Library of Heaven’s Path

Silence loomed in the air for an instant.

Mo Tianxue rubbed his eyes blankly, and he nearly fainted.

The formation which had veiled everyone’s eyes from the interiors of the courtyard had indeed disappeared.

Pausing a grade-3 formation with a kick?

Were they dreaming?

Confinement formations were unique fields aligned with the geography of the location, such as the mountains, the rivers, or even the stars. All lifeforms that step into such an area would find themselves descending in confusion, losing the ability to discern direction.

Without an extremely deep understanding of formations, it was impossible for one to find the core of a formation and stop it.

Yet, this fellow, who obviously knew nothing about formations, simply walked up and, with just a single kick, paused a grade-3 formation...

Could the situation get any more exaggerated than that?

If this was just luck, then his luck was way too overpowered!

Mo Yu was taken aback as well.

She had seen the innumerable means Zhang Xuan possessed, and she knew that he was mysterious and strong. However, she still couldn’t help but keel over in fright upon seeing this sight.

The reason why the Lin Clan dared to act so arrogantly in Tianwu Royal City, even when they were before the royal family, was mainly due to their ability to set up grade-3 formations.

After all, even a Zhizun realm primary stage expert would be unable to escape from a formation of this level...

Yet, this fellow, who didn’t even know what the Lin Clan was, with a single kick... actually suppressed the formation easily!

I know that you have a lot of astonishing means, but... isn’t this way too much?

Could it be that on top of being a master teacher, apothecary, beast tamer, poison master... You’re a formation master as well?

Those are all occupations in the Upper Nine Paths! (With the exception of poison master)

Everyone said that she was a genius for being able to grasp any occupation swiftly, but compared to this fellow... The heck, she seemed to be no different from an ignorant oaf!

Just the thought of it sent her into a frenzy.

”Y-you...”

The two was only shocked, but Grandmaster Lin Tao, who had ridiculed the other party just a moment ago, had his mouth so widely opened that his lower jaw was almost hitting the ground.

The reason why he kept refusing wasn’t out of fear that the Gold-tailed Lion would escape, or that it was impossible to cure it, but rather... this grade-3 formation was set up personally by the guild leader. Being a mere 2-star pinnacle formation master, he couldn’t even find where the formation core and formation flags were placed at, needless to say, remove it!

Since he couldn’t even remove the formation, pausing it was completely out of question.

Who could have thought that not only would this fellow be able to pause it, he would even be able to do it so easily...

Pausing a formation would have required any other formation masters to study the area, calculate using their compass, flip through ancient records, conduct several experiments… It was a very laborious and lengthy job. Not to mention, if things go wrong, they might even end up being trapped by their own formation...

Yet, this fellow actually kicked the formation without even studying it closely, as though he was just kicking down a mere wooden plank...

If anyone else were to do so, they would definitely suffer a rebound from the formation and die on the spot.

But not only was the other party fine, the formation even freaking paused...

Isn’t there something very wrong about this?

”Let’s go in!”

Just as he was silenced with shock, the young man in front beckoned to the group before walking into the courtyard.

Following closely behind, Grandmaster Lin Tao examined the surroundings and confirmed that the formation truly wasn’t active at the moment... It had truly paused under the other party’s kick.

”It was just a moment ago that I thought that this fellow’s reputation is overexaggerated. After all, this cultivation is clear to see. As such, I didn’t think that he would be of any threat at all. To think that he would actually be such an incredible figure… Most probably, only that Master Teacher Zhang Xuan would be a match for him!”

With a quick examination, Grandmaster Lin Tao could tell that the formation was only paused—it wasn’t damaged at all. Slowly, the disdain on his face turned into graveness.

In truth, when he first heard that Liu laoshi had solved the illnesses on the Wall of Dilemma and became the new guild leader, he didn’t think highly about the other party.

After all, regardless of which occupation one was in, one’s cultivation was the most important factor. Everything else was secondary.

Tongxuan realm primary stage was simply too unimpressive, so he disregarded the other party... But at this moment, the other party had actually stopped a grade-3 formation with a single kick. Even the guild leader wouldn’t be capable of such a feat. It seemed like this Liu laoshi wasn’t as simple as he thought him out to be.

”I’ve to inform the clan head about this matter as soon as possible...”

He made a decision inwardly.

...

Even Heaven’s Path was imperfect, so naturally, formations had its strengths and flaws, its life gate and death gate as well.

Once one found this flaw, no matter how formidable a formation was, it could be manipulated or destroyed easily.

To put it simply, this flaw referred to the point where the flow of energy of the formation field was centered.

This flaw could be located in the direct center for some formations, and by the side for the others. Zhang Xuan was fortunate in the sense that it happened to be right in front of him, as stated in the Library of Heaven’s Path.

While it might have looked like a simple kick on the surface, in truth, Zhang Xuan was actually infusing Heaven’s Path zhenqi into the formation. This interrupted the flow of energy in the formation, resulting in the deactivation the formation.

Heaven’s Path zhenqi was the purest spiritual energy in the world, thus allowing it to easily destroy the internal structure of a formation.

This was precisely the reason why that seemingly simple kick had such shocking effects. If it had been anyone else, even if they were to be aware of this flaw, it would take them a great deal of effort to exploit it.

The group walked around a winding pebble path.

The courtyard was tidy and clean, and after walking a short distance, a giant palace appeared before them.

Soon, they heard a deafening snore which jolted the dirt on the floor into the air, leaving one slightly dizzy-headed.

”Great! The Gold-tailed Lion is sleeping!” Mo Tianxue’s eyes lit up.

He was afraid that the Gold-tailed Lion would charge out the moment the formation was paused. They were truly lucky to have come while the latter was asleep.

Following the source of the voice, they soon arrived at a giant hall. In it, they saw a gigantic savage beast lying on the floor with both of its eyes tightly shut.

It heavily resembled a normal lion, but its physique was significantly larger. Its tail was colored in gold, but there was a slight trace of white at the very end of its tail.

In comparison to the Steelfang Howling Firmament Beast, a Half-Zhizun realm savage beast as well, its muscles were loose and its hair was messy, thus giving it the appearance no different from that of an elderly. From its outer appearance, one could tell that it was in an age of decline.

”Guild Leader Liu, this is our guardian beast, Gold-tailed Lion. Its illness seems to have grown even more severe...”

Looking at the sleeping Gold-tailed Lion, Mo Tianxue shook his head.

Half-Zhizun realm savage beasts possessed strong wariness. The fact that it could remain asleep despite their arrival in its territory showed how serious its illness was.

”What conditions did it show before?” Zhang Xuan asked.

”It used to be extremely quiet and calm, but around half a month ago, its eyes suddenly turned red and it went on a rampage, biting everyone it could see. In the course of its rampage, it injured eight eunuchs and maids. Out of helplessness, I invited Guild Leader Lin here to help me trap it with a formation!”

Recalling the sight that day, Mo Tianxue couldn’t help but shudder in fear.

This was a Half-Zhizun realm savage beast. If it were to really go into a frenzy, even if he would be unable to stop it.

It was fortunate that the Gold-tailed Lion was still able to curb itself. Otherwise, half of the Shadow Squad would have probably died under its rampage.

”It suddenly went on a rampage?”

Zhang Xuan turned to examine the Gold-tailed Lion.

Even if it had aged and its physical functions were failing, it was very unlikely for such a powerful savage beast to suddenly fall ill and lose its rationality.

”That’s right. Even though the Gold-tailed Lion has a ferocious appearance, it is actually a rather gentle savage beast. Tamed by my ancestor, it has guarded the royal palace for more than two hundred years now. In this period of time, it has always been in a stable condition and it has never hurt anyone before. Thus, we are at a loss as to what kind of illness it is suffering from!”

Mo Tianxue continued, ”Back then, I invited Guild Leader Mu Hong to take a look at it, and he said that it was getting anxious because it’s reaching the end of its lifespan, and we had to find a way to placate it. After which, I found a few other physicians to diagnose the Gold-tailed Lion as well, but their diagnoses were around the same as Guild Leader Mu Hong’s. They said that it is impossible to treat this kind of illness, and the Gold-tailed Lion can only slowly recover through its own means! If it can survive through this ordeal, it might still be able to live for a longer period of time. If not, it would mean that it has come to the end of its time...”

”Furthermore, regardless of whether it is able to tide through this ordeal, three months is the limit on its lifespan. In other words... regardless of whether we were able to successfully treat its illness or not, it will die within three months. There’s no hope for it to achieve a complete recovery...”

”A limit of three months on its lifespan?”

Hearing those words, Zhang Xuan immediately immersed himself into the Library of Heaven’s Path and swiftly searched through the physician books for similar illnesses.

And just like what he expected... he wasn’t able to find a single useful thing on the matter.

Even though there were many different bizarre and rare illnesses recorded in those books, none of them seemed to fit the Gold-tailed Lion’s symptoms.

But Zhang Xuan had expected this as well. If it could be found in the books, Physician Mu Hong and the others would have already treated him long ago.

”Seems like I have to find some ways to collect more books...”

Zhang Xuan shook his head.

If he had collected sufficient books, he would surely have been able to find a corresponding illness record to the Gold-tailed Lion’s condition.

But since he failed to do so, this could only mean that the knowledge he had accumulated was still insufficient.

”Looks like I should find some time to collect the books of the Physician Guild...”

Even though Zhang Xuan had passed the physician examination and even became the guild leader, he hadn’t been to its library yet. Most of the books he had in the Library of Heaven’s Path came from the library in the Master Teacher Pavilion.

Even though the Master Teacher Pavilion’s library had books on most occupations, its collection in each specific fields was still unable to compare up to that in the corresponding guild.

”Guild Leader Liu, do you need to me to bring you Physician Mu Hong and the other physicians’ diagnoses so that you can study them?”

Seeing Zhang Xuan lowering his head in contemplation, Mo Tianxue asked.

”There’s no need...”

Zhang Xuan shook his hands.

Since they were unable to find the cause of the Gold-tailed Lion’s illness as well, their evaluation was no use to him.

”Then... Since the Gold-tailed Lion is sleeping, so you need me to wake it up so that you can better examine it?”

Usually, when a physician diagnosed a patient, the patient had to be conscious so that the physician could examine the latter’s movements and pose questions to better understand his condition. Given that the guardian beast was asleep, it was unlikely that Zhang Xuan would be able to discern anything of use to treat it.

Zhang Xuan quickly shook his head.

If the Gold-tailed Lion were to awake, he would need it to launch an attack before a book could be compiled on it. If it chose not to attack or attacked too quickly, the situation could prove to be very troublesome for him.

”I’ll go over there to take a better look...” Saying so, he started walking over to the massive savage beast.

”His cultivation might be lacking, but it is a fact that he solved all of the questions on the Wall of Dilemma. There should be no doubt regarding his medical skill. I should take a good look to see how he’ll cure the guardian beast...”

By the side, Grandmaster Lin Tao hurriedly turned his gaze to Guild Leader Liu upon seeing him walk forward.

As the vice guild leader of the Formation Master Guild, he was acquainted with quite a few physicians, so he was aware of the fundamentals in diagnosing a patient.

Asking questions, examining the skin tone, checking the breathing, listening to the heartbeat...

There were even some who checked their patient’s feces to determine the root of their illness.

Grandmaster Lin Tao was curious to see what method the person who broke the records of the Physician Guild would use.

Thus, he stared at Guild Leader Liu intently, not daring to blink at all for fear of missing out a single detail.

However, all he saw was that... the young man walking up to the savage beast, touching it, and then... returning with a bizarre expression.

”This... Just like that?”

Grandmaster Lin Tao was baffled.

---

Life Gate and Death Gate are concepts in Qi Men Dun Jia, an ancient Chinese divination technique.

Life Gate represents ‘the onset of Spring, when all life blooms after the harsh winter’, and it is viewed to be a symbol of prosperity.

Death Gate represents ‘the death of all beings in Autumn’.

(There are a total of Eight Gates but I won’t introduce them due to the complexity of it—the Eight Gates are only a small part of it. You can read it up on Wikipedia, but the information there is very limited)