Chapter 1032

Chapter 1032: Great Heaven Reversal Formation

 

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

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That force was powerful and ferocious. Reminiscent of a rampaging tsunami, before Zhang Xuan could do anything, it was already right before him.

He hurriedly turned around to flee, but right when he was about to do so, the ferocious energy tore a line right through the lava, and at the very end, rows after rows of buildings came into sight. In that moment, Zhang Xuan felt as if he was seeing a mirage.

It is indeed below the lava. Barely after this thought surfaced in Zhang Xuan’s mind, he felt an overwhelming force crushing down on him. Unable to withstand it, he ended up tumbling his way up.

Hong long!

Following which, he saw the Golden Origin Cauldron, swept by the immense force, blasting forcefully out of the lava, striking heavily onto the seal. A resounding chime reverberated in the air.

It was fortunate that the fellow had advanced to Saint intermediate-tier earlier, and he had released the accumulated energies beforehand. Otherwise, this single strike could have killed both the Golden Origin Cauldron and his body within.

“Principal Zhang!”

“Zhang shi!”

“Senior Uncle!”

Seeing the Golden Origin Cauldron being knocked out by the violent spurt of lava, the crowd that had been waiting outside for Zhang Xuan leaped in shock. They hurriedly rushed toward the Golden Origin Cauldron to check on their condition.

This is bad! Zhang Xuan’s eyes narrowed in alarm.

Only his physical body was in the cauldron at the moment. If he attempted to return under such conditions, the master teachers, with their superior eyes of discernment, would surely notice that he was a soul oracle. Once that happened, he would be in deep trouble!

If it was discovered that the esteemed principal of the Hongyuan Master Teacher Academy practiced the arts of the heinous soul oracles, how would others view him?

But if his soul didn’t return to his body, his body would remain cold and lifeless, no different from a corpse. If those fellows thought that he had died and attempt to cremate him… it would be too late for tears then!

To make matters worse, his body possessed the ability of Mind of Void. It would react instinctively before danger, so if any of them tried to cremate him, his body would immediately move to stop them. If his body were to end up killing a couple of them in that state…

Zhang Xuan’s head was already hurting just from thinking of it.

Anxious, he was considering if he should just try his luck and charge out of the lava. Perhaps, he might be able to return to his body before anyone noticed him. However, in the end, he changed his mind and sent a telepathic message to the Golden Origin Cauldron instead.

Wu shi and Guild Leader Han were Saint 4-dan Primordial Spirit realm experts. With a sweep of their Spiritual Perception, they would immediately notice the peculiar nature of his soul. Given so, the best and safest solution at hand was to have the Golden Origin Cauldron return to the lava.

“Ding Ding, come back!”

“No way, it’s too dangerous down there…” The Golden Origin Cauldron shivered in fear.

You must be joking! Just staying down there for a few minutes nearly made my magnificent body shatter into bits. There is no way I am going to be so foolish as to go down once more to commit suicide.

On the other hand, seeing how a weapon cauldron was actually so fearful of death, Zhang Xuan felt so enraged that his lungs could burst from sheer fury.

What the heck is this? There are so many humans here who don’t fear death, and yet, a Saint artifact like you ended up being the one who treats your life most precious.

Zhang Xuan was rendered speechless.

“As long as you come here, I will find a way to raise your cultivation to Leaving Aperture realm!” Left with no choice, Zhang Xuan could only attempt to lure it in with benefits.

While the Golden Origin Cauldron was fearful of death, it did have unquestionable loyalty to him. At times like this, if he could blind its fear with greed, it would be willing to do as he said.

“Leaving Aperture realm? Really?” The Golden Origin Cauldron leaped up in excitement.

There was a significant difference between the Leaving Aperture realm of Saint-tier artifacts and that of humans. While humans gained the ability to draw out their Primordial Spirit and exert overwhelming might, Saint-tier artifacts would have their spirits refined to a level comparable to Primordial Spirits. While its spirit would still be unable to leave its body and travel freely, it would gain the ability to control its form and sprout arms and legs.

Well, the sight of it was indeed rather bizarre and hideous, but nevertheless, it was a huge evolution for Saint-tier artifacts, a step toward them becoming independent beings.

“Don’t worry, I always mean what I say!” Zhang Xuan said.

Raising the cultivation of a Saint-tier artifact wasn’t easy, but it wasn’t entirely impossible. He still had the Black Goldcrystal Ore that he had obtained from the treasure left behind by Wu Yangzi. As long as he could fuse it into the Golden Origin Cauldron’s body, he should be able to raise its cultivation further.

However, there were great difficulties in doing so as well. He would have to melt the Black Goldcrystal Ore entirely in order to fuse it perfectly with the Golden Origin Cauldron, but ordinary earth flames weren’t capable of doing so. It was unknown if even the lava deeper beneath would be sufficient to do the job.

“Alright then!” Receiving Zhang Xuan’s word, the Golden Origin Cauldron dived back into the lava with a piercing shrill before the other master teachers could surround it.

“This…” Seeing how the Golden Origin Cauldron was moving around boisterously, charging back into the lava right after being blasted out of it a moment ago, they couldn’t help but fall into a daze.

Putong!

After the Golden Origin Cauldron entered the lava, Zhang Xuan hurriedly slipped back into his body before flying out of the cauldron to appear before everyone else.

“Zhang shi, are you fine?” the crowd asked worriedly.

“I’m alright!” Zhang Xuan shook his head. “When venturing below earlier, I saw quite a few buildings below. If I am not mistaken, the ancient domain is really right beneath there!”

“How deep is it?” Wu shi asked.

“This…” After a moment of thought, Zhang Xuan replied, “I am not too sure, but I estimate it to be around a hundred meters deep!”

Even though he had only caught a glimpse of it, it wasn’t too difficult for him to estimate a distance with his sharp eye of discernment.

“A hundred meters?” The faces of the crowd warped in horror.

Wu shi had nearly died from trying to dive forty meters deep; a hundred meters was clearly an impossible mission for them!

If that was where the ancient domain truly was, then it made no difference to them at all, since there was no way they were going to be able to access it.

“Do you have any idea how we can reach it?” Wu shi asked Guild Leader Han, only to see the latter shaking his head with a bitter smile.

Even he had no way of venturing a hundred meters deep into the ancient domain.

At this moment, Zhang Xuan spoke hesitantly. “I do have an idea in mind…”

“Oh?” Many pairs of eyes immediately gathered on him.

“That lava spurt earlier is extremely powerful. At its full force, it is capable of parting the lava, creating a temporary passageway that we can pass through. That was also how I managed to see the buildings below as well. We could make use of this passageway to slip into the ancient domain!” Zhang Xuan said.

The passageway only opened up for a brief moment, but as long as they made ample preparations beforehand and charged in swiftly, it was entirely possible for them to pass through it!

“It is not a bad idea, but… I fear that it might be unfeasible!”

“Indeed! Just think of how powerful the lava spurt was; even the Golden Origin Cauldron was knocked out of it. To attempt to travel against that overwhelming force… that is an impossible feat!”

Guild Leader Han and Wu shi glanced at one another and shook their heads.

The idea was not bad, possibly the best one they had so far, but it was a pity that it couldn’t possibly be executed.

In the face of the powerful surge of energies from beneath, they would already be considered lucky if they weren’t torn to shreds from facing it head on. To attempt to travel a distance of a hundred meters against it… that was clearly an impossible feat.

Taking a step back, even if it was possible, it was likely to take up considerable time. If the lava were to cave in on them while they were in the midst of traveling downwards, they would, without the slightest doubt, die there and then.

“You are right in saying that traveling against that burst of energies is nearly impossible… However, what if we were to follow the burst of energies instead?” Zhang Xuan asked.

“Follow the burst of energies?” The crowd couldn’t comprehend what Zhang Xuan was driving at.

That burst of energies originated from the depths of the lava, and it was headed up toward the seal. How were they supposed to follow the burst of energies down when they were traveling in the opposite direction?

Abruptly coming to a realization, Guild Leader Han asked, “Does Principal Zhang mean to gather the energy from the burst of energies through a unique formation and rebound it downward?”

“Indeed.” Zhang Xuan nodded.

Guild Leader Han frowned. “But… that poses its dangers as well. Given how powerful that burst of energies is, if we fail to gather it well, it could very well result in a devastating explosion.”

“Gather the energy from the burst of powers through a unique formation?”

“Rebound it downward?”

Hearing the conversation between the two, the crowd finally understood what was going on, and grim expressions surfaced on their faces.

They had witnessed the might of the burst of energies from the lava with their own eyes; it was overwhelmingly powerful. To gather it together and redirect it downward into the lava… it would be fine if they succeeded, but if they failed, considering the volatility of the energies contained within the burst, it could very well lead to a devastating explosion that would kill them on the spot.

“Do you have any other ideas then?” Zhang Xuan asked.

“I…” Guild Leader Han froze.

Considering that the lava was at least a hundred meters deep, there was indeed no easy way they could bypass it. The idea proposed by Principal Zhang could very well be the best one they had.

“The seal has already closed, so we can’t back out anymore. If we fail to enter the ancient domain, death is the only possible outcome. Since we are already cornered as it is, why don’t we take a gamble?” Zhang Xuan said.

The crowd nodded in agreement.

There were no other alternatives; they could only give it a try. They wouldn’t last long if they didn’t do anything.

“What do we do then?”

Having joined the expedition knowing that they might very well face death, it didn’t take long for the group to make up their minds after some discussion. They hurriedly turned their gazes toward Zhang Xuan for instructions.

“Simple. Firstly, I need all of the grade-7 formation flags that you have. After that, pay close attention to my commands and move when I tell you to. We will be entering the Golden Origin Cauldron and charging through the lava pool in it,” Zhang Xuan said.

As a Saint-tier artifact, the Golden Origin Cauldron was capable of expanding its size to a certain limit. At its largest, it could easily house thirty men without its insides getting too cramped.

Considering how there was a significant disparity in the flying speed of the expedition members, it would be best for all of them to advance together within the Golden Origin Cauldron instead. Firstly, it would be safer. Secondly, they would be able to travel faster this way as well.

“Alright!” Hearing the arrangements, everyone nodded in agreement.

There were quite a few grade-7 formation flags among the expedition members, especially with Guild Leader Han. All in all, Zhang Xuan gathered roughly five hundred formation flags, and he couldn’t help but nod in satisfaction.

It would probably be enough with so many of them.

The most important matter at hand was to find out how he could set up a formation that was capable of gathering and harnessing rampaging energies within it.

Considering the strength of the rampaging energies, the grade of the formation could not be too low. To be safe, the minimum requirement for it was grade-7 pinnacle.

“Guild Leader Han, you are the head of the Qingyuan Conferred Empire Formation Master Guild. Do you happen to have any formation books and blueprints on you?” Zhang Xuan asked.

“Formation books and blueprints? I do have quite a few of them.” Guild Leader Han couldn’t help but be taken aback by Zhang Xuan’s request.

They were already going to set up the formation, so why was the other party suddenly asking him for books at this moment?

“I need to borrow them for a moment.” Then, Zhang Xuan turned to the crowd and said, “If anyone else has any books regarding formation, pass them over to me as well. The formation that I am going to set up later will determine our life and death, so I dare not take it lightly. Thus, I hope to do some last-minute reading in hopes of heightening the chances of success!”

“Alright!” Knowing the importance of the matter, the other master teachers hurriedly took out all of the books regarding formations that they had on them and passed them over.

As expected of the head of a Formation Master Guild, Han Xu did have a lot of books on him. Just the number of 7-star formation master books that he alone possessed was more than several thousand. Paired with those from the others, there were around ten thousand of them in total.

Zhang Xuan swiftly scanned through the books with his eyes, collecting them into the Library of Heaven’s Path and compiling them to form a Heaven’s Path Formation Art.

While his consciousness was immersed within the Library of Heaven’s Path, trying to take in the vast knowledge contained in the 7-star Heaven’s Path Formation Art, his body was flipping through those books one after another, acting as if he was studying them carefully.

Two hours later, he had finally succeeded in internalizing the 7-star Heaven’s Path Formation Art.

“Alright, I am done studying. You can take back your books now!” Zhang Xuan said.

After which, he closed his eyes and began making calculations. Very soon, a formation surfaced in his mind.

Having studied the 7-star Heaven’s Path Formation Art, it went without saying that his comprehension of formations had reached the level of 7-star pinnacle, perhaps even being on par with some 8-star primary stage formation masters.

With his current proficiency in formations, it wasn’t too difficult for him to identify a fitting formation for the geographical terrain he was in.

The best formation to use in this situation is the grade-7 pinnacle Great Heaven Reversal Formation. However… Zhang Xuan frowned. The formation is highly demanding on one’s soul. I am unable to set it up with my current strength.

Based on his calculations, the current problem that they were facing could be perfectly resolved by setting up a Great Heaven Reversal Formation. However, there was an issue with that. Due to the complexity of the formation, the soul of the formation master had to have reached a certain level before they could set it up. However, his soul cultivation was only at Transcendent Mortal 9-dan at the moment, a long way off from being able to set up the formation.

I won’t be able to set up the formation, unless… I can advance my soul cultivation further.

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Chapter 1033: The Appearance of the Ancient Domain ##

 

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

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His soul cultivation was only at Transcendent Mortal 9-dan at the moment. Being a soul oracle, his soul was indeed significantly stronger than most Saint realm cultivators, but it was still far too weak from being able to set up the Great Heaven Reversal Formation.

As a grade-7 pinnacle formation, it was designed with the capabilities of a Saint 4-dan Primordial Spirit realm expert in mind. While Zhang Xuan’s soul possessed similar capabilities with a Primordial Spirit, it was a pity that his soul was still too weak at the moment.

Unless… he could raise the cultivation of his soul!

Of course, there was Guild Leader Han around, and there was no doubt that he did possess a sufficiently strong soul to set up the Great Heaven Reversal Formation. However, the situation was a little different here.

The formation flags had to be planted near the lava, but this meant that the formation flags would be at risk of melting. As such, the formation had to be set up swiftly just a few moments before the burst of energies. On top of that, the activation of the formation also had to be spot-on, with only just a single second of error allowed. These two feats were something that Guild Leader Han was incapable of.

Furthermore, Zhang Xuan would only have perfect control over the formation if he were to set it up himself. If the slightest error occurred, the burst of energies could end up missing the ancient domain, thus causing his efforts to end in vain. Perhaps, they might even lose their lives due to it.

Zhang Xuan looked at the crowd and said, “I have already thought of how it could be set up, but I need to make some preparations. I will be entering the lava with Ding Ding to calculate the positioning of the flags. I might end up staying down there for quite some time, but I won’t be in any danger, so there’s no need to worry!”

He was intending to enter the lava to cultivate his soul, so it was likely that it would take a fair bit of time. Thus, there was a need for him to inform them in advance lest they dive down to look for him out of worry. That could end up being troublesome for him.

The crowd nodded.

After some discussion, Zhang Xuan’s body entered the Golden Origin Cauldron once more, and the latter plopped forcefully into the lava.

The area that was chosen this time around was some distance away from the area where the burst of energies was triggered, so they wouldn’t be in any danger.

Just like the before, the Golden Origin Cauldron stopped at around the ten-meter mark to hide from the Spiritual Perception of others. Right after all preparations were done, he was just about to draw out his soul when a thought flashed across his mind.

Hu!

An identical figure appeared in the cauldron.

His clone!

This place had the unique ability of refining one’s soul, so it was a good opportunity to his clone to raise his strength as well.

After communicating for a bit, the clone also learned about the current situation, and his eyes lit up in excitement.

Huala!

His clone drew out his soul as well and said, “I will be going down to take a look!”

After saying those words, he dived down into the lava right away.

Seeing how swiftly that fellow ran away, Zhang Xuan shook his head helplessly. He quickly dived down into the lava with his soul as well.

With his previous experience, he headed all the way down.

Twenty meters, thirty meters, forty meters…

In the blink of an eye, he reached the fifty-meter mark.

The higher the temperature, the greater the refining effect on one’s soul. While the heat was rather unbearable for his soul at the fifty-meter mark, it allowed his soul to grow at the fastest rate possible as well.

Where’s my clone? Coming to a halt, Zhang Xuan was just about to begin cultivating when he suddenly realized that the fellow who had left ahead of him was nowhere to be seen.

He quickly took a look around him, and only then did he realize that the other party had dived right down to the sixty-meter mark and was currently cultivating with his eyes tightly shut.

The searing heat in the surroundings flowed into the other party’s soul, refining it further, resulting in his aura growing stronger and stronger.

He was actually able to reach the sixty-meter mark? Zhang Xuan’s eyes widened in astonishment.

The soul of his clone had come from the same source as him. Despite using his full strength, he was only barely able to reach the fifty-meter marks. On the other hand, his clone was actually able to reach sixty meters.

Treating Wei Ruyan has depleted a fair portion of my soul essence, and the deposition of a fragment of my soul into the Mausoleum Tablet resulted in significant depletion as well. That fellow has been a little stronger than me from the start, and those incidents have only served to widen the gap between us. Soon, Zhang Xuan managed to make sense out of the situation, and he couldn’t help but sigh gloomily.

While he had recovered from those depletions eventually, his soul didn’t manage to return to the wholesome state it had been before.

It was due to this that his clone’s soul was able to progress way further than him.

Staring at his clone, Zhang Xuan suddenly felt a heavy pressure on his shoulders. No, this won’t do. I have to hurry up and cultivate. Otherwise, how embarrassing it will be if I can’t even match up to my clone?

While the others were busy dominating their clones, he was being dominated by his clone. This was unacceptable!

Closing his eyes, Zhang Xuan focused his attention on driving his Heaven’s Path Soul Art, and the heat from the surroundings began to flow into his body. The searing heat gradually tempered his slowly dissipating soul, making it more condensed and powerful.

Gugugu!

Previously, in the Subterranean Gallery, Zhang Xuan had already gathered the soul cultivation techniques of many Otherworldly Demons to compile the Transcendent Mortal 9-dan Heaven’s Path Soul Art, allowing his soul energy to reach 34,000,000 ding.

Under the refinement of the intense heat, his soul, which was larger than ten meters, was gradually being compressed, but the might it wielded was rising swiftly.

35,000,000 ding!

36,000,000 ding!

37,000,000 ding!

…

As time passed, the rate at which his strength rose increased faster and faster, and his aura was growing more powerful and heavier as well.

Kacha!

After some period of time, his soul finally broke through its limit and advanced from Transcendent Mortal 9-dan to Half-Saint.

I made a breakthrough? Zhang Xuan was astonished.

As he hadn’t compiled the Half-Saint Heaven’s Path Soul Art yet, he had thought that it should be impossible for him to achieve a breakthrough. Yet, who would have thought that he would be able to do it through the sheer heat of the lava?

It seemed like gauging the strength of a soul by its size wasn’t the way to go. What was more important was to refine it. The higher the purity of one’s soul, the more nimble and powerful it would be.

In a sense, this was similar to zhenqi as well.

After achieving a breakthrough, Zhang Xuan felt refreshed. Lowering his head to take a look, he noticed that his clone had already achieved a breakthrough. Furthermore, from the looks of it, it seemed like the other party had even reached Half-Saint intermediate stage.

Humph! Gritting his teeth, Zhang Xuan began flying over to the sixty-meter mark.

Previously, when he attempted to head toward the sixty-meter mark, he had felt a powerful strain on his soul, as if it would be torn apart at any moment. However, with the refinement of his soul, his soul had become far more durable than before, allowing it to withstand the intense heat easily.

Continue! Knowing that the only way he could catch up with his clone was to be strict with himself, Zhang Xuan didn’t stop at just the sixty-meter mark. Instead, he proceeded on to the seventy-meter mark.

Upon reaching the seventy-meter mark, he felt his soul quivering once more as a powerful force threatened to rip his soul apart. Not daring to advance any further, Zhang Xuan sat down and continued refining his soul.

With the enhanced rate of refinement due to the stronger heat from the surroundings, Zhang Xuan was growing stronger at a rapid rate.

At the same time, his soul managed to compress down to ten meters.

If I can compress my soul below ten meters, my strength will surely be enhanced significantly.

The ten-meter mark was a significant demarcation point for a soul. Back then, he had accidentally crushed the Huanyu Empire’s Cleansing Lake in an attempt to break through that bottleneck.

If he could use the heat to compress his soul below ten meters at this point, not only would it become easier for him to slip back into his body, his strength would also be boosted significantly.

As the searing heat circulated through his soul to refine it, Zhang Xuan felt as if someone had placed him amid the inferno of hell. The excruciating pain that he was suffering at the moment was so unbearable that he felt as if he could pass out at any moment.

However, clenching his jaws, he forced himself to hold on. Some time later, a loud buzz sounded from his soul.

His soul had been compressed back below ten meters, and his cultivation had also reached Half-Saint intermediate stage.

I succeeded!

Zhang Xuan’s eyes lit up. He instinctively turned his gaze upward to take a look, but he realized that his clone wasn’t there. Thus, he turned his gaze downward, and he realized that the other party, at some point, had overtaken him and arrived at the eighty-meter mark. The other party’s eyes were closed, deep in cultivation. The size of his soul was only at nine meters, an indication that he had reached Half-Saint advanced stage.

That fellow…

Not expect his clone to be even faster than him, Zhang Xuan couldn’t help but feel a little anxious. He hurriedly dived further down as well.

Having compressed his soul back within the ten-meter mark, he was able to pass through the eighty-meter mark without any trouble.

Advancing ahead, Zhang Xuan went straight to the ninety-meter mark before he stopped to cultivate. This time, the rate at which his soul was being refined was extremely fast. Within just ten minutes, his soul had already been compressed down to nine meters as well. Knowing that his clone was bound to be faster than him, Zhang Xuan didn’t bother sneaking the other party a glance anymore. Instead, he chose to focus all of his attention on his cultivation and continued on. Twenty minutes later, his soul reached eight meters, and his soul cultivation also reached Half-Saint pinnacle, ready to achieve a breakthrough at any moment.

At his current level, the heat at the ninety-meter mark was no longer sufficient for him. Thus, he dived further down, and as he had expected, his clone was already at the hundred-meter mark.

At this moment, the other party’s cultivation was also at the same level as his, Half-Saint pinnacle. However, instead of cultivating, the other party was gazing downward, seemingly assessing something.

Perplexed, Zhang Xuan headed up to his clone’s side and looked down as well. What he saw left him slightly stunned.

There was no lava beneath the hundred-meter mark. Instead, there was a massive barrier with innumerable buildings constructed within it, similar to what Zhang Xuan had seen earlier.

Is this the ancient domain? It is indeed below the lava! Zhang Xuan’s eyes lit up in excitement.

He had only gotten a glimpse of it earlier, so he had not been able to confirm whether what he had seen was only a mirage or not. However, with this, the doubts that he had been harboring before had finally been entirely dispelled.

The ancient domain they were looking for was indeed at the bottom of the lava.

But… given how deeply hidden this place was, how in the world did the old principal and the others manage to get in back then?

Zhang Xuan touched the barrier, and it felt extremely sturdy, just like the white mist barrier of the seal above. In its unopened state, it was impossible for him to break through it.

Floating along the seal, Zhang Xuan’s eyebrows suddenly shot up in alarm.

The Otherworldly Demonic Tribe…

Within the seal, there were several Otherworldly Demons that were advancing alongside the buildings. Naturally, they were unable to sense the two souls spying on them from beyond the barrier.

These Otherworldly Demons each possessed a cultivation of Saint 1-dan, and the killing intent that they exuded was strong enough to leave any man petrified in fear.

What are they up to? Zhang Xuan frowned.

In order to reach the bottom of the lava, their group had to go through so much trouble, constructing the Great Heaven Reversal Formation to redirect the force of the burst of energies back downwards, in order to pass through the lava. Yet, this bunch of Saint 1-dan Otherworldly Demons had actually been able to enter the ancient domain? How?

And what were they up to?

After making a few turns, the Otherworldly Demons soon arrived at a relatively small square in the midst of all of the buildings.

At the center of the square was a square altar with a massive closed door on top. There was an exceptionally sturdy seal, driven by some kind of power, cast over the entire structure. Dozens of Otherworldly Demons were scattered around the structure, attempting to break open the seal.

Zhang Xuan turned his attention to the door at the center, and he immediately felt a devastatingly powerful heat being emanated from the depths of the door. Even in his current state, he could very well be reduced to cinders if he were to attempt to go close to it.

What pure energy! Could it be that the lava in the surroundings was caused by the heat emanated from the door?

Due to the extraordinary heat of the lava, their group had been thinking that the lava was linked straight to an earth core, where the Earth Core Lava could be found. However, from the looks of it, their deduction was wrong. Most likely, the hundred meters of lava was likely the product of that door!

Hualala!

While Zhang Xuan was still taken aback by this shocking discovery, a towering Otherworldly Demon that possessed an astounding cultivation of Saint 4-dan suddenly walked into the square. At his command, the surrounding Otherworldly Demons roared furiously and began launching a powerful wave of attacks on the seal.

Hong long!

A brilliant glow shone from the door, and a powerful burst of energies blasted up. At the same time, the seal grew slightly thinner.

That burst of energies… Zhang Xuan’s face darkened.

That was the very same burst of energies that had left them deeply troubled but they were planning to make use of!

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Chapter 1034: Crushed to Death

 

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

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To think that the devastating might that threatened to decimate everything within a radius of thousand kilometers would have originated from there!

Who would have thought that it was a result of the Otherworldly Demons’ attempt to break the seal?

It was no wonder the burst of energies abruptly started acting up a few days ago. Most likely, those fellows had been trying to break the seal since then.

He recalled what he had heard from Mu shi and Wu shi, about how a Transcendent Mortal 4-dan master teacher keeping watch over the area noticed an Otherworldly Demon loitering around the seal.

That matter had left Zhang Xuan perplexed for some time, but upon seeing this sight, everything suddenly came together like pieces of a puzzle.

Most likely, the Otherworldly Demons knew that their attempts to break the seal would result in the accumulation of energies within the area, and naturally, if an explosion were to occur as a result of it, they would be the first ones to be annihilated, standing at the very center of the blast. Thus, they intentionally let out news to the local Master Teacher Pavilion regarding their activities in the area before continuing their attacks.

Naturally, when the local Master Teacher Pavilion learned about the problems occurring with the seal, they would have no choice but to step in and intervene. While their efforts did save countless lives living in the area, it would be doing the Otherworldly Demons a huge favor as well.

This also explained why the interval between each burst of energies was irregular as well.

To break the seal, the Otherworldly Demons were launching their attacks in waves, taking a short breather in between so as to recover their strength. Naturally, the short breather that they took couldn’t possibly be exactly the same each time around.

If that’s the case, it means that the Otherworldly Demons have a way to effectively communicate with their fellow brethren remotely, Zhang Xuan analyzed grimly.

If that was truly the case, their expedition to the ancient domain would be more dangerous than ever.

The Otherworldly Demons that were attempting to enter the ancient domain at the moment might have been able to liaise with those who had entered two years ago, along with the old principal. That would mean that the other party commanded greater intelligence regarding the ancient domain than their expedition team.

After taking a look, Zhang Xuan finally understood what was going on, and a bitter smile surfaced on his lips. If the Otherworldly Demons hadn’t attacked the seal, the heat emanated by the door would have gradually accumulated, and eventually, it would have grown too powerful and induced an energy storm that would part the lava above it, creating a natural passageway straight into the ancient domain. It is likely that the old principal made use of this energy storm to enter the ancient domain.

In the end, the reason they weren’t unable to find the ancient domain wasn’t because they had found the wrong place but due to his formation flag releasing all of the energies accumulated within the seal! If he hadn’t made a move a few days ago, the Otherworldly Demons might very well have stopped their attacks due to fears that they would die from the explosion.

When the seal eventually opened, they would have been able to enter the ancient domain with ease through the energy storm. They would have been spared a great deal of trouble.

What the heck was with that!

Forget it, I should return to set up the formation now.

Having made sense out of what was happening, there was no point in Zhang Xuan remaining there. Thus, he beckoned to his clone before diving back up to where the Golden Origin Cauldron was.

It had been roughly been four hours since he had entered the lava to cultivate, and the others were likely worried sick about him by now.

This time, his clone was extremely obedient, not causing any trouble at all. After returning his clone to the Myriad Anthive Nest, Zhang Xuan had the Golden Origin Cauldron surface.

Just as Zhang Xuan had guessed, the master teachers and combat masters outside were indeed very worried about him. His emergence from the lava left all of them heaving huge sighs of relief simultaneously.

Zhang Xuan scanned the crowd and said, “I am finally done scanning the geographical terrain below, so it is time to start setting up the formation. Everyone, prepare yourselves! Enter Ding Ding and await my command. Once we succeed, we will set forth immediately!”

Knowing how important the matter was, the crowd nodded grimly. “Alright!”

Hu!

With a loud bellow, the Golden Origin Cauldron expanded itself to tenfold its previous size, around twenty meters wide. The crowd hurriedly got within it.

Instead of entering the Golden Origin Cauldron like the others, Luo Ruoxin headed toward Zhang Xuan and said, “I won’t be going in; I will accompany you outside.”

“It will be safer for you to get into Ding Ding. I fear that you might meet with danger following behind me.” Zhang Xuan frowned.

If something happened, at least the Golden Origin Cauldron could bear the brunt of the blow. If Luo Ruoxin remained outside, she would be potentially exposing herself to grave danger. Furthermore, if she couldn’t keep up with the group and the lava caved in on her…

“Don’t worry, I still have a couple of life preservation means up my sleeves,” Luo Ruoxin said with a light smile.

“… Alright then.” Seeing how confident Luo Ruoxin was and recalling how she could very well be an offspring of the Luo Clan, one of the Sage Clans, Zhang Xuan relented.

“Ding Ding, listen to my command. When I order you to set forth, you are to move immediately. There mustn’t be the slightest bit of hesitation from you!” Zhang Xuan turned around to command the Golden Origin Cauldron before flying up to the area right above where the burst of energies was headed towards.

It had already been around eight minutes since the last burst of energies, so the next one was due soon.

Flicking his wrist, Zhang Xuan took out more than a hundred formation flags, and they floated right before him. Activating his Eye of Insight, he stared intently at the lava beneath him, waiting for the right moment to move.

Boom!

A moment later, the lava beneath began to flurry. A sharp glint flashed across Zhang Xuan’s eyes as he flicked his wrist, and the formation flags swiftly flew down into their respective positions.

“Activate!” While standing in midair, Zhang Xuan stomped his feet, and powerful gusts of air spread into the surroundings like water ripples.

Weng!

A massive formation instantaneously came to life.

Hu!

The moment that the formation was activated, the lava beneath finally couldn’t house the burst of energies anymore. As if a scissors tearing across a piece of silk, a massive rip appeared in the lava as the burst of energies headed right toward the massive formation.

Hong long long!

The instant that the burst of energies collided with the formation, it was absorbed and accumulated within the formation.

The Great Heaven Reversal Formation, when used in battle, had the effect of blocking the opponent’s attack and returning it back at the latter. When utilized well, it could return the attack back at one’s opponent without any loss of energy.

In other words, on top of being a defensive formation, the Great Heaven Reversal Formation had offensive means as well.

Of course, that was easier said than done, and the formation had its limits, too. For one, if the absorbed energy was beyond the durability of the formation, the person who set up the formation could very well suffer strong backlash and possibly die on the spot.

Seeing how the absorption of the power contained in the burst of energies hadn’t resulted in the shattering of the Great Heaven Reversal Formation, Zhang Xuan heaved a sigh of relief as he wiped away the cold sweat on his forehead.

In truth, he had not been too sure if the formation would be able to withstand the immense might contained in the burst of energies either. It was fortunate that he had learned the 7-star Heaven’s Path Formation Art earlier. Otherwise, even if it was Guild Leader Han setting up the Great Heaven Reversal Formation, the imperfections in setting it up could have resulted in the other party’s formation being unable to withstand the violent burst of energies.

Worried, the crowd in the Golden Origin Cauldron had been keeping an eye on the situation outside with their Spiritual Perception, and upon seeing this sight, Guild Leader Han couldn’t help but narrow his eyes in shock. Principal Zhang sure has a deep understanding of formations!

His initial plan had been to have Zhang Xuan hide within the Golden Origin Cauldron while he set up the Great Heaven Reversal Formation. However, upon seeing this sight, he felt relieved that he had decided to go with Zhang Xuan’s call instead. If he had obstinately chosen to take on the task himself, not only would the expedition team have failed to get into the ancient domain, he could very well have died from the backlash as well.

Even though the Great Heaven Reversal Formation was a grade-7 pinnacle formation, the other party had managed to set it up so perfectly that it harnessed prowess on par with a grade-8 formation. There was not the slightest flaw that he could see in it—not only was it perfectly harmonized with his surroundings, it was even further reinforced by the heat of the lava beneath, granting it unimaginable prowess.

Amidst his shock, the burst of energies finally calmed down, and the formation was done charging up as well. Zhang Xuan’s eyebrows shot up as he flicked out a formation flag, and he tossed it forward powerfully.

Tzzzz la!

Just like how he dealt with the huge accumulation of energies within the seal a few days ago, the formation flag struck an opening of the Great Heaven Reversal Formation, and an inconceivably massive burst of might blasted forth along the formation flag.

BOOM!

Under the incredible might of the blast, a huge opening was ripped through the lava.

” Go! ” Knowing that this was their chance to head through, Zhang Xuan bellowed loudly, and the Golden Origin Cauldron hurriedly dashed into the opening.

Zhang Xuan swiftly shot a glance at Luo Ruoxin before dashing into the opening as well.

Knowing that the passageway through the lava would only remain open for a brief moment before closing in on them, he executed the Heaven’s Path Movement Art and darted forth at the fastest speed possible.

Over the past few months, he had been trying to merge the Heaven’s Path Movement Art together with the Red Dust Heaven Ascending Steps, and just a few days ago, he had finally managed to do so perfectly. With the strengths of the two techniques merged together, Zhang Xuan was able to move as swift as a streak of lightning, allowing him to keep up even with the Saint 4-dan pinnacle Golden Origin Cauldron.

Luo shi… Fearing that Luo Ruoxin might have been unable to catch up, Zhang Xuan turned around to take a look, only to see her only around three to four meters behind him. No matter how fast he traveled, the distance between them didn’t seem to lengthen at all.

As expected of an offspring of a Sage Clan, her speed sure is fearsome! Zhang Xuan nodded in awe.

Honestly speaking, even up to this point, he was still unable to discern how powerful the young lady behind him was. Nevertheless, considering how the other party was able to keep up with his Heaven’s Path Movement Art—and judging from her leisurely look, it seemed like she wasn’t anywhere close to exerting her full strength yet—there was no doubt that she was an expert.

Boom!

The Golden Origin Cauldron and Zhang Xuan passed through the hundred meters of lava in the blink of an eye. With a resounding crash, they landed in the ancient domain.

“Everyone, hurry out! There are Otherworldly Demons in the area, so be careful!” Zhang Xuan roared deafeningly as he quickly took his stance in front of Luo Ruoxin.

Based on what he had seen earlier, there were dozens of Otherworldly Demons in the area. While most of them were only at Saint 1-dan, there were quite a number of them around, so it was still imperative that they remained careful.

If the Otherworldly Demons were to attempt to launch an assault on them at this moment, their unprepared expedition team could potentially suffer quite a few casualties.

“Otherworldly Demons?”

The crowd hurriedly flew out of the Golden Origin Cauldron and swiftly put up a defensive formation, assessing their surroundings warily. However, with a look, they couldn’t help but fall into a daze.

Wu shi looked at Zhang Xuan with a doubtful look on his face. “Principal Zhang, is this the ancient domain you spoke of? Shouldn’t it be filled with buildings? Why is it… all rubble?”

“Rubble?” Zhang Xuan was surprised by the question.

He quickly took a look at his surroundings as well, and just as the other party had said, the exquisite buildings that he had seen just a moment ago had collapsed into rubble. Huge puffs of white smoke were rising from them, indicating that they had just fallen a moment ago.

“Could it be that… the Otherworldly Demons knew that we were coming, so they decisively chose to destroy the ancient domain in advance?” Zhang Xuan remarked.

“Cough cough…” Seeing Zhang Xuan’s incensed look, Guild Leader Han said awkwardly, “They weren’t the ones who destroyed it. Rather… it seems like the impact of the rebounded burst of energies was too great, to the extent that it not only tore the lava apart but jolted the ancient domain into the current state it is in as well.”

The rebounded blast generated by the Great Heaven Reversal Formation was so great that it had ended up devastating the ancient domain as well.

“I was the one who did it?” Zhang Xuan’s lips twitched in embarrassment. He had been praising his clone a moment ago for not causing any trouble this time around, but who would have thought that he would end up causing trouble instead?

What the heck was this?

“Right, where are the Otherworldly Demons? Did they flee?” Embarrassed, Zhang Xuan hurriedly changed the topic. Recalling those fellows that he had seen earlier, he quickly scanned his surroundings, but in that moment, a sheepish voice sounded in the air.

“Master, I think that… I might have accidentally… crushed them.”

---

Chapter 1035: Cinque Sun Branch

 

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

---

“Crushed them?”

Shocked, Zhang Xuan hurriedly looked beneath the Golden Origin Cauldron, and there, he saw a pile of flattened Otherworldly Demons.

Most of them were at Saint 1-dan, but there was a slightly larger figure who had reached Saint 4-dan. Nevertheless, unable to stand being crushed by the Golden Origin Cauldron, he was still reduced into meat paste. His entire body was plastered strongly to the ground, unable to torn off it.

Seeing that the Golden Origin Cauldron was still lying comfortably on a pile of carcasses, Zhang Xuan commanded impatiently, “Hurry up and move away!”

“Yes!” The Golden Origin Cauldron hurriedly leaped away.

Zhang Xuan began tabulating the number of carcasses in the area, and it tallied with the number of Otherworldly Demons he had seen earlier in his soul form.

Those fellows probably couldn’t have imagined that the burst of energies would suddenly be rebounded on them, severely injuring them. After which, before they even attempted to escape, an enormous Golden Origin Cauldron fell upon them, crushing them to their deaths. In a sense, their deaths were quite tragic.

Well, at least they died quickly, so they didn’t suffer too much.

Zhang Xuan rubbed his glabella in distress. I was intending to capture one of them to find out how they managed to enter the ancient domain, and what that door over there is, but this… How am I to interrogate them now?

Not only did the rebounded blast from the formation destroy the entire ancient domain, the Golden Origin Cauldron had even crushed all of the Otherworldly Demons to death. Without any intelligence to work with, how were they supposed to advance?

After a moment of hesitation, Zhang Xuan sent a telepathic message into the Myriad Anthive Nest. “Violetleaf King, do you recognize this fellow?”

The Violetleaf King swiftly swept the surroundings with his Spiritual Perception before responding. “Young Master, I am not too sure about those Saint 1-dan peons, but that Saint 4-dan Otherworldly Demon is one of the Upper Five Kings, the Fireleaf King!”

“Fireleaf King?” Zhang Xuan was stunned.

To think that the esteemed Fireleaf King of the Five Upper Kings would end up being crushed to death like cannon fodder, not even given the chance to speak a line at all. Wasn’t this a little too pitiful for him?

“Indeed. The Fireleaf King has the ability to control heat and flames. In an environment such as this, he would have been able to display prowess far beyond that of a Saint 4-dan pinnacle expert. How did you manage to kill him?” the Violetleaf King asked in surprise.

The Upper Kings were not only strong, each of them also possessed their own unique secret art. For the young master to have killed one of them and yet be unaware of his identity… the Fireleaf King sure was pitiful.

Thinking about it, it seemed like the young master had already defeated six of the Ten Great Kings of the Qingtian Lineage so far. He really was the nemesis of the Qingtian Emperor.

“Ah, it was an accident…” Zhang Xuan shook his head helplessly.

Since the other party was already dead, there was no point thinking too much into it. With a grasp, Zhang Xuan took the storage rings of the Otherworldly Demons and scanned through their contents carefully. However, there was no useful information to be found. Thus, he turned to the crowd and said, “The buildings might have collapsed, but there might still be useful items lying around. Let’s try combing the area and see if we can find anything.”

While the place had been mostly reduced to rubble, there were still some parts of it that were intact and discernible. If the old principal and the others had been here before, they might be able to find clues on them.

“Un.” The crowd nodded before scattering into the area.

Seeing that Luo Ruoxin was standing still on the spot, Zhang Xuan turned to her curiously and asked, “You aren’t going to look around?”

“If there is anything of use, the Otherworldly Demons will have long found and taken it!” Luo Ruoxin shook her head and said, “Since all of the Otherworldly Demons were gathered here when they were killed, there is no doubt that there is something amiss with the door. We might not have even entered the real ancient domain at all.”

“This…” Zhang Xuan was taken aback before nodding in awe.

As expected of an expert from a Sage Clan, her eye of discernment was indeed extraordinary!

If they were already in the ancient domain, the Otherworldly Demons wouldn’t have been wasting their effort trying to destroy the seal on the door. Besides, even if there were some treasures of the ancient domain lying around the area, the Otherworldly Demons would have long swiped them clean and stored them in their storage rings.

They couldn’t possibly have left them behind for others to take.

As expected, it didn’t take long for the others to return empty-handed.

Wu shi walked up and said, “The ancient domain is constructed within a cavern, and it is only roughly several hundred meters wide. We have searched around the area, but there is nothing at all. Should we try searching once more?”

After four hours of recuperation, he had already recovered to his peak condition. He could easily get a clear picture of the entire ancient domain by scanning it with his Spiritual Perception, and if there was anything to be found, he would have surely found it regardless of whether it was hidden beneath the rubble or not.

Waving his hand, Zhang Xuan said, “I see. There should be no need to search any further. If I am not mistaken, the secret should lie in this door over here!”

Hearing those words, the crowd turned their attention toward the door.

The door wasn’t too large, roughly five meters tall and wide. It was covered by a seal, and from time to time, it would emanate a fearsome heat, making it difficult for anyone to approach it.

“Back when we charged through the lava, I noticed that the Otherworldly Demons had been attacking the seal, seemingly trying to open it,” Zhang Xuan explained.

He couldn’t say that he had seen it with his soul, so he could only justify it by saying that in such a way.

“Attacking the seal?” Wu shi repeated with a frown. Raising his palm, he stepped forward and struck the seal.

“Don’t!” Noting Wu shi’s action, Zhang Xuan suddenly felt his hair stand on end. He hurriedly yelled for the other party to stop, but it was already too late. Thus, he could only quickly bellow, “Everyone, get back!”

After saying those words, he anxiously retreated from the door.

Noticing the peculiar state that Zhang Xuan was in, the crowd quickly backed away as well. Not long later, the seal emanated a brilliant light, and a powerful burst of energies blasted upward, tearing through the layer of lava above them.

However, not too long later, the powerful burst of energies abruptly returned, striking the area where they had been standing a moment before.

The flattened carcasses lying on the ground were knocked into the air forcefully like rubber balls, and under the ravaging might of the burst of energies, their bodies were torn to shreds, inducing a rain of flesh and blood in the area.

“This…” Upon seeing this sight, everyone couldn’t help but wipe the cold sweat off their forehead. This was especially so for Wu shi.

Had Principal Zhang not reacted swiftly and instructed the others to back away, the weaker members of their expedition could very well have suffered grievous wounds from the earlier shockwave.

He had thought that it was just an ordinary seal, but who would have thought that it would induce such a powerful burst of energies?

More importantly… there was still the Great Heaven Reversal Formation that Principal Zhang had set up previously. Any energy that they released from below would be returned back to them at full might. Just the thought of it was sufficient to send shudders down their spines.

“Not only is the seal sturdy, we will even have a rebound from the burst of energies each time we attempt to attack it. How are we supposed to break the seal like that?”

The crowd warily returned back to the door before staring at one another hesitantly, unsure of what they should do.

There was nothing else in the area, and the only thing they had was the door. If the place they were currently in wasn’t the ancient domain, it was very likely that the door was the entrance to the ancient domain! But… given that they weren’t able to shake the seal in the slightest, how should they proceed?

If they were to strike it, it would generate a burst of energies that would eventually rebound back onto them. In a sense, the current situation they were in was even harder to resolve than the one before.

“Those Otherworldly Demons were here for some time, but they were still unable to find an alternative solution to the problem. It won’t be easy for us to do so either.”

“Considering the rate at which the seal dissipates with each strike, it will at least take several days of effort to break it open.”

Just thinking how they would have to face a few days of rebounds from the burst of energies left the entire expedition team trembling in fear.

After a moment of discussion, the expedition team was still unable to find a solution to the problem. Thus, Guild Leader Han turned to Zhang Xuan and asked, “Principal Zhang, do you have an idea in mind?”

After everything that they had been through, everyone had deep respect and admiration for the young principal. Even Guild Leader Han had no choice but to admit that the other party was far more knowledgeable and wiser than him.

Zhang Xuan frowned. “Allow me to contemplate for a while.”

Under normal circumstances, as long as he could approach the door and touch the seal, he could resolve the problem easily. However… the heat that was emanating from the door was simply too great, such that he couldn’t hope to get close to it with his current strength!

The seal was currently inactive, and Wu shi’s earlier strike hadn’t activated it either, only jolting it. As such, he was unable to compile a book on it.

At the same time, his Eye of Insight wasn’t strong enough to see through the door either.

Let me see if I can get close to the door. Clenching his jaws, Zhang Xuan tried to walk over.

As long as he could do it, he would surely be able to find the flaws of the seal through the Library of Heaven’s Path and resolve it.

Driving his Heaven’s Path zhenqi as he proceeded forward, Zhang Xuan still felt searing heat assaulting him relentlessly, causing sweat to rain down his forehead.

Hu!

Eventually, he came to a halt. Lifting his gaze, he found that he was still twenty meters away from reaching the door. There was no way he could touch it from that distance.

Even though he had refined his soul earlier, it had done nothing to enhance his zhenqi and the resilience of his physical body, so his body’s ability to fend off heat was still the same as ever.

My physical body is still a little too weak. If only I could cultivate it now and strengthen it. Zhang Xuan sighed.

It was indeed possible for his soul to touch the door, but putting aside the fact that he could not do so in front of so many people, he wouldn’t be able to compile a book through the touch of his soul either.

His zhenqi cultivation was already at Nascent Saint pinnacle, and he needed the Seven-colored Earth Jade Essence to achieve a breakthrough. Thus, the only way out was to find a way to enhance his physical body so that he could quickly touch the door and compile a book on the seal.

With such thought in mind, Zhang Xuan returned to the crowd and asked, “Does anyone here have a Cinque Sun Branch?”

“Cinque Sun Branch? Are you referring to a branch of the Cinque Sun Tree that only survives in extremely arid climates?” Wu shi frowned.

The Cinque Sun Tree was an exceedingly rare plant that only lived in areas rich in earth flames. It needed to be exposed to sunlight for long hours each day, and if it came into contact with the slightest bit of rainwater, it would immediately combust and turn to ash.

Due to this bizarre property, Cinque Sun Branches were even rarer than Saint artifacts.

“Indeed.” Zhang Xuan nodded.

A Cinque Sun Branch was the final artifact required to cultivating the Quintuple Incandescence Golden Body. As long as he could find one and absorb the aura of the sun sealed within it, he would be able to finally achieve Consummation 1 in this physical body cultivation technique!

It might only have been a single stage of difference between the Fourth Incandescence and the Fifth Incandescence, but it signified the difference between Major Accomplishment and Consummation. Upon reaching this stage, the five incandescences would finally form a complete system within the body, creating a cyclical relationship, thus enhancing the prowess that one’s physical body could exert manyfold.

Upon reaching this level, one would be able to crush Saint 2-dan experts such as the Byzantium Helios Beast with just the sheer prowess of one’s physical body.

“The Cinque Sun Branch is an extremely rare medicinal herb, but I have to say that you are really lucky. Just a few days ago, when I was looking through the market of Firesource City, I happened to find one and bought it. This should be it, right?” With a chuckle, Guild Leader Han flicked his wrist and passed over a wooden branch that was almost as thick as an arm.

The area around Firesource City happened to have the climate suited for Cinque Sun Trees to grow, so it would pop up in the market from time to time. Guild Leader Han happened to spot one while loitering around the market, and thinking that he could resell it elsewhere and earn a huge profit, he had decided to buy it.

---

Chapter 1036: Quintuple Incandescence Golden Body, Fifth Incandescence

 

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

---

“Indeed, that’s it!” Zhang Xuan’s eyes lit up in excitement.

The wooden branch in the other party’s hand wasn’t too large, but reminiscent of charcoal, it emanated intense heat.

There was no doubt about it; it was a Cinque Sun Branch!

He had casually asked for it, but who knew that Guild Leader Han would really have one in his possession, and such a large one at that? It was definitely enough for him to cultivate the Fifth Incandescence!

“How much does it cost? I will buy it from you!” Zhang Xuan asked as he took it.

When he took the formation flags from the others earlier to help everyone pass through the lava, it could be considered to have been a public matter with everyone’s interests at stake, so it was fine for him to not pay for it.

This time around, however, he was intending to use the Cinque Sun Branch to cultivate the Fifth Incandescence of the Quintuple Incandescence Golden Body and raise the prowess of his physical body. This was a private matter, and thus, it was only right for him to pay for it.

“This… We are venturing into the dangerous ancient domain together, and it is only right for us to help one another. How can I charge you for this?” Guild Leader Han shook his head.

As valuable as the Cinque Sun Branch was, it was only a material possession. Other than to sell it for a couple of spirit stones, it was of no use to him.

If the other party could use it to break the seal on the door and bring them into the real ancient domain, he could consider the item to have been put to good use.

“Those are two different matters and should be kept separate. If you don’t accept my payment, I won’t be able to accept the Cinque Sun Branch at ease.” Zhang Xuan shook his head.

“This…” Knowing that master teachers were obstinate about their own values, Guild Leader Han knew that it would be improper for him to insist on the matter. Thus, he could only shake his head with a bitter smile and say, “I bought the branch at two hundred high-tier spirit stones, so I will sell it to you at the same price as well.”

“Alright.” Zhang Xuan nodded and passed two hundred high-tier spirit stones over.

With the profits from the sales of the Cloudmist Flowers and the fortune he had procured from emptying out the storage rings of the Otherworldly Demon Kings that he had subdued thus far, he had more than ten thousand high-tier spirit stones with him at the moment. This bit of money was nothing to him.

Guild Leader Han accepted the spirit stones with a helpless expression on his face, but his admiration for the young man couldn’t help but deepen.

Putting aside Zhang Xuan’s incredible knowledge on formations despite his young age, his self-discipline was truly admirable. He had a clear idea of what should be done and what should not be done, and he didn’t allow greed to blind him.

A principled person like him was a true blessing to mankind, and there was no doubt that he would eventually go on to achieve great things in the world.

The other master teachers nodded in approval at that sight.

The young man before them was truly the embodiment of the word ‘upright’.

It was no wonder he had become the principal of the Hongyuan Master Teacher Academy at such a young age whereas they had still been humble nobodies at his age. Just the thought of it left them reddening in embarrassment.

This was especially so for Liu Mo 1 . If only there was a hole in the ground, he would have dived in without the slightest hesitation.

Back when he first met the young man, he had thought that the other party was too arrogant, and he had even berated the other party for it. Yet, not only did the other party manage to resolve the problem with the seal, the other party was even the one who led them through the lava.

His capability was truly something that Liu Mo could never hope to match up with.

If the other party was the brilliant moon in the sky, Liu Mo was the humble dirt on the ground; that was the vast, unbridgeable distance between them.

“I am going to cultivate using the Cinque Sun Branch now, so please do make use of this time to rest and recuperate. The seal could very well be the path to the ancient domain, and it is unknown what kind of peril we will face there. To heighten our chances of survival, we should ensure that we are in our peak state so that we are ready to face any dangers that come our way,” Zhang Xuan said.

The crowd nodded.

After which, Zhang Xuan headed to a quiet corner of the rubble and sat down. Holding the freshly obtained Cinque Sun Branch in his hands, he drove his zhenqi and began cultivating.

Boom!

The energy within the branch flowed through his meridians and nourished every single cell, inducing a qualitative evolution in his body.

The Quintuple Incandescence Golden Body served to strengthen the vitals of one’s body and, through doing so, enhance the strength that one was able to exert.

Having patched up the flaws of the Quintuple Incandescence Body, it had become a Heaven’s Path cultivation technique. Naturally, he was able to cultivate the Fifth Incandescence swiftly without any problems.

The immense energy flowing through his meridians stimulated his entire body, such that even his blood began to metamorphose as well.

Two hours later…

A resounding echo sounded from his body as the five incandescence in his heart, lungs, spleen, liver, and kidneys came together to form a smooth cyclical flow. A brilliant light shone from Zhang Xuan’s body, and in that instant, it felt as if his body had become indestructible.

At the same time, Zhang Xuan’s physical appearance changed slightly as well. His height grew slightly taller, his shoulders became slightly broader, and his waist grew slightly slimmer, forming a perfect streamline figure.

Feeling the power flowing through his body, Zhang Xuan opened his eyes and clenched his fists tightly together. Wonderful!

With the sheer might of his physical body in itself, the current him could kill Saint 2-dan experts easily. In terms of resilience, his body was already comparable to a Saint artifact!

A Saint low-tier artifact to be exact, but nevertheless, it was still extremely fearsome.

Should someone attempt to hack the Glacier Rain Sword down on him right now, there was no doubt that it was the Glacier Rain Sword that would shatter.

In fact, even if he were to go head-to-head with the Golden Origin Cauldron, he wouldn’t lose by much.

It could be said that the current him was no different from a human-shaped weapon. Even without a weapon in hand, he was still capable of causing devastating damage.

Hu!

Exhaling deeply, Zhang Xuan swiftly concealed the changes in his body and stood up.

It was inconceivable for one’s body to grow so much stronger with just a short moment of cultivation. There was no such thing as being too careful. In order to avoid any unnecessary trouble, it was still best for him to maintain a low profile.

Lowering his gaze to take a look, he noted that the energy contained within the Cinque Sun Branch was nearly completely depleted.

Stowing it in his storage ring, he stood up and returned to the door.

Before he could even reach the door, he saw the crowd sitting in a straight line before the door, creating a rather bizarre sight.

Upon seeing Zhang Xuan, the combat master at the very back stood up and greeted him. “Principal Zhang, you have returned.”

“What are you doing?” Zhang Xuan asked doubtfully.

If you want to cultivate, so be it. But to be sitting in such a neat line as if you are queuing up at the cafeteria for food… What the heck?

“Ah, it’s like this. Earlier, Wu shi realized that it is possible to use the heat released by the door to refine one’s zhenqi and make it even purer. Thus, we began cultivating using it. However, due to our differing tolerance to heat, we can only select positions that are suited to us,” the combat master explained.

“Differing tolerance to heat?” Zhang Xuan nodded contemplatively.

The fact that the sheer heat emanated from the door could melt the rocks within a hundred meters into lava clearly showed how fearsome it was. The extreme conditions produced by the door were indeed very suitable to refine one’s zhenqi.

However, just as the other party said, everyone had a differing tolerance to heat. It was just like how his soul could only advance fifty meters at the start, but after cultivating for a bit, he was able to advance further and eventually reach the hundred-meter mark.

“Indeed. The few of us can only cultivate at a distance of forty meters away from the door, or else our cultivation could very well go berserk. Speaking of which, Wu shi and the others sure are fearsome. They are actually able to stand the heat at fifteen meters away,” said the combat master as he shot a glance at the few figures in front with admiration gleaming in his eyes.

Zhang Xuan nodded. “To be able to withstand the heat at fifteen meters away, it seems like their physical bodies, souls, and zhenqi are pretty strong.”

Zhang Xuan had only been able to reach twenty meters away from the door himself when he tried earlier. The fact that Wu shi and the others were able to reach fifteen meters away was indeed incredible.

The combat master suddenly recalled a matter and asked, “Right, Principal Zhang, didn’t you leave to cultivate? Are you already done?”

“Un.” Zhang Xuan nodded. “Alright, I’ll leave you to cultivate here.”

After saying those words, Zhang Xuan began walking forward. In the blink of an eye, he was twenty meters away from the door.

At this moment, only Wu shi, Guild Leader Han, Feng Xun, and a couple of others were in front of him. Even Wo Tianqiong and the other principals were behind him at the moment.

“Principal Zhang… walked over there just like that? Wasn’t he unable to hold on earlier?”

Seeing how the young principal casually proceeded toward the twenty meters mark as he nodded at the other master teachers and combat masters while passing by them, gesturing for them to remain seated and continue with their cultivation, the lower jaws of the combat master nearly fell to the ground.

At the same time, Feng Xun, who was seated at the nineteen-meter mark, saw Zhang Xuan walk past him with a smile on his face, and his eyes nearly popped out of his head.

He was a Saint 3-dan pinnacle cultivator, a Thousand Men Commander of the Combat Master Hall, and coming to the nineteen-meter mark had nearly cost him his life. He had needed to sit down immediately to cultivate so that he could neutralize the fire poison in his body. Yet, that fellow was walking past him casually with a bright smile on his face, as if he was just wandering the streets, not pressured by the heat in the least. Did he have to be so exaggerated?

Wondering how far the other party would be able to proceed, Feng Xun’s gaze followed Zhang Xuan, and before long, he saw the latter walk up to Wu shi and begin chatting with him.

“Wu shi, there is no need to get up. I am just heading over there to take a look, so do continue with your cultivation. There’s no need to stand on ceremony.”

Following which, the other party continued proceeding forward with a smile on his lips. Fourteen meters, thirteen meters, twelve meters… In the blink of an eye, he was already within ten meters of the door.

The searing heat induced a sizzling sound from his clothes, which were seemingly ready to break apart at any moment. Yet, Zhang Xuan continued walking forward with the same bright smile from before, as if he was completely impervious to the heat.

“This…”

This time, Feng Xun wasn’t the only one who was shocked silly. Even Wu shi and Guild Leader Han ended up trading shocked glances with one another, and their mouths began twitching from the sheer ridiculousness of the sight before them.

Fifteen meters already left them feeling as if their bodies were going to rip apart, and that fellow had actually managed to walk within ten meters. On top of that, his face even had a smile plastered on, as if it was nothing at all. That monster…

Eight meters, seven meters, six meters…

As the other party slowly proceeded closer to the door, his eyebrows inadvertently shot up, seemingly starting to feel the pressure.

Hong long!

Zhenqi abruptly burst forth from the acupoints of the other party, wrapping his body.

Upon seeing this sight, Wu shi gulped. “He is only using his zhenqi when he is five meters away from the door? Just how powerful is his physical body?”

When Zhang Xuan walked leisurely past him, seemingly unfazed by the heat, he had thought that the other party was just putting on an act. However, seeing that the other party was only driving his zhenqi when he was five meters away from the door, he realized that he had been sorely mistaken.

The other party was truly unfazed by the heat!

But still, to only have to drive his zhenqi when he was within a five meters radius of the door… wasn’t his physical body a little too strong?

Could the other party have gone away to cultivate his physical body?

But… it was common knowledge that the physical body was the most difficult of all to cultivate! How did he manage to make such a huge breakthrough in his physical body cultivation within just two hours?

Amidst his shock, he saw Principal Zhang walk all the way up to the door, raise his hand, and place it on the door. After that, he abruptly retreated eight steps before coming to a halt.

He closed his eyes, seemingly musing over something.

A moment later, he opened his eyes once more, and with a deep frown, he stared at the door ahead of him with a peculiar expression on his face.

“This… how is it possible?”

---

Chapter 1037: The Frenzied Luo Ruoxin!

 

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

---

Noting the peculiar expression on Zhang Xuan’s face, Wu shi couldn’t help but ask, “Principal Zhang, is there something wrong with the seal?”

In his view, Principal Zhang was a person who would retain his composure even if the world was about to collapse on them. Yet, for him to show such an expression at this moment… something huge must have happened!

“Oh, it’s nothing much. I just find it a little weird…” Zhang Xuan’s words petered out into silence, seemingly not intending to say anything more about it. He walked to a distance of forty meters away and beckoned everyone over. “Everyone, halt your cultivation for just a moment. Let’s discuss how we should break the seal and enter the door.”

Hearing those words, the crowd hurriedly rushed over with eyes lit up in excitement. “Principal Zhang, have you found a way to overcome the seal?”

“I did manage to find a way, but…”

Scratching his head, Zhang Xuan had no idea where he should start from. What he had just seen was simply too inconceivable for anyone to believe to be true. Thus, he decided to just get straight to the point. “Do any of you have the Spirit Solution of Vigor with you?”

“Spirit Solution of Vigor?”

Everyone glanced at one another in astonishment, not knowing why Zhang Xuan was asking such a thing.

Spirit Solution of Vigor was the academic name for the urine of saint beasts so that it didn’t sound as crass. Usually, cultivators would take some when they travelled so that they could demarcate a zone to prevent spirit beasts from harassing them at night.

Back when Zhang Xuan challenged You Xu to a Physician Life-and-Death Duel, he had forced You Xu to drink it, leaving him feeling so indignant that he nearly spurted blood.

“Considering how old the ancient domain will be, I assumed that there wouldn’t be any saint beasts and spirit beasts, so I didn’t bring any along with me.”

“Same as well. I usually bring some with me, but as I grew stronger, I found that the occasions I needed any were growing fewer and fewer. Furthermore, it feels a little crass to have such an item in my storage ring, so I threw it away!”

“We of the Combat Master Hall never use such a thing. If spirit beasts dare to engage us, we just slaughter them. As long as enough blood is shed, the others know better than to provoke us.”

…

The crowd shook their heads.

Those who had participated in the expedition were all respectable individuals; Han Xu was the head of the Qingyuan Empire Formation Master Guild; Wu Rufeng and Mu Yuan were 7-star master teachers; Wo Tianqiong, Shen Pingchao, and Wu Ran were the principals of Master Teacher Academies.

Given so, they would never keep something as crass as the urine of saint beasts in their storage rings.

As for the Combat Master Hall, they didn’t have the habit of bringing the Spirit Solution of Vigor with them. Thus, it turned out that there was no one in the expedition team who had it!

“None of you have any?” Zhang Xuan pinched his glabella before turning to Luo Ruoxin.

Noting Zhang Xuan’s gaze on her, the young lady snorted, “I don’t have any either!”

“I see. Since no one has any with them…” Zhang Xuan shook his head regrettably before taking out a pile of pots, bowls, gourds, and woks and saying helplessly, “We will just have to do it ourselves.”

Pu!

Everyone staggered weakly and nearly spurted a mouthful of blood.

From searching for the Spirit Solution of Vigor to having us produce it ourselves… What the heck is with this twist?

Furthermore, we are all respectable figures! To urinate like that…

Everyone felt like their mind was going to blow from the sheer insanity of the situation they were facing.

Ignoring the conflicted faces around him, Zhang Xuan waved his hand and said, “Hurry up. Also, we will need as much as possible. Whether we can break the seal or not will depend on how much you are able to produce!”

“I…”

In that moment, everyone felt like crying.

“Alright. Gauge your own personal circumstances and grab a tool that is the most suited for you,” Zhang Xuan said as he gestured at the pots, bowls, gourds, and woks beside him.

He had obtained all of those from the storage rings of the Otherworldly Demons. Those were probably the tools that they used to cook, and they were exceptionally clean, making them ideal containers to store their urine.

“Alright then…”

Seeing the earnest look on Zhang Xuan’s face, the crowd could tell that he wasn’t just trying to make fun of them. Thus, after exchanging glances, they eventually nodded before grabbing an item each with gritted teeth.

Hu hu hu!

In the blink of an eye, they disappeared from sight.

There was no way they were going to urinate in front of so many people; it was too embarrassing!

Soon, only Zhang Xuan and Luo Ruoxin were left in the square.

Seeing that the young lady hadn’t taken anything yet, Zhang Xuan hesitated for a moment before picking up a cup from the ground. “Cough cough. This is for you.”

“You…”

Luo Ruoxin’s teeth were gritted so tightly together that it seemed as if they were going to chip from the immense pressure between them. She glared coldly at the fellow before her, tempted to kill him with a single slap.

“What’s wrong?” Noticing Luo Ruoxin’s look of displeasure, Zhang Xuan panicked. “Is it too small? Then… what about this?”

After saying those words, Zhang Xuan hurriedly passed a huge pot over.

“Scram!” Luo Ruoxin bellowed furiously, nearly driven insane by Zhang Xuan’s actions.

She had always been considered a goddess regardless of where she went, an existence whom others looked up to. Yet, this fellow actually passed her a cup… And, as if that wasn’t bad enough, he even tried to pass her a pot afterwards!

Are you trying to say that I will be able to fill that huge pot up?

Shall I show you what hell looks like?

Not expecting the other party to snub his goodwill and even bellow at him to scram, Zhang Xuan pouted in indignation. “If you are unwilling to do it, so be it. There is no need to get angry over it…”

“You…” Luo Ruoxin felt the final string of rationality in her mind threatening to snap.

In her entire life, she had never gotten emotional over anything, as if a spectator of the world or a still painting. However, ever since she met this fellow, she had found all kinds of emotions coming to her. It was as if someone had vanquished the silence from her life.

“Alright, alright. I’ll leave.” Seeing how Luo Ruoxin would erupt if he said a word more, Zhang Xuan hurriedly turned around and fled.

However, even after Zhang Xuan’s departure, Luo Ruoxin still felt the flames of anger burning intensely within her, unable to be quelled without a good beating of him. While she was considering whether or not she should catch up to fellow back and give him a piece of her mind, she suddenly heard a distressed voice from not too far away.

“I don’t have anything to pee out of! What do I do? Can anyone help me?”

Luo Ruoxin turned her gaze over and saw the Golden Origin Cauldron looking around anxiously, seemingly looking for help.

“Don’t leave! Won’t any of you aid me? Or, Master, can you smith one for me?”

“…”

Dark lines streaked across Luo Ruoxin’s face.

Just what kind of people had she gotten involved with?

…

Oblivious to the reason behind the young lady’s rage, Zhang Xuan found himself an isolated area as well. However, at this moment, a thought flashed across his mind, and he slapped his forehead in realization.

How could I have been so silly?

The next moment, he disappeared from the spot and entered the Myriad Anthive Nest.

Floating in midair, Zhang Xuan loudly bellowed, “All of you, come over!”

Hu hu hu!

In the blink of an eye, all of the saint beasts within the Myriad Anthive Nest flew over.

Knowing that the ancient domain would be dangerous, he had made sure to bring a few more saint beasts with him when he returned to the Master Teacher Academy. Taking into account the Byzantium Helios Beast and the nine kings of the Cloudmist Ridge as well, he had more than several dozen saint beasts in the Myriad Anthive Nest in total.

“I need all of you to urinate for me!” Saying those words, Zhang Xuan passed a pile of pots toward the beasts as well.

“Roar?”

“Roar!”

The beasts were bewildered by the abrupt command, but considering that the other party was their master, they dared not act against his command. Thus, they took a large pot each and turned around.

In an instant, an overwhelming stench filled the Myriad Anthive Nest.

A few moments later, the beasts returned with huge pots in their hands, each weighing ten jin 1 at the very minimum.

Quite a number of these saint beasts had massive physiques, boasting both heights and lengths of several meters. Naturally, the amount of urine they released was also proportionate to their size.

“Not bad!”

Seeing how the bunch of fellows didn’t disappoint, Zhang Xuan nodded in satisfaction. With a swift movement, he poured all of the Spirit Solution of Vigor together into a massive pail. All in all, it weighed more than two thousand jin!

“Alright, you all can get back to whatever you were doing previously!” Zhang Xuan dismissed the saint beasts with a wave of his hand before leaving the Myriad Anthive Nest.

Returning back to the door, he noted that there were quite a few people who had returned. Most of them were from the Combat Master Hall.

“Here is what you needed!” Feng Xun harrumphed as he passed a pot over.

The others also hurriedly did the same as well, but the quantity wasn’t a lot. The ten or so members of the Combat Master Hall had only produced around half a pot in total.

“So little?” Zhang Xuan glanced at the pot before turning his gaze back to the powerful-looking members of the Combat Master Hall with a deep frown.

So many lively young men, and yet, this was all they could produce?

Recalling how badly he had been pummeled, Feng Xun suddenly felt a surge of rage and lashed out. “Little? What about yours? Why don’t you bring yours out to show us then?”

“I…” Zhang Xuan was just about to speak when Wu shi, Mu shi, Wo Tianqiong, and the other master teachers flew over. Their faces were all reddened in embarrassment.

Putting theirs together, they realized that their amount didn’t even come close to the combat masters’.

“This…” Zhang Xuan couldn’t help but feel a surge of helplessness.

It was fortunate that he was sharp enough to think of a backup plan, or else, with that pitiful amount that all of them had produced, it wouldn’t even be enough to water a plant, let alone break a formation.

“Forget it, the amount you all have is too little. Let’s use mine instead!” Seeing how the amount from everyone combined did not even add up to a single pot, Zhang Xuan shook his head and tossed it aside casually.

Feeling humiliated by Zhang Xuan’s words, Feng Xun lashed out furiously. “Use yours? Can yours be more than all of us combined?”

“This is mine.”

Boom!

A massive wooden pail weighing over two thousand jin 2 fell onto the ground, raising a cloud of dust in the air.

Pu!

“How is that possible?” Seeing the massive pail, the eyes of the combat masters and master teachers couldn’t help but fly around the place, frenzied by what they were seeing.

Even if your bladder is big, surely there should be a limit to it. With so much water, it could easily drown you several times over. How in the world did you manage to find so much water within you?

The one who took the heaviest blow from this matter was naturally Feng Xun. He felt blood gushing up his throat once more.

Just how in the world did you manage to pull this off?

It is one thing for you to be strong, but to be able to urinate so much… is there a folded space in your bladder?

If we had known that you were able to produce so much, we wouldn’t have bothered going through all the trouble!

“Alright, I’m going to break the seal now.”

Ignoring the looks on the faces around him, Zhang Xuan raised the pail with his hand, and with a step, he flew into the sky, heading for the seal.

On the other hand, hearing that Zhang Xuan was about to break the seal, the others quickly snapped out of their frenzied states and hurriedly turned their gazes toward the door.

They had studied the seal carefully earlier, but they had not been able to find any other method to break it. Even the Otherworldly Demons that had come before them had been left with no choice but to resort to brute force, attacking it relentlessly. Yet, Principal Zhang was actually able to find a solution just by touching it, instructing them to gather their urine right afterward.

Everyone was curious to see just what the method of breaking the seal was for it to require urine.

Hu!

Before everyone’s gazes, Zhang Xuan arrived directly above the door, and with a grim look, he tapped on the bottom of the pail.

Boom!

A huge hole immediately appeared in the pail, and the content stored within fell toward the seal.

Tzzzzzzzz!

As if sulfur meeting metal, upon contact with the seal, a sound of corrosion immediately sounded from the seal. In an instant, the incomparably sturdy seal dissipated into nothingness.

---

Chapter 1038: How Big!

 

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

---

“This…” Taking the scene into sight, Guild Leader Han suddenly thought of something, and his eyes narrowed. With a quivering voice, he said, “I’ve got it…”

“Got it?”

“What’s going on?”

Seeing that Guild Leader Han had managed to make sense out of what had just happening, the confused crowd immediately turned their gazes to him.

Even the full might attack from the Saint 4-dan Wu shi had barely fazed that seal, so why would pouring a little of… that kind of stuff dissipate it?

“If I am not mistaken, the seal is probably of pure yang attribute, which makes it extremely vulnerable to contamination and water. If it was only plain water, the seal wouldn’t have fallen apart that easily. But if one were to use the Spirit Solution of Vigor, it would curb the pure yang attribute of the seal, resulting in its swift dissipation,” Guild Leader Han explained.

“Do formations of pure yang attribute have such properties? Why haven’t I heard of it before?” Wu shi frowned.

He had met quite a few pure yang formations before, but he had never heard that they could be destroyed so easily with urine. If that was truly the case, wouldn’t the existence of such formations be completely meaningless?

“Ordinary pure yang formations don’t have such a property, but… if it is a perfected pure yang formation, that would be a different matter. Actually, most formations are vulnerable to contamination. For example, there are reports of a group that was trapped in a Confinement Formation for an extended period of time, unable to break out. However, when one of the ladies in the group gave birth 1 , the spiritual energy powering the formation abruptly dispersed, resulting in the collapse of the formation!” Guild Leader Han said.

“That…” Mu shi nodded in agreement. “I think I have heard of such a matter as well.”

It was due to this that there were those who used the blood released by a pregnant woman during childbirth to forge artifacts to destabilize and destroy formations.

After explaining the matter, Guild Leader Han couldn’t help but glance at the young man not too far away and remark meaningfully, “But to be able to tell the flaws of the seal with just a single look, Principal Zhang’s comprehension of formations has reached an astounding level.”

In truth, breaking a perfected pure yang formation wasn’t as easy as just pouring the Spirit Solution of Vigor on it. If one failed to find the crux of the formation and weaken it with the Spirit Solution of Vigor right from the start, not only would one be unable to break the formation, the formation might even retaliate.

Taking the seal for example, judging from how it would release a burst of energies whenever it came under attack, it seemed like it had been built with the ability to retaliate against any attacks. Haphazard movements against it could potentially put one in danger.

While Principal Zhang’s actions seemed simple, simply pouring the pail of Spirit Solution of Vigor over the seal, in truth, the height at which the pail was at, the force that its contents fell on the seal with, and the area where its contents would land… all of these had to be precisely calculated, not the slightest margin of error would be tolerated.

It was extremely challenging on one’s control.

Most probably, only that monster was able to think of such a method to overcome the formation and even succeed on his first try.

One of the combat masters couldn’t help but ask, “But such a bizarre method of overcoming the seal… how did the old principal and the others manage to enter back then? Were they really able to think of the same solution as well?”

The others were also puzzled by this bewildering fact.

It was apparent that such a bizarre method could only be thought of and pulled off by the seemingly omnipotent Principal Zhang. Considering the straightforward and austere personality of the old principal, Zhang Yinqiu, there was no way he would ever have thought of or even tried such a method.

After contemplating for a brief moment, Guild Leader Han said, “I am not sure how they got in, but… it is likely that they might have possessed some information that we are unaware of, or perhaps they were in possession of a key that allowed them to bypass the seal!”

Most ancient domains were built with the welfare of the later generations in mind. As such, they often came with a key or a unique artifact that granted those in possession of it to bypass the various traps and formations laid all across the ancient domain.

“That might very well be the case.” The crowd nodded in agreement.

Indeed. Had it been not for Principal Zhang’s help, they could very well have been still stuck at the trial above, completely helpless as to how they should proceed. It was hard to imagine that the old principal and his team could fare better than them without a key in hand.

Geji! Geji!

While they were talking, the wooden pail had finally been emptied, and the seal began to shatter. A moment later, the massive door opened up before everyone’s eyes.

“We can enter now!” Seeing that the door had finally been opened, Zhang Xuan tossed his wooden pail to the side and heaved a sigh of relief.

Through the flaws listed in the Library of Heaven’s Path, Zhang Xuan had learned that the formation was a perfected pure yang formation, which made the Spirit Solution of Vigor a perfect counter it. It was with this knowledge in mind that he had formulated such a daring plan, but who would have thought that it would actually work?

“Alright!” The crowd nodded before quickly moving toward the door.

Wu shi was still the first to lead the way, and only after confirming that there was no danger inside did he beckon the others over as well.

The area outside the door was incomparably hot, but upon stepping into the passageway within the door, the heat seemed to have disappeared all of a sudden. On the contrary, there was even a cooling breeze on the other side of the passageway, as if everything they had experienced just a moment ago was an illusion.

Bewildered by the abrupt changes in his surroundings, one of the combat masters asked, “Was it just my imagination?”

Given how the heat had been emanated from the door, they had thought that the other side of the door would have been so incomparably hot that it would be unbearable. Yet, it was completely different from what they had expected. Not only was it not hot, it was even… cooling?

Was everything that they had just undergone a moment ago nothing more than a figment of their imagination?

That would truly have been eerie!

“Don’t panic. Our previous experiences with the intense heat and the lava were real, and what we are feeling at this very moment isn’t an illusion either!” Guild Leader Han said in assurance. “It is very likely that there is a formation set up around here that allows one to alter the temperature of the surroundings freely. It is similar to the ones used in Formation Master Guilds, albeit a more extreme version.”

Most Formation Master Guilds had a formation that controlled the conditions within it, such as the temperature, so as to create a comfortable environment for the formation masters to work in.

One reason there would be such a steep difference in the environment could be due to a similar formation being set up within the door.

“That’s indeed possible…” Hearing the explanation, the crowd nodded in agreement.

Even though it was inconceivable to them that one could induce such a steep change in the surrounding temperature through just a formation, they also knew that the person who had left behind the ancient domain had been an expert far beyond their caliber, so it was unwise to gauge the other party by their standards.

After all, their experiences were limited by their cultivation, so what might have seemed unbelievable to them might not necessary be impossible. Principal Zhang overcoming the seal with the Spirit Solution of Vigor was one example of that.

“It isn’t a formation.”

At this moment, a voice suddenly sounded. The one who had spoken was neither Wu shi nor Zhang Xuan, but the reticent Luo Ruoxin.

“What else can it be if not a formation?” Noting Luo Ruoxin’s confident tone, the crowd couldn’t help but feel a little bewildered.

“It’s a type of spatial manipulation!” Luo Ruoxin replied.

“Spatial manipulation?” The crowd glanced at one another, unable to comprehend what had just been said.

“It is similar to the concepts used in storage rings. Stepping across the door has already brought us to another dimension, and it goes without saying that the environment will be completely different from before. The only reason you didn’t notice it is due to the seal cast over the door,” Luo Ruoxin said.

“We are in another dimension?” The bodies of the crowd jolted in astonishment upon hearing those words.

A formation was still a concept that was relatable to the crowd, but the laws of space were beyond their comprehension.

For the elder who had left behind the ancient domain to be able to manipulate even space itself, just how powerful an expert was he?

“It is said that Saint 9-dan experts are capable of comprehending the laws of space, allowing them to set up folded spaces that are capable of sustaining life. Could it be that the master of the ancient domain has reached such a level as well?” Wu shi muttered with fists clenched in agitation.

As a 7-star high-tier master teacher, he was privy to some information regarding the top echelons of the Master Teacher Continent. As rare as Saint 9-dan experts were, there were still some books regarding them in the Master Teacher Pavilion that others could learn from.

Experts of that caliber were already far beyond their reach, existences that they could barely fathom. Even a mechanism or formation that they set up on a whim could easily blow their minds.

Hearing those words, Luo Ruoxin shook her head with her eyes lowered slightly. It was hard to tell whether that gesture was directed toward Wu shi’s response or a contemplative gesture on her part.

Only Saint 9-dan experts are capable of comprehending the laws of space? Zhang Xuan blinked in astonishment.

In truth, he hadn’t thought that spatial manipulation would be such an advanced ability.

He had once entered a folded space back at the Saint Ascension Platform, and he had even ordered the Myriad Anthive Queen to assimilate it into her nest. If that was the case, did it mean that the place had been left behind by a Saint 9-dan expert as well?

Back then, Kong shi had only achieved a breakthrough to Saint realm, so it was impossible for him to have set it up himself. That would mean that there was already a loyal Saint 9-dan subordinate following him even back then.

However, considering the incredible prowess and the unique charisma that Kong shi commanded, it would not have been too difficult for him to take in a couple of followers who boasted strength greater than him.

Back then, when I first met Luo Ruoxin in the Hongyuan Master Teacher Academy during the public lecture event, she was able to maneuver through the bustling crowd without anyone coming close to touching her at all. That seems to have been spatial manipulation as well.

Such an idea emerged in Zhang Xuan’s mind, but he soon shook his head with a bitter smile. No, that should be impossible. She’s only a 6-star master teacher, so even if she is stronger than me, she can’t possibly be too far ahead. It is probably some kind of secret art or unique artifact.

Having read all of the books in the Hongyuan Master Teacher Academy, Zhang Xuan had learned that the Master Teacher Continent was filled with all kinds of wonders. On top of unique constitutions that could emerge randomly among fortunate individuals from time to time, there were also formidable clans who possessed special bloodlines. Through the power of their bloodline, they could draw forth exceptional strength that had the potential to exceed any battle techniques in the world.

This was also the reason the Sage Clans wielded immense power in the Master Teacher Continent, with only few daring to oppose them.

Perplexed, Zhang Xuan turned to Luo Ruoxin and asked, “How can you be certain that it isn’t a formation but a type of spatial manipulation?”

Hearing those words, Wo Tianqiong and the others turned their gazes over as well.

Concepts relating to space were extremely profound, far beyond what they could comprehend at their current level.

Luo Ruoxin pointed a finger forward and said, “That’s simple. Just look ahead and you will know.”

The crowd hurriedly turned their eyes over, and at the other end of the passageway they were currently in, the scenery abruptly changed.

Meandering mountains that stretched into the horizon were filled with lush greenery. The air was comfortable, very different from the warm and dry environment around Firesource City. It was as if they had stepped into an entirely different world.

“Is this… a folded space? It’s massive!” Zhang Xuan was stunned.

He had encountered quite a few folded spaces so far, and he even possessed a decent-sized one himself. However, one as large as the one before him… he had never thought that it would be possible for a folded space to be that large, let alone see one!

He had thought that his folded space was already rather incredible to span several hundred meters from one end to the other, but the one before him could house mountains and rivers that extended to the horizon. Frightening!

The larger a folded space was, the greater the pressure it would face from the external world, thus making it less stable.

How in the world did the master of the ancient domain manage to create and maintain such a large folded space?

Just as Zhang Xuan was completely astounded by the sight before him, Guild Leader Han’s voice suddenly sounded at that moment. He quickly turned his gaze toward the latter, only to see the latter’s body completely stiffened in shock.

“No, this isn’t a folded space; this is a Spatial Formation!”

---

---

Just some explanation:

In Library of Heaven’s Path, seal is a type of formation as well, similar to Hidden Formation, Slaughter Formation, Beguilement Formation etc.

Chapter 1039: Unbounded Voyager (1)

 

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

---

“Spatial Formation?” Zhang Xuan asked in confusion.

He had heard of Confinement Formations, Illusory Formations, and Slaughter Formations, but a Spatial Formation… How was it different from folded spaces?

“Spatial Formation refers to the construction of space within a formation itself. Its stability is inferior to folded spaces, but its structure is more suited to contain other formations within it. In other words, there could be many Slaughter Formations, Beguilement Formations, Illusory Formations, and the sort hidden within it, making it extremely dangerous. Often, those who step into Spatial Formations aren’t even aware of it themselves,” Guild Leader Han said with a trembling voice.

As a 7-star pinnacle formation master, he knew how fearsome Spatial Formations were. Those who stepped into one would find their minds being led on by the distorted spatial laws within it, making it impossible for them to escape it. More importantly, it was possible that there could be other formidable Slaughter Formations or the sort hidden within the Spatial Formation, making it extremely dangerous for even the strongest of experts. As long as one hadn’t reached Saint 9-dan, it would be near impossible to overcome it.

After hearing those words, the crowd couldn’t help but frown.

They didn’t fully comprehend how frightening Spatial Formations were, but for the composed Guild Leader Han to show such a response, there was no doubt that they were something extremely frightening.

“What if we were to destroy the Spatial Formation?” Zhang Xuan asked.

Regardless of how formidable a formation was, there was nothing that couldn’t be overcome with a kick from him. There was really no need for the other party to be so worried over this matter!

“Putting aside the fact that it is near impossible to destroy a Spatial Formation, unless you are capable of surviving the shattering of space, it would be wiser for you not to do,” Guild Leader Han said.

Zhang Xuan’s lips twitched upon hearing those words.

The shattering of space was not something that he could withstand even if he were to raise his cultivation by seven realms at this very instant. In shattered space, even a Primordial Spirit would be torn to shreds in an instant!

How could beings who existed in space possibly survive in the absence of it?

To make an analogy, what would hair latch onto in the absence of skin?

“Indeed! This is precisely why we can only advance along the path that the creator of the Spatial Formation has determined step by step.” At this point, Guild Leader Han’s voice suddenly grew grim. “At this point, I believe that we can say that we are already in the ancient domain. Every step that we take from this point onward will be fraught with dangers.”

“Fraught with dangers…”

Those words left the crowd with grave expressions on their faces as well.

It was indeed very difficult for them to bypass the first two trials that they faced, but at the very least, it couldn’t really have been considered dangerous.

For the first trial, even if they had not passed through the lava to reach the area beneath it, they would have been in no immediate danger for the time being.

As for the second trial, as long as they didn’t attack the seal, it would have been possible for them to have survived in the area for several years without trouble.

But at this point, Guild Leader Han’s words seemed to be indicating that danger was lurking everywhere around them. Regardless of whether they chose to move or remain stationary, to take on a passive approach or explore actively, danger could still spring forth at any moment.

They were going to face the true trial of the ancient domain from this point on.

“Since we are already here, we can only look forward and deal with whatever comes our way. If we are really in the ancient domain now, Zhang Yinqiu and the others should have passed through this area as well. As long as we can find a way to trace their route, we should be able to steer clear of most danger!” Wo Tianqiong said.

“You’re right!” Others quickly voiced their agreement.

They had already prepared themselves for death when they made the decision to join the expedition back then. If they were truly already in the ancient domain, they should be glad that they were on the right track.

“Zhang Yinqiu and the others came by two years ago, so any traces they have left behind should have been erased by now. However, since he was able to send his Principal’s Seal out, there is a good chance that he is currently trapped at a certain part of the ancient domain. If that deduction holds true, we should be able to find something while advancing ahead,” Wu shi said as he took the lead.

There was no one who could say for sure at this point whether the old principal was dead or not. However, given that the latter had been able to send his Principal’s Seal out, there was a good chance that he was still alive at this point. If so, he would have surely left some traces behind so that they could find him. Otherwise, there would have been very little meaning to him sending a help signal to them.

“Un.” Zhang Xuan nodded as he activated his Eye of Insight to examine his surroundings.

A moment later, he couldn’t help but shake his head.

Regardless of whether they were in a Spatial Formation or a folded space, there was one thing for sure—the person who had created the ancient domain possessed a cultivation far greater than his. The vast disparity in strength made it impossible for him to discern anything even through the powerful Eye of Insight.

Flaws! Zhang Xuan willed.

A moment later, he shook his head once more.

The Library of Heaven’s Path could only compile a book on the items that he was in contact with or were currently active.

While the Spatial Formation was a formation as well, as the mountains and rivers in his surroundings weren’t the direct manifestation of the Spatial Formation, he was unable to compile a book on it in the Library of Heaven’s Path. The only way he could do so was probably only if he could get an overview of the functioning of the entire Spatial Formation.

This was similar to how he couldn’t possibly use the sunrise and sunset or the changing weather to compile a book regarding the flaws of the Master Teacher Continent.

Even the overpowered Library of Heaven’s Path couldn’t work its wonders against something as expansive as the Spatial Formation they were in.

It seems like we can only proceed forward a step at the time. Seeing that there were no shortcuts he could take, Zhang Xuan sighed deeply in frustration before following behind the crowd.

Honestly speaking, the Spatial Formation was truly incredible. Had they not known that they were deep underground, beneath a hundred meters of lava, they might have really thought that they had entered a warm mountain range in the midst of spring.

Surrounded by lush green plants, the crowd couldn’t help but forget the fear of being within an ancient domain. Slowly, a feeling of leisure crept upon them.

A light mountain breeze blew, and the leaves rustled under its tugging. Such natural call of nature left them feeling incredibly relaxed, as if they had entered a utopia free of hardship and struggles.

“It doesn’t seem like there is any danger around?”

“Indeed! Not only so, the area is also very rich in spiritual energy. If the day comes when I wish to retire and back away from the material world, I think I would want to live here!”

“This is indeed a good environment, very suited for cultivating one’s heart…”

…

The leisurely atmosphere in the air made the combat masters and master teachers a little more talkative than usual.

Previously, when Guild Leader Han spoke about how there might be dangers pouncing on them at every step, they had been scared out of their wits. But when they began making their way through the Spatial Formation, they realized that it was far from what Guild Leader Han had said. Rather than threatened, they felt calm and peaceful.

They couldn’t help but desire to live in a place as peaceful as this for the rest of their lives.

Hearing those words, a thought suddenly sprouted within Guild Leader Han’s eyes, and sharpness abruptly returned to his glazed eyes. “No, something is wrong. Everyone, stay alert! We are already under attack!”

One of the combat masters chuckled. “We are under attack? Guild Leader Han, you must be joking! I’m sure that we will know if we are under attack!”

Another combat master nodded in agreement. “Indeed. I think Guild Leader Han is just being a little too apprehensive. There is no way so many of us wouldn’t notice it if we are being attacked!”

As veterans of the battlefield, they were conditioned to instinctively retaliate toward any offense directed at them. If there was truly an attack against them, they couldn’t possibly still be in the leisurely state they were in at the moment.

“An attack that is unnoticeable is the most fearsome of all!” Guild Leader Han exclaimed lividly.

If it was a direct attack, they would at least still have been able to put their lives on the line and fight their way out. What was truly frightening would be when one didn’t even realize that one was being attacked. As if frogs being cooked in warm water, they wouldn’t even notice what was happening to them until their moment of death!

“Did Guild Leader Han notice something?” Wu shi asked.

“Did you notice how our wariness has slackened ever since we entered this ancient domain? In our current state, there is no way we will be able to put up any defenses should danger abruptly spring on us!” Guild Leader Han said. “More importantly… did you notice that we have already been walking for some time now? Yet, the end is nowhere in sight. It is as if there is some kind of power pulling us along, making us walk for all eternity to come! There is something really amiss with the situation here.”

“This…” Wu shi was taken aback.

Now that the other party had pointed it out explicitly to him, he also realized that there was something very wrong with the situation as well.

In the first place, it was bizarre that they would be in such a leisurely state, neglecting to even put their guards up, considering the fact that they were venturing into uncharted territory. As veteran master teachers and combat masters, there was no way they would make such an elementary mistake.

Pu!

While the duo was still speaking, a peculiar sound echoed clearly ahead of them. Turning their gazes over, they saw that the face of the combat master who had just said that Guild Leader Han was being too apprehensive had turned ghastly pale, and blood was streaming down the corner of his mouth profusely. Yet, a smile remained plastered on his face as he trudged forward resolutely.

“This…”

That fellow was clearly in a bad state, his face turning paler at a visible rate as blood rained down his chin, but his lips were still curled up into the most peaceful of smiles.

This sight left goosebumps rising on the hands of the duo.

It was simply too eerie!

As knowledgeable and well-read as they were, they had never encountered something as sinister as this.

After taking a look, Wu shi observed with an awful complexion, “His current state is caused by exhaustion. His zhenqi has about to be depleted clean, and his stamina is swiftly approaching its limits.”

As a 7-star master teacher, it wasn’t too difficult for him to discern the source of injury of the combat master.

But… it hadn’t been long since they had started walking?

Combat masters were renowned for their astounding endurance in battle, and yet, that fellow was already at his limits after such a short walk?

Guild Leader Han couldn’t help but be deeply perplexed by the bizarre matter. At this moment, Wu shi suddenly exclaimed, “Guild Leader Han, take a look at your dantian!”

“Dantian?”

Taken aback by the abrupt words, Guild Leader Han hurriedly looked into his internal state, and what he saw left his eyes narrowing uncontrollably.

To his astonishment, the overwhelming zhenqi that he possessed had nearly been depleted as well. If one were to compare a cultivator’s dantian to a lake, his would be one that had dried up to the point where one could already see the seabed.

“My zhenqi… How has it been depleted so quickly?” Guild Leader Han’s body trembled in shock.

As a 7-star pinnacle formation master, a Saint 4-dan pinnacle expert, he was one of the strongest in the expedition, and he boasted the greatest zhenqi capacity as well. Putting aside walking, he could easily fight for four hours straight without being depleted.

But this… he had only walked for a short while—they weren’t even flying—and yet, his dantian was nearly empty. What was happening?

This was really frightening!

Pu! Pu! Pu!

While Guild Leader Han was astonished over his internal state, the sound of someone spurting blood echoed around them once more. A few more combat masters who had a lower cultivation began spewing blood, and even Wo Tianqiong, Shen Pingchao, and Wu Ran had pale faces, and veins were popping from their temples. It looked like they were on the verge of running out of strength and collapsing.

This was exceptionally apparent for Wo Tianqiong, whose hair was turning white as well due to exhaustion. In this moment, it looked like he had aged by more than ten years.

“This…” Guild Leader Han’s body shook fearfully as he turned a horrified glance toward Wu shi.

He knew that the Spatial Formation would be fraught with dangers, but he didn’t expect such a thing to happen. In fact, he wasn’t able to make sense out of what was happening either.

“I have no idea what’s going on.” Wu shi shook his head, too.

It was always difficult for those who were trapped within the box to obtain a clear view of their current situation. Despite the many books they had read, they were still unable to comprehend the bizarre situation they were in.

At this moment, Zhang Xuan spoke.

“It is probably the sound of the breeze in the mountain. It is placing us into a trance in which our bodies deplete zhenqi faster than normal, and even our life force is gradually being sapped as well. If we don’t find a way out of this situation, we will only continue walking tirelessly forward until we finally exceed our limits and die!”

The duo hurriedly turned their gazes over, only to see the young man with a deep frown etched on his forehead, seemingly deep in contemplation over something.