Library of Heaven's Path

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

"Teacher, what's that?"

Until now, Luo Qiqi's face was still pale in shock.

She had used her full might for that attack, and yet her sword was sent flying so casually without even harming the other party in the slightest. A sense of helplessness was rising within her.

"I don't know either, but that thing isn't something that we can deal with given our current capability!" Zhang Xuan said as he drove the Heaven's Path zhenqi within him to recuperate from his previous injuries. "Most probably, you might have triggered the wrong mechanism and released it…"

"I released it?"

Luo Qiqi's figure jolted in shock, and regret surfaced on her face.

Indeed.

It was only after she pressed a certain mechanism did that massive hand appear.

"Un. Even though I can't tell exactly what the other party is, the appearance of the arm did remind me of something…"

Zhang Xuan frowned.

"What is it?" Luo Qiqi asked grimly.

"Otherworldly Demons!"

Upon exhaling a mouthful of turbid air, Zhang Xuan had completely healed from his previous injuries.

"You mean the tribe which Kong shi expelled from the Master Teacher Continent long ago… the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe?" Luo Qiqi's entire body stiffened, and her eyes widened in disbelief.

"Indeed. I've seen an Otherworldly Demon before, and while the skin tone seemed a little different, there doesn't seem to be much difference in terms of the skeletal structure!" Zhang Xuan said.

There was a specific reason why he chose this passageway instead of the other one where Yu Fei-er and the others went to.

'Yearning Abode Lodge', the killing intent infused within those three words wasn't something that a human could possess… but an Otherworldly Demon!

Back during the Master Teacher Tournament, in order to test their courage, Hong shi had brought out an Otherworldly Demon. There was no way Zhang Xuan could forget the feeling from the killing intent back then.

And it was identical to the killing intent he felt from the three words.

As such, he didn't think that it belonged to Grandmaster Wu Yangzi.

But even so, Zhang Xuan wasn't too sure at the start. After all, it had been a long time since the Otherworldly Demons had disappeared… but to think that there would really be some here!

Furthermore, it appeared in the underground chamber he had specifically chosen to avoid them!

Could he have really made the wrong choice? Could it be that the Yearning Abode Lodge was truly the living quarters of Wu Yangzi whereas residing in this Burying Sorrow Lodge was a huge monster?

Geji! Geji!

While the duo was speaking, a creaking sound continued to echo from the mechanism, and the stone door kept opening.

The initial crack was only sufficient for a hand to pass through, but at this rate, it would only be a matter of time before the entire stone door opened and the monster trapped within charged out.

Hearing of the Otherworldly Demon and recalling the killing intent from a moment ago, cold sweat trickled down Luo Qiqi's head, and her face paled.

"Teacher, let's go up…"

Even though she was a 5-star master teacher, she was still young, and she had never come into contract with the Otherworldly Demons before. In a sense, she wasn't faring any better than Ruohuan gongzi and the others back then.

Having dealt with an Otherworldly Demon once, Zhang Xuan didn't panic. Instead, he activated the Eye of Insight and began to analyze the situation rationally.

"There's a Dragon Severing Lock up top, not to mention, the stairway is also narrow. We would be cornered over there, and that would spell our death!"

Escaping this narrow stone room was indeed his first thought as well, but it was far from the most correct move.

There was only one road in this passageway, and the duo could barely stand side by side with its width. If they were to escape up there, it would just be a matter of time before they were cornered.

"What should we do then?" Hearing the other party's words, Luo Qiqi also realized that the idea wasn't feasible, and her face paled in anxiety and fear.

"There's no other option before us now. We have to find another mechanism to escape this room. Otherwise, we'll die here!" Zhang Xuan said.

Under the effects of the Heaven's Path zhenqi and his Soul Depth of 16.0, the astounding killing intent from the Otherworldly Demon had little effect on him. As such, he was still capable of rationally analyzing the situation.

"I understand!"

Luo Qiqi clenched her jaws in determination.

Naturally, her reputation as the top genius of Grade 2 students didn't come from nowhere. Panicked as she may be, she knew that there was no mistake in her teacher's words, so she nodded and hurriedly moved to the wall.

Zhang Xuan also moved to the wall and yelled 'flaws' in his mind as he touched every single part of it.

The stone room wasn't too large, spanning only several dozen square meters. It didn't take long for the duo to go around the entire room. Zhang Xuan swiftly flipped through the books in the Library of Heaven's Path, but a huge frown appeared on his forehead.

All of these books were on the type of mineral the walls were made of—there wasn't the slightest part detailing about a mechanism or that sort. Could he have been mistaken? Was there really no other mechanism in the room?

"How is it?"

He turned to look at Luo Qiqi.

Even though she may not specialize in mechanisms like Wu Zhen, as a 5-star master teacher, she still possessed an astounding eye of discernment. Otherwise, she wouldn't have triggered the previous mechanism and accidentally let that huge fellow out.

"Nothing at all!"

Luo Qiqi shook her head. Suddenly, a thought struck her, and she immediately paled. With a nervous look, she turned to look at Zhang Xuan and asked, "Teacher… is it possible that the mechanism to the exit is actually…"

Unable to continue speaking, she lifted her shaking finger and pointed.

Seeing where she was pointing at, Zhang Xuan's eyebrows twitched.

It was the stone door that the Otherworldly Demon was in.

In truth, when he found no other mechanism in the room, he also stumbled upon this thought. However, unwilling to accept it, he shoved the thought to the side of the mind. However, as Luo Qiqi pointed it out at this moment, he had no choice but to face it now.

"This will be a gamble. If the exit is down there, we might still stand a chance at survival… otherwise, the only path remaining for us is death!"

Looking at the stone door slowly creaking open, Zhang Xuan knew that it was just a matter of time before that fellow leaped out to slaughter them. They had to make up their minds now

Should their suspicions prove to be false, and it was actually a dead end beyond the stone door, they would be doomed!

However, if there was a passageway in there, they would get a shot at getting through this ordeal.

"Yes!" Understanding this, Luo Qiqi nodded in consent to the operation.

"You should hide behind the stone door first. Once that fellow leaps out, I'll draw him away from the front. Meanwhile, you should enter the stone door, and if there's a passageway, run away immediately. There's no need for you to wait for me," instructed Zhang Xuan telepathically with a grim frown on his forehead.

"I can't!"

Hearing the other party's arrangement, Luo Qiqi's face flushed in agitation, and she yelled out.

She had experienced the strength of that fellow inside, so she knew that Zhang shi was putting himself at terrible risk just to create a chance to escape for her!

In times of danger, most would be thinking of how they could preserve their own life. On the other hand, Zhang shi was actually volunteering to sacrifice himself for her…

There was no way she could repay this favor.

"Teacher…"

Her eyes reddened in agitation.

Only in times of trouble would one's true colors shine through.

This is what a real teacher is!

To be able to sacrifice everything for the welfare of their student!

Even though she was a 5-star master teacher, she realized that she would be unable to do the same if she were to be placed in the same position.

"Quick, stop hesitating! Otherwise, neither one of us will get away!" Zhang Xuan bellowed to her.

"I… Alright!"

Gritting her teeth, Luo Qiqi nodded before rushing to the side of the stone door.

Jiya! Jiya!

Just as she succeeded in concealing her figure, the stone door finally opened entirely, and a towering figure emerged from beyond it.

It was a three-meter tall fellow. Its entire body was dyed a shade of gray, and it carried an aura of death.

"This is… a puppet made from the corpse of Otherworldly Demons?"

Narrowing her eyes, Luo Qiqi covered her mouth in shock, her slender body trembling uncontrollably.

Otherworldly Demons were an existence blessed with superior strength at birth. Be it their physical body, soul, or cultivation, their innate abilities were far higher than an average human. In a sense, a puppet forged out of a corpse would be similar to the Soulless Metal Humanoid, but due to the superior physical body, it would be far stronger. In fact, due to the nature of its body, it would be able to exert the full might the Otherworldly Demon possessed before its demise.

This explained the mystery of the cleaned furniture from before…

They were wondering how there could be any survivors after a lapse of two thousand years, but to think that it would be a puppet instead!

This kind of artifact was driven by spiritual energy, and as long it wasn't damaged, it could be said that there was no definite limit to its lifespan. Even though they were underground, the region was rich in spiritual energy, sufficient to fuel the puppet no matter how high its consumption of spiritual energy was.

Most likely, the furniture was cleaned by him.

Even though it possessed no sentience, it would still accomplish the mission its master commanded of it.

Just as Luo Qiqi was immersed in shock, Zhang shi abruptly bellowed and slashed his sword.

"Die!"

Tzz la!

The immense might of Zhang Xuan's slash, along with the emanation of sword qi, creating a sharp buzzing noise in the air as the sword qi flew toward the puppet.

The puppet stepped forward from the stone door and slapped down Zhang Xuan's sword qi with its thick hands.

Hu!

The collision between Zhang Xuan's rampaging might and the puppet's slap was reminiscent of a lone boat before a tsunami, it dissipated entirely under the immense force of the slap without stopping the puppet for too long.

Just as Luo Qiqi was hesitating, unable to decide whether to assist Zhang shi or flee, the other party's anxious shout suddenly echoed in the room.

"Hurry up and leave!"

"Un!"

Knowing that the other party was doing this so as to offer her a chance at survival, Luo Qiqi clenched her jaws and rushed toward the stone door.

Teacher, thank you…

If we can get out of here alive, I'll obey every single instruction you have of me. I'll be your student and your guardian for life…

Hong long!

While she was dashing through the stone door, Zhang Xuan suddenly felt an immense force crushing down on him. With a sharp exhalation of breath, he was sent crashing into the wall once again.

'This shouldn't be!'

Struggling off the wall, Zhang Xuan looked at the rampaging Otherworldly Demon puppet in bewilderment.

It wasn't out of his kindness that he drew this huge fellow to himself and allowed Luo Qiqi to escape first… Rather, he wanted to make use of the other party's gratitude to form a golden page!

With that, he was confident of destroying even a Saint!

Since the other party had acknowledged him as her teacher, and she did possess deep gratitude toward him, he thought that a golden page would surely be formed. Who could have thought that… there would be nothing at all!

Could it be that he failed to induce the other party's gratitude?

But that shouldn't be! From her eyes, he could tell that she was earnestly grateful to him for his sacrifice. However, if that was the case, why didn't the golden page form?

Suddenly, an idea popped into Zhang Xuan's head.

'Could it be that… there's a difference between the gratitude I receive from guiding someone and from saving someone?'

All along, the golden pages formed in the Book of Heaven's Path were due to him imparting a battle technique, cultivation technique, or clarifying the doubts of another.

But this situation was clearly much different from the others.

This time, the gratitude the other party had for him was for saving her life. While it was indeed a huge favor, it wasn't the kind of gratitude between a teacher and a student. Rather, it was directed toward his magnanimity and his noble character.

'I miscalculated…'

Zhang Xuan's lips twitched, and cold sweat started dripping down his forehead.

He thought that the criteria for forming a golden page would be the relationship between of a teacher and a student, and gratitude between them. As long as a golden page was formed, he would be able to get out of this desperate situation. Who knew that he would actually fail…

This time, he would really have to fight against this huge fellow head on!

And clearly, he was no match for the other party at all.

Hu!

Just as he was stifled by the darned situation before him, the Otherworldly Demon was already right before him. Its massive fist smashed right toward his head.

From this moment on, every action Zhang Xuan took could spell his death.

This was the greatest crisis Zhang Xuan was in ever since his transcension!