Library of Heaven’s Path

Hong long!

As powerful as the Otherworldly Demon was, the orb wasn’t any weaker either. It revolved abruptly, seemingly trying to struggle free of the other party’s control. In the next moment, a deep blue flash of light surged into the heavens, and an explosion reverberated shortly after as countless streaks of lightning raged in the surroundings.

It was as if the lightning all around them was controlled by the orb.

”The orb is controlling the lightning in the surroundings? Could it be… the Lightning Elemental Orb?” Feng Xun narrowed his eyes at the sight, and he anxiously sent a telepathic message to Zhang Xuan.

”Lightning Elemental Orb?” Hearing that name, Zhang Xuan frowned deeply.

Having read all of the books in the Hongyuan Master Teacher Academy, he was rather well-versed with the names of various famous artifacts. However, he had never heard of the Lightning Elemental Orb before.

”It is a lightning attribute artifact. Just like how spirit stones harness spiritual energy, the Lightning Elemental Orb harnesses an immense amount of lightning energy. Once released, it could easily cause devastating damage, making it an extremely fearsome artifact,” Feng Xun explained apprehensively. A moment later, a doubtful look surfaced on his face as he added, ”But the Lightning Elemental Orb is only produced in areas where the Power of Lightning gathers in great amounts. In terms of rarity, it is probably even less commonly seen than a 9-star master teacher, making it an extremely elusive artifact. Why would it appear here?”

”That orb over there is that valuable?” Zhang Xuan was astonished.

He had never heard of the Lightning Elemental Orb before, so he didn’t know how valuable it was, but he did know how elusive 9-star master teachers were. Even taking the entire Master Teacher Continent into account, it would be hard to find more than a handful of them.

For the Lightning Elemental Orb to be as rare as 9-star master teachers, it was really way too scarce!

”Putting aside the fact that it wields the Power of Lightning, more importantly, what makes it extremely valuable is the fact that it is the ideal medium to serve as the core of any lightning attribute formations!” Feng Xun said. ”It wields a very similar function to a formation plate. Gaining possession of it is equivalent to taking control of a powerful formation, allowing one to call forth the great might harnessed within it anytime, anywhere!”

A thought suddenly flashed across Zhang Xuan’s mind, and he asked in astonishment, ”Wait… Does that mean that the field of lightning here is a formation too?”

”That must be the case. Despite the lack of a formation master controlling the formation, the field of lightning is still able to easily exert fearful might. Just by that in itself, we can verify that it is a grade-8 formation at the least. If the Stoneleaf King succeeds in taking control of the Lightning Elemental Orb, we will be placed in a very dangerous position. By then, even with Wu shi and Guild Leader Han’s might combined, we won’t be able to stand a chance against him!” Feng Xun exclaimed with a pale face.

”This…” Zhang Xuan’s body tensed up.

As one who had suffered the battering of the lightning, he knew very well how fearsome the formation was. Had it not been for his means as a soul oracle, he would not have been able to make his way through the field of lightning at all in the first place.

Furthermore, this was under the circumstances that the formation was still uncontrolled by anyone. Should the Stoneleaf King gain ownership of the formation and drive the Power of Lightning harnessed within it against them… there would be no one who could stand against him. They would all, most likely, lose their lives.

The sudden intensification of the lightning earlier must be a result of that fellow attempting to gain control of the Lightning Elemental Orb as well, thus causing a disturbance in the formation, Zhang Xuan thought grimly.

The Lightning Elemental Orb wielded the ability to control the massive lightning formation spread out across the area. Most likely, the Stoneleaf King’s attempt to gain control over the orb must have triggered its retaliation, resulting in the concentrated streaks of lightning falling from the sky earlier, nearly causing the death of the expedition team.

If even just the instinctive retaliation of the Lightning Elemental Orb was that powerful, the might that one could potentially wield from gaining full control over it was truly unimaginable.

With an awful complexion, Zhang Xuan discreetly communicated with the Violetleaf King in the Myriad Anthive Nest and swiftly received a clear answer—the towering Otherworldly Demon in front of him was indeed a member of the Upper Five Kings, the fourth ranked Stoneleaf King!

It was no wonder the other party dared to touch and attempt to manipulate an artifact as powerful as the Lightning Elemental Orb!

”We must stop him regardless of the cost! Otherwise, it will become nigh impossible to deal with him,” Feng Xun said with tightly-clenched fists.

He had witnessed the battle between Wu shi and the Stoneleaf King earlier, and the latter’s strength was truly formidable, such that even he wouldn’t be a match for the latter in his peak state. If the Stoneleaf King were to successfully gain control of the Lightning Elemental Orb on top of that, they wouldn’t stand a chance at all!

By then, their entire expedition team could very well end up being wiped out here.

”Indeed. He hasn’t succeeded yet, so we might still have time to stop him.” Understanding Feng Xun’s worries, Zhang Xuan nodded.

”Un.” Feng Xun nodded grimly. He was just about to propose a plan for them to act on when a warm blue glow abruptly burst forth from the Lightning Elemental Orb. The eye of the Stoneleaf King immediately lit up, and his hand swiftly reached forth to grab the orb.

Hula!

The orb began flying toward the Stoneleaf King’s hands.

”There’s no time, move!”

Seeing this sight, Feng Xun hurriedly flicked his wrist and whipped out a sword before disappearing in a flash. In the next moment, his sword was already right behind the Stoneleaf King’s heart, seemingly going to impale the latter’s chest.

In his view, the Stoneleaf King had already succeeded in taming the Lightning Elemental Orb. Once the orb fell into the other party’s hands, the other party would wield endless Power of Lightning. At that time, they would be utterly doomed.

”Hold on for a moment…”

On the other hand, Zhang Xuan was shocked to see Feng Xun charging forward without even discussing a plan with him. He hurriedly shouted while rushing forward, prepared to back Feng Xun up should the situation turn awry.

While the Stoneleaf King gaining possession over the Lightning Elemental Orb would put them at a greater disadvantage, it didn’t necessarily mean that things were completely hopeless for them. As long as they were to remain patient, they would surely find an opening in the other party that they could exploit to achieve victory.

Even if it was to stop the Earthleaf King from gaining possession of the Lightning Elemental Orb, rushing forward without a concrete plan in mind was just plain recklessness, and it would only place them in a worse position.

Hong long!

Feng Xun wasn’t a Thousand Men Commander of the Combat Master Hall for nothing. Having achieved Sword-Man Union, his blade was completely harmonized with his entire being. His sword pierced forward with astounding speed and might reminiscent of a falling comet, such that even a Saint 4-dan expert would not dare face his attack head-on.

”Hmm? You aren’t dead yet?”

On the other hand, the Stoneleaf King, who was in the midst of taming the Lightning Elemental Orb, suddenly felt a powerful killing intent behind him. Swiftly turning around, he saw Feng Xun, and his eyebrows shot up as he sneered, ”Imbeciles. You could have taken this opportunity to flee as far as you could, but you foolishly chose to challenge me head-on. Since you are so eager to seek death, I shall accede to your request!”

After saying those words, the Stoneleaf King didn’t bother to dodge. His right hand continued grasping firmly onto the Lightning Elemental Orb to tame it while his left hand burst forward with astounding might.

Hong long!

With a powerful blast of zhenqi, the Stoneleaf King’s left hand collided forcefully against Feng Xun’s stab, and as if a metal hammer crashing into a porcelain vase, Feng Xun’s sword shattered into innumerable fragments.

Peng!

The remaining force struck Feng Xun squarely in his chest, sending him crashing heavily onto the ground as blood spewed wildly from his mouth.

There was simply too huge a gap in strength between the two of them. With just a single strike, Feng Xun was sent flying.

He’s really strong! Zhang Xuan eyes narrowed in alarm.

He had encountered six of the Ten Great Kings, and most of them had ended up dying by his hand. Despite all of them being Saint 4-dan experts, there was a huge gap between them and the Stoneleaf King.

It was no wonder the Violetleaf King was so fearful of the Five Upper Kings, trembling non-stop upon hearing their names. They were indeed a force to be reckoned with.

However, regardless of how powerful the Stoneleaf King was, it was already too late for Zhang Xuan to back down at this point. He had no choice but to fight.

Wielding the Glacier Rain Sword in his hand, he flicked it in a beautiful arc before abruptly driving it forward with a powerful lunge.

It was similar to Feng Xun’s attack, just that… his target was not the Stoneleaf King but the Lightning Elemental Orb in the latter’s hand.

The most important matter at hand was to stop the other party from successfully taming the artifact. Considering the other party’s superior physical resilience, it was unlikely that any attack directed toward the other party would work in the short-term. On the other hand, perhaps if he were to direct his attack toward the Lightning Elemental Orb at this moment, there could be a chance that he would be able to catch the other party off guard and succeed.

Wuuuuuuuuu!

Zhang Xuan had devoted the entirety of his strength into this single lunge, pushing his physical strength, zhenqi, and soul energy to their limits. The sheer might behind the lunge caused space itself to moan under the immense pressure, as if it would be torn apart from it

This was probably the strongest sword art he had ever executed. It was on par even with Feng Xun’s previous attack.

”Humph, you think that such puny tricks will work against me?” Seeing through Zhang Xuan’s intent, the Stoneleaf King narrowed his eyes menacingly.

Without moving much, he raised two fingers and flicked it lightly.

Peng!

A sharp pain assaulted Zhang Xuan’s purlicue 1 , and the Glacier Rain Sword in his hand abruptly flew out of his grasp, stabbing into a wall not too far away. On the other hand, just like Feng Xun, Zhang Xuan was forcefully knocked to the ground.

It took a forceful push against the ground before he was able to regain his balance.

In that moment, grimness could be seen in his eyes.

The Stoneleaf King’s strength was more fearsome than he had thought. He had already used his full strength, but he had been unable to withstand even a simple flick from the other party.

Instead of advancing toward the Stoneleaf King once more, Zhang Xuan retreated slightly as he hurriedly immersed his consciousness into the Library of Heaven’s Path to check on the book compiled on the Stoneleaf King.

He had managed to force the other party to execute a battle technique in the clash earlier, thus allowing him to compile a book on the other party in the Library of Heaven’s Path.

”The Stoneleaf King is one of the Upper Five Kings of the Qingtian Ten Great Kings, and he possesses a cultivation of Saint 4-dan pinnacle. He has a particularly powerful physical body that grants him superior defense… Flaws: No.1, there is a lack of zhenqi in his glabella whenever he drives his cultivation technique. No.2, due to his inability to circulate zhenqi through his armpit, the region is soft and vulnerable…”

Soon, Zhang Xuan finished reading through the entire book. However, instead of being delighted, his complexion turned even more awful.

The Library of Heaven’s Path did list the Stoneleaf King’s openings, but the glabella and the armpits… Those were the most well-guarded of all places, making it nigh impossible to breach their defenses! On top of that, he had to get into close quarters with the Stoneleaf King in order to attack those locations, but the other party could easily knock him back before he could even get within two zhang 2 of the other party. It was completely useless knowing those flaws!

Boom!

Suddenly, a loud explosion sounded. Following which, the Stoneleaf King raised his left palm and smacked it down.

A massive palm print that covered a region stretching over several dozen meters covered the area above him and Feng Xun. Before the palm print could even fall on them, the immense pressure it exerted had already made their breathing hasten. With just one look, it was apparent that the palm strike was not something they could withstand with their current strength.

”This is really bad!”

Zhang Xuan hurriedly executed the Heaven’s Path Movement Art and dashed out.

Peng!

However, before he could get out of the area of the palm strike, an immense might struck his back forcefully, pushing him through eight walls consecutively before he finally came to a halt. Yet another mouthful of fresh blood spewed from his mouth.

Zhang Xuan struggled to his feet with a mix of shock and relief in his eyes.

It was fortunate that he had cultivated his physical body earlier, or else the palm strike could have landed a fatal blow on him.

Even though he had cultivated the Saint Ascension Decipher and had made significant advancements in his physical body cultivation and soul cultivation recently, he was still too far off from matching up to the strength of a true Saint 4-dan expert. Four realms of difference in cultivation was simply too huge of a gap to be bridged.

Where is Feng Xun? Zhang Xuan anxiously scanned his surroundings before seeing Feng Xun climbing out from some nearby rubble in an unkempt state.

The other party’s face was pale, and the front of his clothes had been dyed crimson with blood.

Clearly, the other party had suffered far severer wounds than he had.

While Feng Xun’s fighting prowess was above Zhang Xuan’s, his ability to flee in desperate situations seemed to be slightly lacking. Unable to get away in time, he ended up suffering a huge proportion of the palm strike’s might. Were it not for his superior physical body, zhenqi, and soul as a combat master, he could very well have died from the strike.

Even so, his entire body had become limp from the strike. Multiple bones had shattered due to the powerful impact, rendering him incapable of movement.

”This is the end!”

While continuing to tame the Lightning Elemental Orb with his right hand, the Stoneleaf King’s left palm struck once more.

His movements seemed light and flimsy, seemingly devoid of strength, but Zhang Xuan knew that should the palm strike land, Feng Xun would die without fail. Thus, he hurriedly charged toward Feng Xun in an attempt to save the latter.

Despite the previous conflict between the both of them, they were comrades working toward the same goal at the moment. He couldn’t just watch the other party die before his eyes.

Huala!

Driving his Heaven’s Path Movement Art to its very limits, he appeared before Feng Xun in the blink of an eye. He hurriedly grabbed the latter and attempted to flee from the spot, but in that moment, he realized that it was already too late. The Stoneleaf King’s palm was already right above him.

Vicious! Zhang Xuan bellowed in his mind, and in the next moment, powerful killing intent abruptly burst forth from his body.

Even though Vicious’ killing intent wasn’t too effective on fellow Otherworldly Demons, it could still disrupt the other party’s attack for a short moment, thus possibly winning them some time to flee.

As Zhang Xuan had expected, upon feeling the powerful killing intent emanated by the young man before him, the Stoneleaf King was stunned momentarily. His palm strike also hesitated for an instant.

Hu!

In the brief moment he had bought for himself, Zhang Xuan successfully pulled Feng Xun out of the palm strike’s area of attack.