Library of Heaven's Path

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

Boom!

With a smooth motion, the map in the Skyleaf King's grasp opened up, and the Saint Ascension Hall suddenly began shaking intensely. In fact, the shaking seemed to extend to the Qiu Wu Palace and even beyond.

An enormous power seemed to be gushing from the depths of the ground, and it felt as if something frightening was about to surface.

Feeling the powerful aura, everyone's face warped in horror.

The aura was simply too powerful. The Skyleaf King was already an opponent that was nigh impossible for them to deal with previously, but before this aura, they felt that they did not even stand a sliver of chance.

Zhang Xuan's eyes narrowed. "This is… the aura of the Subterranean Gallery's seal?"

He had felt such a sensation from the seal in the Subterranean Gallery before. Vast and powerful, it felt like something no being could never hope to stand against.

Geji! Geji!

The aura grew more and more powerful, and eventually, at the summons of the map, a massive sphere slowly burrowed out of the ground.

Similar to a crystal ball, the sphere was transparent. Zhang Xuan could not tell what it was made of, but the sheer power harnessed within it could easily crush all of them.

Seeing the abrupt twist in circumstances, Wu shi hurriedly asked, "Zhang Yinqiu, what is going on?"

"It's the map!" With a pale face, Zhang Yinqiu spoke with despair in his eyes.

"Map? Doesn't the map only serve to point out a safe path through the ancient domain?" Wu shi asked with a frown.

They had seen the map when Zhang Xuan had it, and all it had done for them so far was create a bridge that led them into the true Qiu Wu Palace. Other than it, it seemed to serve no practical purpose at all.

"Point out a safe path?" Zhang Yinqiu shook his head. "It's far more important than that. That map is actually the key to Qiu Wu Palace! Inscribed on it are the words of the ancient gods and a unique Spatial Formation. Once it fuses with the sphere, the map will be able to store the entire Qiu Wu Palace within it!"

"Store the entire Qiu Wu Palace within it?" The crowd was startled.

"On your way here, you must have realized that Qiu Wu Palace is actually a folded space. The sphere over there is the core of Qiu Wu Palace, it serves to regulate the energy within it and stabilize the space.

"The map serves as the key to controlling the sphere. Once the sphere fuses together with the map, the entire Qiu Wu palace will become a painting, similar to the celestial palace outside. If that happens, not only will the Skyleaf King gain possession over all of the treasures that Ancient Sage Qiu Wu and Kong shi have left behind, we will also be trapped within the painting, and the Skyleaf King would be able to deal with us as he please!" Zhang Yinqiu said anxiously.

"This…" Everyone's body jolted in shock.

The reason they were so helpless before the Scarletleaf King back when they were within the celestial palace was because they were 'trapped within the painting' whereas the Scarletleaf King was 'outside the painting'.

The old principal was right. Once the Skyleaf King successfully fused the sphere together with the map, the entire ancient domain would be his to control. If that truly happened, they would be in deep trouble.

"Back then, on top of leaving behind his heritage for master teachers, Ancient Sage Qiu Wu has also created the map and entrusted it into trustworthy hands so that those who require its strength would be able to use it in times of crisis. Those who possess the map can fuse it together with the sphere, and that would grant them complete control over Qiu Wu Palace.

"If the Skyleaf King truly gains possession of Qiu Wu Palace, even without the heritage, he would still be able to analyze and reverse engineer the structure of the seal. Once he succeeds, the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe will be able to send their armies into the Master Teacher Continent, and mankind will be in for a tough fight. It is also for this reason that I rushed over as fast as I could to stop him, having thought that the Skyleaf King had already obtained the map."

Upon hearing those words, everyone came to a realization.

Previously, Zhang Xuan had been thinking that since it was impossible for the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe to obtain Ancient Sage Qiu Wu's heritage, why did the old principal and the others still charge into the ancient domain to stop them despite knowing the huge risks it posed?

At this moment, everything was finally clear to him.

"What do we do now?" Wu shi asked worriedly.

They were currently in a race against time. If the Skyleaf King succeeded in fusing the sphere with the map, mankind could very well be facing a calamity on an unprecedented scale.

"There's only one thing we can do now—stop the map and the sphere from fusing together!" Zhang Yinqiu said grimly.

"Alright!" everyone replied grimly.

"Principal Zhang, you should go and attempt for a breakthrough first. Leave the Skyleaf King to us!" Wu shi said.

"Alright." Zhang Xuan nodded.

He knew that given his current strength, he would not be of any help for the others in their fight against the Skyleaf King. Since that was the case, it was better for him to focus on achieving a breakthrough. Once he succeeded, the current adversity they were in could be resolved easily.

Not expecting the Nascent Saint cultivator to be thinking about breaking through at such a crucial moment, Zhang Yinqiu could not help but frown. "Breakthrough? Even if a Nascent Saint achieves a breakthrough to Saint realm, it still won't make a difference to the current plight we are in."

"Don't worry, Principal Zhang Yinqiu. It's not any ordinary breakthrough that he's going for," Wu shi replied with a soft chuckle. After which, he took in a deep breath, and his eyes suddenly grew solemn. With an abrupt leap, he charged swiftly toward the Skyleaf King as if a streak of lightning.

Tzzzla!

Knowing that his opponent wielded strength far beyond him, Wu shi used a secret art right from the get-go, forcing his body to exert a might far beyond his current limits.

"Wait for me!"

Guild Leader Han also swiftly leaped up to support Wu shi.

In an instant, the two Saint 4-dan experts immediately began clashing with the Skyleaf King.

Had it been any other occasion, the Skyleaf King's Primordial Spirit would be more than able to subdue the both of them with a single palm strike. However, at that moment, he had to devote a portion of his strength and focus to facilitating the fusion of the map and the sphere, so his strength had been reduced significantly. As a result, a stalemate had actually arisen from their clash.

"Not any ordinary breakthrough that he's going for?" On the other hand, Zhang Yinqiu knew that he would not stand a chance against the Skyleaf King in his current form, so he turned his gaze toward Zhang Xuan doubtfully instead.

Just what kind of breakthrough was the latter going to achieve for Wu shi to say such words?

However, this doubt did not last for too long in his mind, as he soon saw Zhang Xuan walking toward the Saint Ascension Platform.

The Saint Ascension Platform was protected by an extremely powerful seal, making it nigh impossible for anyone else to approach it. Yet, for some reason, the seal displayed an exceptional intimacy toward Zhang Xuan, opening up a path for him to pass through without any hesitation.

A thought surfaced in Zhang Yinqiu's mind, and his eyes widened in shock. The seal opened up for him? Could it be… Could it be… Celestial Master Teacher?

In terms of their understanding of Qiu Wu Palace, there was no one there who could rival Zhang Yinqiu.

There was only one possibility for the seal to open up a path voluntarily for one to pass through—the person had met the requirements to become a Celestial Saint. In other words, the young man before him was actually a Celestial Master Teacher!

Hong long!

Before his shocked gaze, the young man before him took a seat on top of the Saint Ascension Platform. With a flick of his wrist, a seven-colored fluid materialized before the young man.

"That is… the Seven-colored Earth Jade Essence!" Zhang Yinqiu exclaimed.

As rare as the Seven-colored Earth Jade Essence was, it had a rather distinctive and unique appearance. Those who had heard of it before could easily recognize it.

On the Saint Ascension Platform, Zhang Xuan held the Seven-colored Earth Jade Essence in one hand while tapping on it lightly with the forefinger of his other hand. In the next instant, the seven-colored energy harnessed within the fluid swiftly seeped into the many acupoints throughout his body.

Geji! Geji!

A resounding echo sounded, and Zhang Xuan's aura began surging swiftly. In the blink of an eye, he had already overcome the limitations of Nascent Saint pinnacle, heading toward a far greater level.

Such incredible power… Is he really just attempting a breakthrough to Saint realm?

Zhang Yinqiu gulped subconsciously as he stared at the sight before him fixedly.

Even though the young man before him was only attempting a breakthrough from Nascent Saint to Saint realm 1-dan, the aura that he was emanating felt profound and unfathomable, as if one was staring into the deep abyss. Zhang Yinqiu had once witnessed a Saint 2-dan achieving a breakthrough to Saint 3-dan, but it paled greatly in comparison to what was happening before him.

If anything, they were not even on the same level!

Zhang Yinqiu could hardly believe his eyes. Is he really trying to become a Celestial Saint?

The fact that Kong shi had made such preparations within the Qiu Wu Palace showed that he had no doubt that there would surely come another Celestial Saint after him, but even so, Zhang Yinqiu still found it hard to believe that anyone could succeed in accomplishing that seemingly impossible feat.

After all, there was only one Kong shi in the world. None could replace him; none could match up to him.

Had the world not had Kong shi, the ancient times would have been bleak like the onset of a long night!

"He's definitely going to. After all, that fellow knows of nothing but showing off."

While Zhang Yinqiu was still caught in his state of disbelief, a slightly sour voice sounded beside him. Turning around, he saw that the fatty who had been exchanged for him had, at some point in time, taken a position beside him, his eyes fixated on the young man on the Saint Ascension Platform as well. There was a deeply displeased look on his face, seemingly angered by the fact that the limelight had been stolen by the other party.

"You… You are bleeding from your seven apertures 1 …"

Upon seeing the state that the fatty was in, Zhang Yinqiu's lips began twitching uncontrollably.

If anyone were to bleed from their seven apertures as profusely as the fatty was at the moment, they would surely have died near instantly. Yet, the fatty seemed to be completely unfazed by it. He continued looking at the young man on the Saint Ascension Platform with his teeth gritted in envy.

"Oh, it's actually nothing much once you get used to it," the fatty replied nonchalantly.

"You can actually get used to bleeding from your seven apertures?" Zhang Yinqiu nearly fainted on the spot.

Just where in this world did this monster come from?

While others were dying due to bleeding from their seven apertures, this fatty was saying that it was fine once one had gotten used to it.

"No, it's not just that…" With twitching lips, Zhang Yinqiu continued speaking. "There's a sword stabbed into your back… I think it has pierced through your heart…"

If the fatty was only bleeding from his seven apertures, he would not have been so surprised. However, there was a sword plunged into his back, and judging from the angle, it had pierced right through the fatty's heart. Was he really still fine despite being in such a state?

"Pierced through my heart?" Perplexed, the fatty glanced downward and saw the tip of a sword protruding from the front of his chest. His eyebrows shot up before replying nonchalantly, "Oh? I wouldn't have noticed it if you hadn't said so. However, that's not really an issue to be concerned over. It'll be fine once I pluck it out!"

After saying those words, the fatty bent his hand in an inconceivable angle to grab the sword behind his back and extract it. Tossing the extracted sword nonchalantly on the ground, he said, "There, it's done!"

"I…" Zhang Yinqiu was completely frenzied. The insanity that he had just witnessed made him feel as if the world had gone mad.

Just what in the heck was the monster before him made of? How could he still be living despite being in such a state?

"Curses! You sure are resilient, aren't you? Let's see if this can kill you!"

While Zhang Yinqiu was still overwhelmed by his shock, a wrathful bellow sounded from the sky. The next moment, the Skyleaf King threw a powerful palm down toward the fatty.

Kacha!

In the blink of an eye, the fatty was reduced to a flat lump of meat, glued to the ground.

" Ahh! " Horrified, Zhang Yinqiu subconsciously took numerous steps back with a pale face.

It was just a moment ago that he was still speaking to the fatty, but the latter was suddenly reduced to a lump of meat the next moment. The striking visual was something that was hard for him to accept in a moment.

"This young brother over here, rest assured. Even at the cost of my life, I will exact vengeance for you…" Zhang Yinqiu said solemnly before turning his gaze toward the Skyleaf King with eyes reddened in killing intent.

However, before he could even finish his vow, an impatient voice sounded from the ground.

"What the heck are you mumbling there? Hurry up and step away, you are blocking me from watching Zhang Xuan pose."

Alarmed, Zhang Yinqiu lowered his head, only to see that two eyes were staring at him impatiently from the lump of meat on the ground.