, Verdant Mountain, and Dragon-scaled River to control the volcano below!" Guild Leader Wu said.

The might of a formation was dependent on many factors, such as the geographical terrain or even the position of celestial bodies.

While the formation had been reactivated through the use of the formation flag, the intense trembling from a moment ago had changed the geographical terrain. Thus, some adjustments had to be made to the formation to bring out its greatest might.

If he could get the formation working properly once more, it would be able to draw in spiritual energy once more and possibly resolve the crisis they were in.

"Alright!"

Understanding the intent of Guild Leader Wu, Ye Wentian, Wei shi, and the others nodded their heads silently. Spreading their palms wide, they continued to infuse their zhenqi into the lake frenziedly so as to suppress any movement from the volcano.

On the other hand, with a compass in hand, Guild Leader Wu slowly walked around the formation in order to find the layout to best bring out the might of the formation.

…

While a tense atmosphere weighed on the shore, within the lake, Zhang Xuan's soul heaved a sigh of relief.

It was fortunate that an abrupt movement in the lake had caught everyone's attention. Otherwise, it would never have been so easy for him to take back his body.

As his soul was simply too big, he wasn't able to slip in instantly. Thus, he could only forcefully control parts of his body to have it walk over by itself. His original thought was to move his legs, but due to the extreme stiffness in the region and the immense complexity of making his body walk, he had to give up on the idea. Thus, he had no choice but to move his arms and have his body… crawl into the lake.

However, Luo Xuan coincidentally caught sight of him, thus resulting in the 'possession' issue.

"Regardless, I should first have my soul enter my body first!"

Zhang Xuan could easily imagine the uproar that was happening outside, but he didn't have the luxury to be thinking about it now. His soul immediately rushed straight to his glabella in an attempt to enter his body.

No matter how difficult it may be, he had to do so. Otherwise, his body might just really die on him.

Tzzzzzz!

His massive soul trying to squeeze into his physical body was similar to an elephant trying to squeeze into a human-sized door.

"I can't get in…"

Zhang Xuan gave it all his might, but it was simply an impossible feat. He couldn't help but shake his head.

A ten-meter-tall soul forcefully entering a body of 1.8 meters... If not for his soul being intangible, his bones would probably have shattered into countless fragments by now.

His soul was squeezed to the extent that it was distorted scarily, but he still couldn't even get half of it in.

"Right, how did clone manage to get into his body so easily then?"

Zhang Xuan suddenly froze.

His clone's soul was much larger than him, but the other party didn't have any problems entering his body at all. Why was he having so much trouble then?

Hu!

Doubtful, Zhang Xuan brought out his clone and communicated with him. Soon, he found himself being rendered speechless.

His clone's body was forged using the Nine Hearts Lotus, granting it extraordinary flexibility. Putting aside a ten-meter-tall soul, even a hundred-meter-tall soul would be able to slip in easily without any trouble.

On the other hand, his main body was still mortal…

Staring at the clone, Zhang Xuan couldn't help but feel frustrated at how his main body ended up being inferior to his clone's.

But this couldn't be helped. Anything forged from a God artifact was bound to be extraordinary at birth.

"It seems like I have to focus my attention on cultivating my physical body when I finally get back into my body. Otherwise, it won't be able to withstand the further cultivation of my soul!"

Zhang Xuan rubbed his glabella.

After communicating with his clone, Zhang Xuan finally understood that the main reason why he couldn't get into his body was because his body was still too weak!

If his body possessed abilities equivalent to the Nine Hearts Lotus, he would never have ended up facing such a difficult time now.

He had cultivated his physical body twice, but those were both when he hadn't reached Transcendent Mortal realm yet. While his physical body was superior to ordinary cultivators, it was still insufficient to house such a large soul.

"What the hell is this…"

Zhang Xuan was speechless.

To absorb too much spiritual energy and be unable to re-enter his body… he was probably the only one in the entire history of the Master Teacher Continent to meet with such a ridiculous situation.

"The only way I can resolve this problem is to find some way to cultivate my physical body…"

Only a strong body could harness such a huge soul. However, given that his body had no soul, how could he possibly cultivate?

This paradoxical relationship sure made one's head hurt.

Boom!

Just as Zhang Xuan was troubled over the matter, the lake water around him suddenly shook intensely. Lowering his head, he saw a searing heat wave suddenly rising from the bottom of the Cleansing Lake.

"This is… geothermal heat? Could there be a volcano underneath?"

Zhang Xuan frowned.

With his soul energy protecting his physical body, he was in no danger at all. However, to be able to cause the entire lake to boil in the blink of an eye, there must be a massive volcano beneath the lake.

Only the earth flame could possess such searing heat!

Back then, when retrieving the Crimson Flame Lotus Seed, Zhang Xuan happened to see it, and he understood how fearsome it could be.

At that moment, a thought struck Zhang Xuan, and his eyes lit up.

"Right! If I can draw the earth flame over and create an amalgamation of yin and yang through fusing it with the lake water… perhaps, I might be able to temper my physical body without controlling it!"

In his long journey, he had collected innumerable books, and a huge portion of them were regarding tempering one's physical body.

Some involve the usage of poison, some involve pushing oneself to the limit… and some require earth flame and a spiritual energy lake.

Earth flame was a flame created naturally formed by the movements of the earth veins, and it harnessed the weight of the earth. On the other hand, spiritual energy lake was formed in a region where spirit veins intersected, and it carried the majesty of nature. If these two were to be fused together, they would create the perfect mix for tempering one's physical body.

"However… My clone and I have nearly sapped the spiritual energy in the lake dry…"

With an idea in mind, Zhang Xuan felt a little more relaxed. However, a new problem soon emerged.

It took innumerable years for so much spiritual energy to gather in the Cleansing Lake, but in just eight mere hours, he and his clone had nearly sapped it dry… Without spiritual energy, the entire lake would only be engulfed by the earth flame.

If he didn't resolve this problem before drawing the earth flame up, instead of tempering his physical body, he would only be barbecuing himself!

Give a few minutes and add a pinch of salt and cumin, and he would be ready to be tucked into.