Library of Heaven’s Path

In the end, Zhang Xuan gave up on the idea.

The sanctity of lineages had to be upheld. Since Feng Ziyi was Yang shi’s direct disciple, it would be inappropriate for him to take the young man in as his student.

It seemed like he would have to search carefully for suitable individuals to take in as his student in the future.

Considering how powerful the golden page was, it would be best for him to collect as many of it as possible.

If he were to have a few hundred golden pages in the Library of Heaven’s Path, he just might be able to defeat all of the Ancient Sages of the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe single-handedly!

Wait a moment… Kong shi had three thousand students, right? Could his reason for taking so many students be for this as well? Such a thought suddenly came to Zhang Xuan’s mind.

Kong shi only had 72 direct disciples, but he had over three thousand normal students. Could it be possible that Kong shi had the Library of Heaven’s Path as well, and the reason why he took in so many students was to form as many golden pages as possible?

Perhaps, he might have even defeated Vicious by tossing golden pages at him as if they were nothing, forcefully smashing him into meat paste!

It was one thing to be defeated by a powerful expert, but to be defeated under a barrage of books… Well, Vicious would have really suffered the most tragic defeat in history!

I should look more into Kong shi’s affairs in the future and see if he has a history of using books as his weapon. That should give me a clue as to whether he possesses the Library of Heaven’s Path as well…

In the end, this was only Zhang Xuan’s hypothesis at the moment. He needed to look further into it to know for sure.

Putting those miscellaneous thoughts at the back of his mind, Zhang Xuan focused his attention on deciphering the crux of the manual to Jiang Feifei and clarifying her doubts. By the time she had fully grasped the manual, it was already late at night.

There’s still some time before sunrise. Let me see if I can advance my soul cultivation so the Aureate Body realm! Knowing that it was still rather early, Zhang Xuan exhaled deeply before standing up.

The main reason why he came to the Jiang Clan was to temper his soul so that he could enter the Otherworldly Demon Ancient Sage corpse. Since he had already gathered the Introspective Convalescence realm and the Aureate Body realm Heaven’s Path Soul Art, and he had the required cultivation resources on hand too, it would be good for him to make a breakthrough as soon as possible.

Zhang Xuan had Jiang Fangyou prepare a silent residence for him. He entered the cultivation chamber of the residence and sat down. After which, he drew his Primordial Spirit out from his body and began conditioning himself.

Alright, I should start!

Once he felt that his condition had reached its peak, he flicked his hand, and the spiritual energy-rich cultivation resources he had taken with permission from the Jiang Clan’s treasure vault earlier fell all over the ground, emanating an invigorating aura.

Gugugu!

Spiritual energy began surging into Zhang Xuan’s Primordial Spirit furiously.

His aura was growing stronger at a visible pace, and within a tea’s time, he had already reached the very peak of Introspective Convalescence realm, seemingly ready to make the final step forward at any moment.

Thus, he attempted to make a breakthrough. However, after a few attempts, he found that the bottleneck limiting him was a little too resilient.

Zhang Xuan analyzed with a frown, It might be because I have just achieved a breakthrough to Introspective Convalescence realm and have yet to fully reinforce my soul cultivation yet, so my soul energy hasn’t been fully condensed together yet…

It had been less than half a day since he had reached Introspective Convalescence realm, so his soul energy hadn’t fully settled down yet. He could attempt to force a breakthrough right now, but even if he were to succeed, this weaker foundation would surely come to haunt him in the future.

The difficulty in advancing his cultivation had already gotten much harder ever since he reached Great Sage. He had no wish to further up the difficulty for himself.

But still, will I really have to spend two to three days just to reinforce my soul cultivation? Zhang Xuan rubbed his temple in distress.

Two to three days just to reinforce a cultivation realm… That was too slow, too slow!

With the perilous circumstances around him, he had to raise his cultivation as soon as possible.

Otherwise, even with a weapon as powerful as the Dragonbone Divine Spear, he would still be unable to exert his full strength.

“If there’s something I could use to compress my soul energy together, I would be able to do it much faster…” At this point in time, a spark flashed across Zhang Xuan’s mind as his eyes lit up in excitement. “Right, the Seal of Souls!”

Without using the Soul Quintessence, the pressure the Seal of Souls could exert on his Primordial Spirit was immense, unbearable even.

If he had to reinforce his soul cultivation alone, the rate which he would improve at was extremely slow. Without at least three days of effort, it would be difficult for him to fully reinforce the foundations for Introspective Convalescence realm. However, through using the pressure of the Seal of Souls, the process could be sped up significantly. Perhaps, he might even be able to finish the task by tonight!

“Go!”

With a flick of his hand, a seal materialized at the center of the room.

As soon as it appeared, Zhang Xuan immediately felt intense pressure crushing down on him. It felt as if his Primordial Spirit would be compressed infinitesimally under the pressure.

Without driving the Soul Quintessence, he slowly approached the Seal of Souls with his Primordial Spirit.

Tzzzzzzz!

As if approaching a scorching inferno, his Primordial Spirit began corroding under the immense pressure, seemingly on the verge of dissipation.

Heaven’s Path Soul Art!

Harrumphing coldly, he began driving the Heaven’s Path Soul Art, and his dissipating Primordial Spirit slowly began to stabilize.

This was similar to how he had used the pressure from the Dragonbone Divine Spear back then to temper his Primordial Spirit.

The theory behind Introspective Convalescence realm for soul cultivation was similar to that for zhenqi cultivation. It focused on altering the basic underlying structure of a soul so as to make it more resilient and powerful.

With the pressure, his soul energy swiftly condensed together, making his Primordial Spirit more and more compact and powerful. A vague golden glow was beginning to emanate from the surface of his Primordial Spirit, a sign that he was steadily advancing toward a breakthrough to the Aureate Body realm.

Is this the Aureate Body realm?

Noticing the golden glow from his Primordial Spirit, Zhang Xuan quickly inspected on the changes and found that the parts of his soul shrouded in golden glow was much more resilient as compared to the others.

Resilient was a word rarely used to describe intangible and formless souls. However, after being suffused with the golden glow, the resilience of his soul had astonishingly surpassed the level of Saint pinnacle artifacts.

“Incredible!”

Zhang Xuan remarked with an excited gleam in his eyes as he continued to temper his Primordial Spirit using the pressure from the Seal of Souls.

Four hours later, he finally came to a halt

After a tough session of cultivation, his Primordial Spirit, which had become a little bloated after reaching Introspective Convalescence realm, had been fully compacted once more. At the same time, his disposition had undergone yet another change. From afar, he gave off a fleeting presence, similar to that of an unworldly deity.

There was a fine line between Great Sage and Sainthood. Traversing beyond this fine line meant a metamorphosis in one’s level of existence.

At this moment, Zhang Xuan’s Primordial Spirit was streaked with golden lines. If he were to drive his prowess to its maximum potential, a brilliant burst of golden light would shine from him, giving him an appearance reminiscent to that of a Buddha.

“Continue!”

Knowing that he had already reinforced his soul cultivation to its limits, he kept the Seal of Souls and began furiously absorbing spiritual energy into his Primordial Spirit once more. Similarly, his soul cultivation also began advancing for greater heights too.

Hong long!

There was a resounding buzz as the bottleneck limiting him and shredded apart. The golden lines streaking across his Primordial Spirit melted and shrouded his entire soul, giving off a golden glow that filled the entire room.

Aureate Body realm, reached!

“This is truly formidable…” Sensing the changes in his Primordial Spirit, Zhang Xuan trembled in excitement.

At his current level, he could execute Soul Traverse freely without fear that his Primordial Spirit would be harmed as a result of squeezing through space.

It seems like Lu Chong has reached Aureate Body realm as well… Zhang Xuan thought awkwardly.

It had always bothered him how his students were able to advance their cultivation faster than him. While it could be partially credited to their unique constitutions and the resources they had at their disposal, it still left him feeling deeply frustrated.

Hong long long!

Just as Zhang Xuan’s mind was wandering, thunderous rumbling suddenly echoed outside the room. Heading outside, he saw storm clouds congregating above the Jiang Clan. Overwhelming energy was swiftly gathering in the vicinity.

“Lightning tribulation? Achieving a breakthrough in one’s soul cultivation to Aureate Body realm would induce a lightning tribulation too?” Zhang Xuan’s eyebrows shot up in astonishment.

However, in the next moment, the Dragonbone Divine Spear wrapped around his waist suddenly exclaimed, “It isn’t a lightning tribulation but a heavenly flame tribulation! Lightning tribulation served to temper one’s Primordial Spirit whereas heavenly flame tempers the Aureate Body!”

“Heavenly flame tribulation?”

Zhang Xuan was startled for an instant before his face flushed in excitement, “Wait a moment… Doesn’t that mean that I would be able to resolve the Innate Fetal Poison in advance?”