Library of Heaven's Path

Previously, Zhang Xuan’s Soul Depth had already reached 29.99, a mere nudge away from making the final breakthrough to Ancient Sage.

He had been planning to diligently cultivate beneath the Bodhi Tree so that he could make a breakthrough soon. Yet, who could have known that his Soul Depth would leap up right to 30.0 while he was reading all those books?

30.1!

30.2!

30.3!

…

Zhang Xuan’s Soul Depth leaped all the way up to 31.9 before slowly coming to a halt.

In a very short period of time, his Soul Depth had been raised by 2.0.

Boom!

With the sudden increment of his Soul Depth, Zhang Xuan felt as if a storm had been whipped up in his head. All of his senses suddenly grew incredibly sensitive, and he felt like a countryside bumpkin entering a vibrant city for the first time in his life, witnessing the vibrant reds and greens, the delightful dances and cheerful songs. It was as if he was seeing a side to the world that he had not known existed.

The cultivation techniques and battle techniques that he had never been able to make sense of before filled his mind and clicked together logically. It was as if the puzzles that had bewildered him for a long time had suddenly become no different from child’s play.

Not only so, he could also vaguely sense the existence of the Aeon of Ancient Sage in the surroundings. If he wanted to, he could even tap on it and utilize it to temper his body, raising his level of existence.

With such an ability, his chances of achieving a breakthrough to Ancient Sage were tremendously enhanced!

“It’s no wonder they say that only those who have reached 30.0 in their Soul Depth will have a chance to push for a breakthrough to Ancient Sage…” Zhang Xuan nodded in realization.

Previously, his parents had told him the various conditions required for one to make a breakthrough to Ancient Sage, and one point that they had been particularly focused on was Soul Depth. From the looks of it, that was indeed the case.

If one compared the bottleneck to Ancient Sage to tightly sealed gates, the breakthrough of one’s Soul Depth to 30.0 would be equivalent to opening a crack in the tightly sealed gates. As long as one accumulated sufficient energy, one would be able to force the gates open and enjoy the beautiful scenery on the other side.

In other words, if he reached Sempiternal realm consummation, with the Ancient Sage blood droplets that he had gathered so far, he could push for a breakthrough to Ancient Sage in one shot.

With this, the pressure that Ancient Sages exert won’t be able to faze me anymore! On top of that, I’ll be able to disguise myself convincingly as an Ancient Sage as well! Zhang Xuan thought with a smile.

His thoughts had grown much more lucid than before, and his mind felt invigorated. All of the negative emotions that he carried with him seemed to have been swept clean.

“Continue!”

Taking a deep breath, Zhang Xuan continued collecting the books all around the mountain into the Library of Heaven’s Path and converted them into his knowledge.

It did not take him too long to arrive on the mountain peak.

There was nothing unique on the mountain peak except for a stone altar. He walked up to it and placed his palm on it.

Hong long!

Once again, he was devoured by a brilliant burst of light and vanished on the spot.

By the time he came to, the mountain of books had already disappeared without a trace. Instead, he found himself lying on top of a leaf, floating in the middle of an ocean.

Amid the rocking of the ocean currents, he sat up and scanned his surroundings. The blue sky seemed to meld right into the ocean water, leaving the horizon a little blurred. No matter which direction he looked in, there did not seem to be any end to the vast ocean.

This rendered Zhang Xuan completely confused. He had no idea where he was, and he did not know where he should head to.

“A path through a mountain of books with diligence as the key, sail through the ocean of learning with a paddle of hardship,” Zhang Xuan murmured.

Rather than getting flustered, he seemed to experience an epiphany. “This seems to be the so-called ocean of learning…”

It was a mountain of books earlier, and only when one studied would the steps leading to the endpoint appear. It was likely that the same principles applied to the ocean of learning as well. If he did not learn, the leaf would not move, and he would never get to shore.

A light ocean breeze blew across the ocean, producing a crisp sound reminiscent of an orchestra ensemble.

The surface of the water rippled, as if a beautiful, blue painting.

Beneath the water, one could see countless fish moving around in a certain pattern. They seemed to be simulating some kind of formation.

Gazing upon them, Zhang Xuan found his attention slowly immersing deeper into them.

With a pair of sharp eyes, everything in the world could enhance one’s wisdom. Observing the vastness of the world, scrutinizing the free movements of the fish—the entire ocean encompassed great knowledge that seemed to fuse together with whatever he had studied previously on the mountain of books.

With the slight bobbing of the leaf, Zhang Xuan’s heart gradually grew quieter and quieter.

All kinds of knowledge flowed into his mind, and as if a dry sponge, he greedily devoured the wisdom.

Some time later, Zhang Xuan’s body jolted, and he stood up.

Painter, demonic tunist, blacksmith, beast tamer, spirit awakener, physician, formation master… All of the knowledge that he had learned from those occupations assimilated together impeccably, reaching the level of 9-star.

At that moment, even without any special exceptions, he would easily be able to meet the nine 9-star supporting occupations prerequisites, thus making him a true 9-star master teacher.

In fact, in terms of comprehension in these occupations, he might have even reached a level comparable to Kong shi, far exceeding the typical geniuses of those guilds.

Despite the massive influx of information, his mind did not grow befuddled. Instead, it was growing clearer and clearer as everything that he had learned formed links with one another, bringing greater clarity to his web of knowledge.

Hu!

Zhang Xuan went on to learn many other occupations, and just as a feeling of omniscience was starting to set upon him, there was another burst of light that filled his vision with utter whiteness.

When he finally regained his sight once more, he found that he had returned to the walkway. He felt as if he had been gone for at least ten days, but his consciousness told him that he had only been gone for a minute or two!

The disparity in time between his consciousness and experience left him feeling a little dazed for a moment as his mind struggled to make sense of this anomaly.

It felt like he had just woken up from a transient dream.

He turned around to scan his surroundings once more, only to see Luo Qiqi and the other two master teachers standing on the spot. Their bodies were trembling intensely, as if placed under immense pressure. Even though their eyes were wide open, it was apparent that they were not conscious.

“Where is Ruoxin?” Zhang Xuan pondered doubtfully.

Of the other six people whom he had come in with, Zhao Ya and Wei Ruyan had failed the trial and had been teleported out. Luo Qiqi and the remaining two master teachers were still facing the trial, but for some reason, Luo Ruoxin was nowhere to be seen.

Could it be that… she had failed the trial and had been teleported out?

Just as Zhang Xuan was still trying to make sense of what was happening, Kong shi’s voice sounded in the air once more. “You have cleared the trial. Proceed to the end of the walkway, and you’ll reach the Great Codex of Spring and Autumn. If you are able to assimilate it, you’ll be qualified to inherit my heritage.”

Hearing that voice, Zhang Xuan hesitated for a brief moment before heading to the end of the walkway. “For the time being, I should obtain the Great Codex of Spring and Autumn before deciding on my next move…”

Having been tempered by the mountain of books and ocean of learning, his Soul Depth had already reached a level comparable to the Ancient Sages. The pressure exerted on him by the walkway could no longer faze him.

Soon enough, he reached the end of the walkway.

Similar to the entrances of the Prime Hall and Subordinate Halls, there was an invisible seal that prevented any unauthorized cultivators from heading any further in.

With a flick of his wrist, Zhang Xuan took out Little Amulet and placed the latter against the seal. The seal slowly crumbled, and he swiftly made his way through.

A majestic hall came into sight, at the very center of which was a marble stand with a book placed flat above it. A radiant glow was shining from it.

There were two massive characters written in ancient script on the cover of the book—Spring Autumn. Time seemed to be flowing through the book, making it feel as if it was an artifact that existed in the past or the future. It felt like an artifact that existed in the crevices of time.

“So, this is the Great Codex of Spring and Autumn!” Zhang Xuan’s eyes lit up as he clenched his fists.

He was just about to make his way over to the book when a human silhouette suddenly entered his field of view. A hand reached out for the book on the marble stand and picked it up.

Upon getting a closer look at the human silhouette, Zhang Xuan froze. “Ruoxin…”