Library of Heaven’s Path

Walking into the Compendium Hall, Zhang Xuan shook his head helplessly.

It was not that he wanted to disguise himself as the founder of the Poison Hall, but the situation back then had left him with no other choice.

If he hadn’t said that, Elder Xu might very well have lost his life. At the same time, he would have also fallen out completely with the Poison Hall, never to reconcile with one another. While it was wrong for him to have fooled the other party like that, at the very least, he did manage to resolve the problem perfectly. Not only so, he had even been given access to the Compendium Hall as well.

Speaking of disguising as the founder of the Poison Hall, it was really fortunate he had the Violetleaf King’s Button of Disguise with him.

It was due to such an artifact that he had been able to disguise Vicious’ powerful killing intent as the aura of a powerful human, making Ruo Qingyuan and the others not dare to doubt him. Otherwise, everyone would immediately have realized that Vicious was an Otherworldly Demon, and instead of instilling deference into them, he would only have further worsened the conflict.

However, the effects of the Button of Disguise were still rather lacking as compared to that of Kong shi’s writing. It was sufficient to fool a poison master, but it would have been hard to do the same before the discerning eyes of a master teacher.

But still, they will probably figure it out soon enough. I should quickly finish reading through my books first!

While Zhang Xuan did manage to scare the others for the time being, there were many parts of his story that didn’t make sense if one were to think deeper into it. The urgent matter at hand was for him to quickly finish reading the books. As soon as he found a way to resolve Wei Ruyan’s condition, he would be able to leave the Poison Hall. This way, the matter could be resolved entirely.

With such thoughts in mind, Zhang Xuan proceeded on to the fourth floor without any hesitation.

The books on this floor was clearly fewer than that in the third floor. However, the content harnessed within them was far more profound, reaching the level of a 4-star poison master and beyond.

Scanning his gaze over the rows of bookshelves, Zhang Xuan collected the books into his Library of Heaven’s Path and converted them into his own knowledge. The more books he collected, the deeper his understanding of poison became.

Within less than two hours, he finished reading through everything on that floor. Thus, he moved on to the fifth floor.

The books on the fifth floor was targeted toward 5-star poison masters, and the number of books was significantly smaller than that of the previous floor once more. Within less than an hour, Zhang Xuan had already managed to collect everything in the room.

Still nothing at all?

After scanning through the books on the fifth floor but still finding no useful news regarding the Innate Poison Body, Zhang Xuan couldn’t help but panic.

There were only seven floors to the Compendium Hall, and being at the fifth, he had already covered more than half of the knowledge harnessed in there. Yet, there was still no clue whatsoever. Could it be that the solution to the Innate Poison Body couldn’t be found here either?

If that was the case, it would truly be a calamity!

While Wei Ruyan’s condition was still stable at the moment, there was no knowing if she could hold on long enough for Zhang Xuan to take her to a higher ranked Poison Hall.

Knowing that it was pointless to panic, Zhang Xuan rubbed his glabella in distress before moving on. Forget it, I should just continue for now. If there is still nothing after I go through the last two floors, I will just have to think of another solution.

The books on the sixth floor numbered less than ten thousand. Zhang Xuan walked slowly along the bookshelves, taking in everything in sight. Just as he had finally finished taking everything in and was just about to head to the next floor, ’jiya!’, the door to the room abruptly opened, and a figure walked in.

The other party was an old man who seemed to be in his sixties. He had a snowy white beard and wrinkly face, but his eyes had a sharp glint, reminiscent of an eagle. His clothes were plain and unimpressive, and he didn’t don a poison master emblem on his chest, making it impossible to determine his rank.

Shaking his head, Zhang Xuan paid the other party no heed and headed straight for the stairs toward the seventh floor. At that moment, however, Zhang Xuan abruptly heard Vicious’ voice in his mind.

”Master, that person is even stronger than Ruo Qingyuan. His cultivation has most likely reached Saint 4-dan…”

”Saint 4-dan? A 7-star poison master?” Zhang Xuan was taken aback.

Wasn’t the strongest man in the Hongyuan Empire Poison Hall Ruo Qingyuan? Considering that Ruo Qingyuan was only at Saint 3-dan himself, where in the world did this Saint 4-dan pop out from?

At Saint 4-dan, the other party possessed might that was comparable to the Violetleaf King!

”That’s right. He might have concealed his cultivation well, but there is no way he can fool my eyes!” Vicious said discreetly.

After swallowing the Primordial Spirit of the Waterleaf King, Vicious had recovered yet another portion of his cultivation, allowing him to see through the old man without the other party noticing his presence.

Frowning deeply, Zhang Xuan suddenly felt extremely wary of the old man before him. For a Saint 4-dan to walk in here abruptly… What is he up to?

Zhang Xuan was considering whether or not he should toss the Violetleaf King and Otherworldly Demon puppets out to take the initiative and preemptively subdue the other party when he suddenly thought of something, and he came to a halt.

For an expert of the other party’s caliber to appear here, there was no way the other party was here to read books or to roam around. No doubt about it, the other party was here to find him.

The reason the other party walked around the area instead of making a move on him directly showed that the other party wasn’t intending on provoking him. Instead, the other party was trying to sound him out, possibly out of doubt of what he had just said!

If the other party was only attempting to sound him out, there would be no need for him to bring the Violetleaf King out. Otherwise, if he created a huge ruckus, he would only undo all the effort he had just put into appeasing the Poison Hall. On top of that, if the books on the seventh floor were to be destroyed in the midst of the fight, he would only be making things even more difficult for himself.

A Saint 4-dan expert has already forged his Primordial Spirit, so it won’t be that easy for me to fool him…

Naturally, it would be best if Zhang Xuan could resolve this issue silently. However, there was no way fooling an expert as powerful as the other party could be an easy task.

His claim that he possessed the Poison Soul Constitution was backed by the fact that he had been able to survive the Emerald Serenity Jaundice Poison, making Ruo Qingyuan and the others unable to doubt him. However, such a trick wouldn’t work on a Primordial Spirit realm expert.

One who possessed a Primordial Spirit could peer into the soul of another directly to assess it. Zhang Xuan had only gained considerable immunity to poison due to the exchange of soul essence with Wei Ruyan; he didn’t possess the real Poison Soul Constitution. Thus, if the other party were to check his soul, it was very possible that he could be exposed!

Thus, the most important matter at hand was for him to prevent the other party from checking his Primordial Soul!

But how could this be done?

…

While Zhang Xuan was in deep thought, the old man was also assessing him with a deep gaze.

The middle-aged man in front of him was indeed only a Nascent Saint cultivator. There was nothing particularly special about him, and his appearance was also so-so, perhaps looking a little repulsive even.

It was truly a wonder to him how Ruo Qingyuan and the others had been fooled so easily, entirely convinced that the other party carried the soul of the founder within him.

Just as the old man was just about to speak, the fellow before him abruptly rushed forward, heading toward a shelf of books.

”Hmm?” The old man frowned.

Could it be that the other party had noticed that he was concealing his cultivation, and feeling threatened, he was trying to escape as far as he could?

If that was the case, it would truly be a disaster!

Furthermore, judging from the speed, if the other party were to really crash into the shelf, the books might just be utterly destroyed under the impact!

Those books were the crystallization of the knowledge of countless preceding poison masters in the Poison Hall, so how could he allow them to be destroyed before his eyes?

With a grim look, the old man drove his cultivation as he rushed forward, preparing to grab the other party to stop him. However, the other party abruptly came to a halt right before the bookshelf. The next moment, he sat down on the floor and began meditating, seemingly going into a state of cultivation.

Cultivation?

The old man was bewildered.

It was just a moment ago that the other party had rushed forward as if a lunatic, seemingly intent on destroying the books before him. Yet, the next moment, he had abruptly sat down to cultivate? How could a person be so fickle-minded?

The old man was Poison Master Bai Ting from the headquarters. After learning that the person who had impersonated the founder was currently in the Compendium Hall, he had ordered Ruo Qingyuan and the others to guard outside while he made his way in alone.

Just as he was thinking about how he should sound the fellow sitting on the floor out, a calm voice suddenly came from the other party.

”What do you see?”

Bewildered by the sudden words, Poison Master Bai glanced either side of him, and after confirming that there was no one else around, he confusedly pointed a finger at himself and asked, ”Are you talking to me?”

The middle-aged man before him nodded.

Uncomprehending of what the other party was driving at, Poison Master Bai hesitated for a moment before replying. ”Other than books, I don’t think that there is anything else here?”

They were in the Compendium Hall, so naturally, there were only books and bookshelves around them. What other answer was the other party expecting to hear?

The middle-aged man before him sighed woefully, seemingly disappointed by the answer he had received. ”I thought that a 7-star pinnacle poison master, a Saint 4-dan cultivator, might have a different view than the others. But from the looks of it… you are no different from them.”

”Y-y-you… You can see through my cultivation?” Poison Master Bai narrowed his eyes in shock, unable to believe what he was hearing.

He had concealed his cultivation, and he hadn’t brought his emblem with him either. On the surface, he was no different from an ordinary 6-star poison master. Yet, the other party was able to see through him despite having his back against him… This was truly a little hard for him to believe.

”Merely Saint 4-dan, what is there not to see through?” Harrumphing coldly, the middle-aged man ’looked’ at the bookshelves before him with his eyes closed and said meaningfully, ”These aren’t books but knowledge. However, it is a pity that the writers have twisted my heritage into something so unseemly.”

”Your heritage?” Poison Master Bai frowned.

”Un.” The middle-aged man nodded lightly before sighing deeply once more. ”Do you know why you are unable to achieve a breakthrough despite having remained at 7-star pinnacle for so long? The Starweaving Art is indeed a powerful cultivation technique, but it is a pity that an accident you made in the midst of concocting poison has resulted in the complete sealing of one of the Yuanshen acupoints. As a result, you aren’t able to knock it open no matter how you try. Truly, a pity.”

”Y-you… know that I cultivate the Starweaving Art?” Poison Master Bai’s body stiffened in astonishment.

He had come here to sound the other party out, but, before he could say a word, the other party had already uncovered his secrets. It was no wonder he was horrified.

The Starweaving Art that he cultivated had been created by an 8-star poison master. Back when he was younger, he had obtained it coincidentally during a mission. He had thought that with such a powerful cultivation technique in hand, he would surely be able to advance to become an 8-star poison master very soon; he had never thought that he would end up being trapped at 7-star pinnacle for several centuries.

As for the reason he was unable to make an advancement even after such a long time, it was exactly as the other party had said. A mistake he had made in the midst of concocting poison had ended up harming his foundation, resulting in his Yuanshen acupoint being sealed. No matter how hard he tried to break it open, it simply wouldn’t budge.

It didn’t work even when he was younger, and to date, he was only a hundred years or so away from the end of his lifespan. Most likely, a breakthrough in his lifetime was impossible!

This was something that he had hidden deep within his heart, never sharing it with anyone. Even Poison Master Hai, the other envoy who had accompanied him here, wasn’t aware of it. Yet, the middle-aged man before him was actually able to see through it in an instant.

Such an eye of discernment… Could the other party really be the founder?

After all, not even an 8-star poison master possessed such sharp eyes!

”The core of the Starweaving Art lies in its breathing technique. Breathing reminiscent of weaving, guided by the stars. With the poison serving as the nourishment and the stars as the medium, the intent is to weave one’s zhenqi through one’s body like a thread. Yet, you chose to scatter the thread across your entire body, eventually resulting in the sealing of your Yuanshen acupoint… It will truly be a miracle if you successfully achieve a breakthrough!” Shaking his head in disappointment, the middle-aged man sighed deeply, seemingly lamenting over the mistakes made by a junior who had gone astray.

”I…” With cold sweat trickling down his head, Poison Master Bai was at a loss for words.

To be able to tell the problems in his cultivation with a glance and point out the core of the Starweaving Technique…

This was no longer something that could be explained with just eye of discernment! One had to have an inconceivably deep understanding of the Way of Poison in order to achieve this!

Even the hall master of the branch he was in was incapable of achieving this feat!

Paying no heed to the other party’s shock, the middle-aged man continued. ”There is no need to get anxious. Truthfully, despite the failure in the concoction of your poison and your mistaken interpretation of your cultivation technique, your Yuanshen acupoint still shouldn’t have been sealed so tightly. If I am not mistaken, the reason your cultivation has stagnated entirely is due to a betrayal from someone, am I right?”

”You…” In that instant, Poison Master Bai’s eyes nearly plopped onto the ground. Unable to retain his composure and bearings as a 7-star poison master any longer, he stuttered, ”H-how did you know?”