Library of Heaven’s Path

Seeing that Hong shi was on the verge of a breakdown, Zhang Xuan couldn’t be bothered with Wu Zhen anymore. He focused all of his attention into instructing Hong shi to victory.

On the other hand, Wu Zhen, having affirmed his hypothesis, no longer called Zhang Xuan anymore as well.

A few minutes later, Feng Yu, Luo Zhao, and Chen Yue were lying on the floor, their bodies filled with wounds. They had surrendered.

They had no choice but to do so. No matter what they did, Hong shi seemed to always be a step ahead of them, leaving them completely helpless. If it had gone on like that, they might even have died. Since that was the case, they admitted defeat.

The trio suffered such grievous injuries that even their own parents would probably find it hard to recognize them. If there was any consolation to them, it was that Hong shi wasn’t in a good shape either. His cheeks and eyes were swollen red; his entire body was shaking unsteadily; there was blood all over him… If not for some kind of tenacity driving him, he would have also collapsed to the ground as well.

”Alright. Since Feng shi, Luo shi, and Chen shi have admitted defeat, the three slots shall be contributed by their teams!”

Ye Qian was also surprised to see Hong shi emerge victorious in the battle.

He didn’t possess Wu Zhen’s sharp intuition, so he failed to see through the little trick involved here. As such, he thought that Hong shi had defeated the trio with his own strength, and this had left him impressed.

Seeing the severe injuries Hong shi had sustained, Zhang Xuan felt a little guilt-ridden. Thus, he stood up and walked over to Wu shi.

”Wu shi, may I request for a cup of medicinal wine for Hong shi’s injuries?”

If not for this damned fellow calling him time and time again, even though Hong shi would still have suffered injuries, they wouldn’t be as severe as they were now.

”Un!”

Wu shi did also feel a little embarrassed by his previous actions, so he took out the medicinal wine and poured out a cup.

Zhang Xuan infused a surge of zhenqi into the medicinal wine before passing it over to Hong shi for him to drink it.

It was only in the body that zhenqi could be stored for extended periods of time. In other words, while the gourd of medicinal wine in Wu shi’s possession might still be effective now, it would slowly turn back into ordinary wine.

As the Heaven’s Path zhenqi contained in the wine flowed through Hong shi’s bloodstream, his injuries began to heal.

”Thank you, Wu shi and Zhang shi!”

With his injuries recovered, Hong shi felt refreshed. He quickly clasped his fist in gratitude.

He really thought that he would die just now. Honestly speaking, he didn’t expect Zhang shi to be so formidable as to be able to issue instructions that would lead him to an easy victory.

After all, those were master teachers of the same rank as him… Even in a one-to-one, he dared not say he would win. While he had suffered grievous injuries in this battle, he felt that it was worth it given that he was able to defeat the three of them.

With this, he had brought glory to Hongfeng Empire!

”There’s no need to stand on ceremony…”

Wu shi waved his hands. After which, he turned his gaze to Zhang Xuan in interest.

However, knowing that this wasn’t the occasion to be asking anything, he eventually turned away without asking anything.

As soon as Zhang Xuan and Hong shi returned to their seats, Feng shi, Luo shi, and Chen shi walked up to Wu shi and asked, ”Wu shi, can we get a cup of medicinal wine as well?”

They had seen Hong shi making a complete recovery after drinking the medicinal wine, and this had left them green in envy. Feeling the aches throughout their bodies, they toughened up their courage and walked over to ask.

”Fine!”

Wu shi eyelids twitched. He was unwilling to offer the medicinal wine to them, but eventually, he still took it out and poured a cup for each of them.

”Our gratitude to Wu shi!”

They quickly drank it down, and a spicy taste rushed up their throat.

After waiting for a moment, they realized that their injuries were still as severe as before. Perplexed, they asked, ”Wu shi, could you have taken the wrong gourd…”

”Impossible, this is surely the one that I received earlier…”

Wu shi frowned. ”It might not be working as well due to your severe injuries. Why don’t you try applying it externally?”

Saying so, he poured another cup for them.

”You’re right!”

Previously, Zhang Xuan also poured the wine on Bi shi’s arm to heal it. Perhaps due to their injuries being much more severe, its effectiveness might be limited through consumption.

With such thoughts in mind, they poured the wine carefully on their injuries.

Tzzzzz!

The burning sensation of the alcohol left them gritting their teeth in pain. They waited for a long moment, but there was no sign of their injuries recovering. On the contrary, there were signs that pus was forming instead. Feng Yu, Luo Zhao, and Chen Yue were stumped.

Isn’t this a Saint recovery medicine that will fully heal our injuries just by applying it?

Then why are our wounds not healing that? On top of that, what is with that sharp pain accompanied with a slight itch on them?

Hong shi obviously recovered after drinking the wine given though! Could Wu shi have offered them a smaller portion out of his bias?

”Wu shi, I think we might need more medicine. Can you give us a few more cups?” Luo Zhao asked timidly.

”Scram!” Wu shi howled.

You must be joking! There is only a gourd of the recovery wine Hong shi gave, and yet you ask for a cup after another. That’s enough of you!

But still, he did feel a little perplexed over the matter. Was the effectiveness weakened due to their serious injuries?

That must be the case!

After all, the few of them did look slightly better than they did before.

In truth, while most of the zhenqi that Zhang Xuan had infused into the wine had dissipated, some of it still lingered.

Thus, even though Luo Zhao and the others didn’t make a full recovery like Hong shi, they still recovered significantly. Their wounds had stopped bleeding, and walking wasn’t a problem for them anymore.

”…” Seeing Wu shi flying into a rage, Luo Zhao and the others didn’t dare to push their case any further. Thus, they hurriedly returned.

…

”Since the slots have been decided, let’s allocate the zones now!”

Since the distribution of the slots had been confirmed, Ye Qian turned to look at the crowd and said, ”The Cleansing Lake is infused with the spiritual energy from the Verdant Mountain and Dragon-scaled River, granting it the ability to nourish one’s soul. As such, this spirit lake is known as the divine land of Huanyu Empire. Even members of the royal family are not allowed to enter the premises as they please—they have to obey the rules of entering only every decade, at the time of the opening of the Cleansing Lake.

”Since you all should know this, I won’t elaborate on it!”

Hong shi and the others nodded.

This was common knowledge for them.

”As a blessed land for cultivators, the Cleansing Lake possesses mystical effects to the soul. However, one thing you might be unaware of is that it’s also an extremely dangerous place. The slightest carelessness could possibly result in death!”

Ye Qian spoke grimly.

”An extremely dangerous place? Death?”

”Isn’t it a spirit lake rich in spiritual energy?”

”Indeed, why would it be dangerous?”

…

Everyone was taken aback.

Even Luo Zhao, Feng Yu, and the others also frowned questioningly.

They had heard of the Cleansing Lake’s unique property in nourishing one’s soul and advancing one’s cultivation, but they had never known it to be fraught with danger.

What kind of danger could a lake rich in spiritual energy possibly have?

”It’s no lie that the Cleansing Lake is a spirit lake. However, the current flowing within the lake is extremely violent, and even a Transcendent Mortal 9-dan cultivator could be killed easily in it! Back then, when our founding ancestor found this blessed land, he sent in his men to investigate the region, only to have none of them return,” Ye Qian explained gravely.

”Even Transcendent Mortal 9-dan cultivators could be killed easily?”

Everyone was stunned. ”Then…”

If even a Transcendent Mortal 9-dan cultivator couldn’t survive the currents of the lake, weren’t they seeking death by entering it?

What kind of blessed land for cultivation was this?

”There’s no need to panic, allow me to finish my words first!”

Seeing the shocked expression on everyone’s faces, Ye Qian chuckled. ”The dangers regarding the Cleansing Lake are very real; I’m not exaggerating them in any way. However, there’s a solution to the matter. After many years of scouting and innumerable lives paving the way forward, we finally uncovered some of the secrets of the lake. There’s a safe zone in the Cleansing Lake where cultivators can enjoy the benefits of the lake without being crushed to a pulp!

”We call this location the ’Lake Eye’. The Lake Eye is where the spiritual energy from the various sources intersect and form a fragile balance, thus creating a safe zone. However, the Lake Eye only appear once every ten years.”

”Lake Eye?”

”Once every ten years? Is this the reason why the Cleansing Lake only opens once every ten years?”

”That must be the case…”

Upon hearing the explanation, everyone suddenly came to a realization.

They had always been puzzled as to why the Cleansing Lake only opened once every ten years. Initially, they thought that the royal family was just maintaining a monopoly over the lake, but from the looks of it now, they were sorely mistaken. The true reason was to protect them from danger.

”Lake Eyes aren’t too big—each of them only has a radius of around two meters. Furthermore, the amount of spiritual energy harnessed in each of them is limited as well. Once all of the energy inside is fully absorbed, the Lake Eye will collapse inward! In other words, the person cultivating inside a Lake Eye must escape immediately upon realizing the spiritual energy inside is dying out. Otherwise, one might just lose his life in the lake,” said Ye Qian.

”Radius of two meters? The amount of spiritual energy harnessed is limited? Then…”

Everyone was perplexed.

Considering that fifteen people were entering the Cleansing Lake, how could a Lake Eye with a radius of two meters possibly be enough?

If they were to take turns, considering how the spiritual energy in the Lake Eye was limited, they would have to decide on the order of entry as well!

”As everyone should know, when a soul is trapped within a body, it is equivalent to having a cage around it. Under such circumstances, its growth will be severely limited!”

Zhang Xuan nodded in agreement.

The body of an ordinary cultivator was no different from a shackle to a soul, locking it tightly in place.

Even if one were to obtain manuals to cultivate one’s soul, one’s soul would still be limited to the boundaries of one’s body.

To make an analogy, it was just like a potted plant. No matter how far the roots of a plant could reach, it would be confined to the limits of the pot.

”After making many calculations, we have found that the time limit for both Consonant Spirit realm and Cosmos Bridge realm cultivators is three days. Any longer than that and the Cleansing Lake will be rendered ineffective. Besides, three days is also the duration that a Lake Eye can maintain itself for. As such, the empire has determined a time limit of three days for this.”

Continuing, Ye Qian said, ”The champions for the Master Teacher Tournament will be given three days, first runner-up two days, and second runner-up one day!”

The crowd nodded.

This was also the prize promised in the Master Teacher Tournament.

The first place will be given three days to cultivate at Cleansing Lake, the second place two days, and the third place one day.

”Everyone must be perplexed as to how a Lake Eye with a radius of two meters can have fifteen people cultivating in it at the same time… In truth, ten Lake Eyes will appear each time the Cleansing Lake opens!”

”Ten?”

”That’s right, ten! Based on previous rules, the five champions of the Master Teacher Tournament will be granted a Lake Eye of their own to cultivate for three days whereas the second and third place will share a Lake Eye, and they will cultivate for two days and one day respectively.”

The five champions would take up five Lake Eyes on their own, whereas the ten second places and third places, due to their differing cultivation duration as per their prize, would share the other five. In this way, the ten Lake Eyes were fairly distributed.

”However… this year is an exception!”

At which, Ye Qian paused for a moment before continuing. ”Sixth Princess, Senior Wu, and the others would require a Lake Eye each, and I also need an individual one as well. Thus… you will have to share the remaining five amongst yourselves!”