Library of Heaven’s Path - Chapter 1050

Chapter 1050: Jadeleaf King

The Otherworldly Demon’s height and aura paled in comparison to the Stoneleaf King, but there was a look of utmost coldness in his eyes. His skin was smooth like jade, and the intervals between his breaths were extremely long—a sign of his deep cultivation.

“Young Master, he’s the Jadeleaf King!” the Violetleaf King anxiously sent a telepathic message to Zhang Xuan with a quivering tone. “He cultivates the Broken Jade Technique, and not only does he possess a powerful physical body, his Primordial Spirit wields frightening strength as well. His cultivation has also reached Half-Leaving Aperture realm…”

“Half-Leaving Aperture realm?” Zhang Xuan was taken aback. Turning his gaze back to the Otherworldly Demon who had just arrived, he noticed that there was an inconspicuous gleam at the other party’s glabella. It seemed as if the other party was just a step off from freeing his Primordial Spirit from the constraints of his body.

Saint 5-dan Leaving Aperture realm; the term ‘Leaving Aperture’ referred to the Primordial Spirit fleeing from an aperture in the body and soaring freely in the heavens. In such a form, a cultivator would be more closely aligned with the world, allowing to draw forth more power from his surroundings to exert far greater fighting prowess.

The gap between Primordial Spirit realm and Leaving Aperture realm was a major demarcation line. Take the current Zhang Xuan for example, if he could catch a Primordial Spirit realm expert off guard, he would still stand a chance to slay the latter. However, if he were to encounter a Leaving Aperture realm expert, the only viable course of action he could take was to flee as far as he could.

Even a breakthrough to Saint realm wouldn’t grant him the strength to face Leaving Aperture realm experts!

While Half-Leaving Aperture realm cultivators had yet to wield the devastating strength that true Saint 5-dan experts possessed, they still weren’t existences that could be killed with simple physical attacks.

It was no wonder why the Violetleaf King was so fearful of the Jadeleaf King. Even in comparison to the Stoneleaf King, the strength that the Jadeleaf King wielded was frightening.

“I miscalculated. I should have relayed information regarding the Qingtian Ten Great Kings to the Qingyuan Conferred Empire Master Teacher Pavilion and had them dispatch more powerful master teachers over…” Zhang Xuan sighed deeply.

Given that he had killed quite a few Otherworldly Demon Kings himself, and considering the fact that the seal had been closely guarded by the Master Teacher Pavilion, Zhang Xuan thought that it should have been impossible for Otherworldly Demons to enter the ancient domain. Thus, he hadn’t thought much of the matter.

The most powerful experts they had at the moment were Wu shi, Guild Leader Han, Mu shi, and Feng Xun. However, even they were a far distance away from matching up to a Half-Leaving Aperture realm expert.

It could be said that the overall prowess of their expedition team was on a different level from that of the Ten Great Kings…

If only he had known that there were such powerful enemies lurking in the ancient domain, he would have definitely requested for the Qingyuan Conferred Empire Master Teacher Pavilion to dispatch more powerful master teachers over.

While it was only a branch, they should have quite a few Saint 4-dan pinnacle master teachers.

“Forget it, it’s too late for regrets now. I should focus on what’s before me now…” A moment after the thought surfaced in his mind, Zhang Xuan tossed it aside decisively, not allowing it to bother him.

There was no point thinking about what he could have done better back then. In any case, he did manage to subdue six out of the ten of them. If he were to work a little harder than before, the remaining four should still be doable!

“There’s an urgent matter which I require your help on.” the Stoneleaf King stepped forward and said.

“Hm?” the Jadeleaf King looked at the Stoneleaf King questioningly.

“It’s like this. According to our sources, that human lying over there is said to be a very noble existence amongst mankind. Thus, we hope that you can help us verify his true identity!” the Stoneleaf King pointed to Feng Xun and said.

The Stoneleaf King decided not to speak about the matter concerning the Celestial Master Teacher first. At the current point in time, it was best not to reveal too much first.

“Verify his true identity?” the Jadeleaf King asked as he turned his gaze upon Feng Xun. “Judging from his clothes, he should be a combat master. Does he possess some other identity? Also… Violetleaf King, why are you here?”

After saying those words, the Jadeleaf King turned a piercing gaze towards Zhang Xuan.

“It’s like this…” Zhang Xuan repeated the same lie that he had told the Stoneleaf King. However, he also neglected to mention the words ‘Celestial Master Teacher’ as well.

“You are saying that in order to track down that noble existence amongst mankind, you chose to blend in together with them so as to lure the other party here?” the Jadeleaf King asked with a frown. A moment later, he nodded slightly and said, “Very well then. Let me see just what kind of existence this human is for you to go so far for him. If he is really as noble as you put him out to be, I will help you report this matter to His Majesty on your behalf and beseech him to reward you generously!”

After saying those words, the Jadeleaf King whipped out an altar. It was different from the one which Zhang Xuan had procured from the Violetleaf King. Bronze and large, it was filled with many bizarre inscriptions that could send one’s head spinning with just a look.

“That is the Immaculate Jade Altar that only the Jadeleaf King possesses. Of the Ten Great Kings, the Qingtian Emperor only bestowed it upon him… Through this altar, one can summon the Spirit God to ascertain a person’s true identity and verify the authenticity of their words!” the Violetleaf King informed Zhang Xuan telepathically.

“The Qingtian Emperor bestowed it only to the Jadeleaf King?”

The Jadeleaf King was neither the strongest or the weakest of the Ten Great Kings. Why would the Qingtian Emperor make such an exception for the other party?

“The Jadeleaf King lords over the Hall of Crime, and he is in charge of interrogating and punishing all criminals of the Qingtian Lineage…” the Violeleaf King explained.

Hearing those words, Zhang Xuan nodded in realization.

As one who was in charge of interrogation and punishment, it was important for the Jadeleaf King to possess such an ability. Otherwise, it could cause great disorder in their judicial system.

Taking a closer look at the altar, Zhang Xuan couldn’t help but feel a little confused. Somehow, he just couldn’t make the association between the ability to discern a person’s identity together with an altar.

His confusion didn’t remain for too long.

In the next moment, the Jadeleaf King whipped out a couple of tributes and placed it on the altar. The altar released a dim glow which consumed the tributes with a blazing flame. Following which, a sacred white glow suddenly fell upon him and Feng Xun.

Seeing how the Violetleaf King was covered amidst the glow as well, the Jadeleaf King frowned.

The Stoneleaf King’s complexion wasn’t too good either, and he bellowed, “Violetleaf King, we are in the midst of verifying the identity of that human. You should step aside for the moment.”

“Don’t worry, my presence here won’t affect the results. I caught this fellow with my own hands, so I want to see for myself just who he is…” Zhang Xuan replied.

He wasn’t too sure how the other party’s verification technique worked, but if one thing was for sure, Feng Xun definitely wasn’t a Celestial Master Teacher. If he were to step away from the glow, there was no doubt that the white glow wouldn’t be able to pick up anything at all.

Standing within the white glow could potentially reveal his identity, but Zhang Xuan was confident in his ability to maintain his disguise while revealing the presence of the Celestial Master Teacher amongst them.

And of course, the revealed Celestial Master Teacher would be Feng Xun as well.

“Anything that pleases you!” Seeing the wariness in the Violetleaf King’s eyes, the Stoneleaf King thought that the other party was afraid that they would steal his prey, so he could only shake his head helplessly.

“I’ll continue then.” the Jadeleaf King said as he continued placing more tributes on the altar.

Heaving a sigh of relief, Zhang Xuan discreetly tapped his leg on Feng Xun’s back and infused the aura unique to a Celestial Master Teacher into the latter’s body.

This aura was the distinctive mark of a Celestial Master Teacher, but if it wasn’t driven, it would be impossible to notice it.

It was through this means that Zhang Xuan dared to say that Feng Xun was a Celestial Master teacher without fear.

Weng!

The glow surrounding the duo gradually grew brighter and brighter. Zhang Xuan was still unable to notice anything special, but the Jadeleaf King already had a frown deeply etched on his forehead.

“There’s indeed something bizarre about that person’s identity…” After saying those words, the Jadeleaf King continued placing a few more treasures on the altar.

The tributes that were previously placed on top of the altar had already been burned dry.

On the other hand, the Stoneleaf King couldn’t help but tighten his fists upon the sight.

While Zhang Xuan might not have had much of an understanding regarding the workings of the Immaculate Jade Altar, as one of the Upper Five Kings, the Stoneleaf King had a rough conceptualization of how it worked. The more tributes required for the altar, the higher the standing the other party possessed.

After refilling the tributes time and time again, the white glow of the tribute finally gathered together as one to form four huge words—Acknowledged by the Heavens!

“As expected!” Upon seeing the words, the eyes of the Stoneleaf King reddened as his breathing hastened.

It seemed like the Violetleaf King wasn’t lying. The human lying not too far away was indeed a Celestial Master Teacher just like Kong shi!

As long as he handed that human to the elders, his standing would soar through the ranks.

“Acknowledged by the Heavens… He is a Celestial Master Teacher?”

At the same time, the eyes of the Jadeleaf King also began burning with greed.

As the third strongest expert of the Five Upper Kings, he was well aware of the significance of these four words.

“That explains why these two fellows were in such a rush to find me… So they have caught themselves a huge fish…” the Jadeleaf King clenched his fists tightly in agitation.

“Jadeleaf King, this human was captured by me and Stoneleaf King. Since we have verified his identity, we intend to return to the tribe this instant to hand him over to the elders!” Seeing that his plan had succeeded, Zhang Xuan heaved a sigh of relief.

As innocent as those words sounded, it was intended to strike a stake between the relationship of the Stoneleaf King and the Jadeleaf King.

By mentioning that he had worked with the Stoneleaf King to capture the Celestial Master Teacher before adding that they intended to return to the tribe right now, that was as good as saying that they didn’t intend to give the Jadeleaf King a share of the credit!

“This…” Hearing those words, the Stoneleaf King’s face immediately warped in horror.

He too understood the significance of those words. It was a given that they would have to return to the tribe to hand the Celestial Master Teacher over to the elders, but… surely the Violetleaf King didn’t have to point it out at this instant? Those words were as good as saying that they were intending to keep the benefits of this matter all to themselves.

And as he had expected, the Jadeleaf King’s complexion immediately turned awful. Following which, his lips curled up to reveal a smile completely devoid of warmth, “We haven’t accomplished the mission entrusted to us by His Majesty yet. Don’t you think that it is inappropriate for you to leave right now?”

“Inappropriate? Why would that be so? Don’t worry, we won’t implicate the other Kings in this matter. We will take full responsibility for this matter. We are willing to accept any punishment His Majesty accords us due to this matter…” Zhang Xuan replied earnestly.

Hearing those words, the Stoneleaf King nearly fainted on the spot.

At this juncture, they should be trying their best to soothe the other party’s rage by emphasizing that the merit of capturing the Celestial Master Teacher belonged to everyone… And yet, that fellow actually said that the other Kings wouldn’t be ‘implicated’ in this matter at all…

Were there any better words to provoke the Jadeleaf King than that?

“Jadeleaf King, that’s not what he means…” The mouth of the Stoneleaf King began twitching uncontrollably, and he hurriedly rushed forward to explain.

However, halfway through his words, the red-faced Jadeleaf King interjected, “Is that your opinion on this matter as well?”

“Of course, I have already discussed this matter with the Stoneleaf King! If you back down at this point, we can still consider letting you off. However, if you dare to lay your hands on our merit, we don’t mind ending your life right here!” Zhang Xuan replied ferociously, seemingly desperate to protect his merit.

Right after hearing those words, the Stoneleaf King’s body staggered, and he nearly blacked out on the spot.

When in the world did I say those words?

You said that you were going to sound him out, not to taunt him!

Are you a three-year-old kid? Don’t you know how to hide your intentions? To voice it out right before the other party… you are dragging the both of us down to our graves!

“Good. Very good! It has been many years since anyone dared to threaten me like that…” With teeth gritted tightly in rage, the Jadeleaf King stared at the duo before him with killing intent raging in his eyes.

“Jadeleaf King, it’s not what you are thinking! We have captured the Celestial Master Teacher to…” While cursing the Violetleaf King for being an incompetent ally, the Stoneleaf King hurriedly tried to explain the matter so as to calm down the situation when a groan suddenly sounded from not too far away.

Ahhhhh!

The human who was lying on the ground, Feng Xun, had woken up. Rubbing his head, he slowly got up with a dazed look in his eyes.

“What’s going on? What Celestial Master Teacher?”

In his groggy state, Feng Xun heard a particularly striking phrase and subconsciously asked about it.

Chapter 1051: Killing One Another

Feng Xun had only been temporarily knocked out by Zhang Xuan’s palm. As a combat master who possessed a huge reserve of zhenqi and a powerful body, it was natural that it wouldn’t take him too long to recover.

His head was still spinning from the earlier impact, and in his momentary daze, he heard the words ‘Celestial Master Teacher’, so he instantaneously assumed that he was in a safe location. As such, he let his guard down and allowed words to spill out from his mouth.

“It’s good that you have woken up.” Seeing that the human had woken up, the Stoneleaf King heaved a sigh of relief. He was about to grab the other party to force him to spill out some words so as to alleviate the current situation when the Violetleaf King abruptly sent a foot into the other party’s face.

Peng!

The foot struck Feng Xun’s head squarely, and before the latter could even process what was going on, he had already fainted once more.

“Ah?” The Stoneleaf King was stunned.

Didn’t you say that the both of you have a rather close relationship with one another? Why did you look as if… you were kicking a stray animal?

Paying no heed to the knocked-out Feng Xun, the Jadeleaf King glared at Zhang Xuan and spat, “End my life? You two?”

“Indeed, the two of us will suffice to deal with you! Since we have confirmed this human’s identity, you no longer possess any value to us!” Zhang Xuan replied haughtily. “If you continue to live, you will only spread word of this matter and endanger us. Thus, the Stoneleaf King and I have decided that as long as you join our alliance and swear not to speak of this matter to any soul or try to steal our merit, we will spare you this time around.”

“Wonderful…” Seeing how the Violetleaf King was getting more and more arrogant, not showing the slightest respect toward him, the killing intent in the Jadeleaf King’s eyes intensified. “Since you wish to kill me, it’s only right for me to return the favor to you!”

Boom!

Right after saying those words, a powerful palm strike flew right for the Stoneleaf King.

In the Jadeleaf King’s view, the Violetleaf King posed no threat at all. The one whom he should be wary of was the Stoneleaf King.

“Listen to me…” Seeing that the Jadeleaf King was completely enraged by the Violetleaf King’s words, the Stoneleaf King anxiously tried to explain himself. However, before he could even finish his words, the Violetleaf King had already interjected with a loud bellow by the side, “Old Stone, quick, move according to our plan! Otherwise, we might very well die here!”

The Stoneleaf King nearly went insane from anger.

Plan?

When have we decided on a plan?

I only told you to follow my commands if the Jadeleaf King intended to make a move against us. Yet, before the Jadeleaf King even did anything, you went full out trying to provoke the other party. Just how in the world did I get myself stuck with an ally like you?

Furthermore, Old Stone? Stone your head! My surname is not Stone, alright?

However, he knew this wasn’t the time for him to get into a conflict over the matter. It was apparent that the Jadeleaf King had already made up his mind to kill them. If he didn’t fight back, he might just end up losing his life here.

Thus, clenching his fists, the Stoneleaf King twisted the Lightning Elemental Orb in his hand, and a thick congregation of lightning fell from the sky.

Hong long!

It collided with the Jadeleaf King’s palm strike, and a huge shockwave burst into the surroundings, collapsing innumerable ancient buildings. The two powerful forces were equally matched, and they ended up neutralizing one another.

“And here I was wondering where you found the guts to stand up against me. So, you have to managed to tame the Lightning Elemental Orb and gained control of this lightning formation. However, if you think that you can kill me like that, you are dreaming!”

Seeing that his attack had been struck down by the other party’s lightning, the Jadeleaf King bellowed furiously as he whipped out a long saber.

Huala!

He flicked the saber, and a vacuum cut through the air.

With just a single strike, the Jadeleaf King had succeeded in tearing a rift between the heavens and the earth. As if isolated from the world, the lightning, which had been descending furiously toward him earlier, suddenly found itself unable to enter the area.

While the Stoneleaf King had tamed the Lightning Elemental Orb, he had only gained control over a small portion of the field of lightning. Due to the limits of his cultivation, he was unable to bring forth its full might. He could easily devastate any cultivator weaker than him with it, but against a Half-Leaving Aperture realm expert like the Jadeleaf King… it was still a little lacking.

“I was indeed not a match for you in the past, but times have changed. Who knows? You might be the one who falls in the end.”

Even though the Jadeleaf King had managed to fend off the first wave of lightning, the Stoneleaf King didn’t despair. Instead, driving the Lightning Elemental Orb in his hands, he called forth another wave of lightning.

Huala!

The sky abruptly grew darker, and the rumbling of the thunder sounded more fearsome than ever. In the blink of an eye, the lightning shattered the vacuum that the Jadeleaf King had formed with his saber qi and appeared right above the Jadeleaf King’s head.

Upon seeing the lightning above him, the Jadeleaf King didn’t choose to flee immediately. Instead, an illusory figure appeared behind his back.

At Half-Leaving Aperture realm, while one’s Primordial Spirit was still unable to free itself fully from the confines of the body, it could still escape from the Yuanshen acupoint and form something like an avatar, enhancing the strength that one could call forth significantly.

As expected, as soon as the illusory figure materialized, the space surrounding them was sealed off all of a sudden, trapping the Stoneleaf King and Zhang Xuan like animals in a cage. The furious streaks of lightning struck relentlessly on the cage, but the lightning was unable to breach it at all.

“Die!” After doing that, the Jadeleaf King’s eyebrows shot up. He raised the saber in his hand and hacked it down upon the Stoneleaf King.

On the other hand, the Stoneleaf King knew that he wouldn’t be able to match the Jadeleaf King without the augmentation of the lightning formation, so he began to panic. He quickly whipped out a long spear to face the Jadeleaf King’s saber while shouting, “He is using his Primordial Spirit to seal the surrounding space. He can only sustain this state for a very short period of time, and it will be highly damaging to his Primordial Spirit. This is the perfect opportunity to bring him down, attack!”

It would be difficult for him to stand against the Stoneleaf King alone, but with the Violetleaf King’s assistance at this moment, he should be able to corner the Jadeleaf King through a pincer attack.

The sealing of space through one’s Primordial Spirit was a powerful technique, but it was incredibly depleting as well. Furthermore, his lightning was also striking the seal ferociously, so no matter how powerful the other party was, he couldn’t hold on for too long.

With his full might, the Stoneleaf King barely succeeded in withstanding the Jadeleaf King’s assault. At that moment, he couldn’t help but realize that the Violetleaf King had yet to make a move despite it being the perfect opportunity, so he quickly turned his gaze over to see what was wrong.

That glance left him nearly spurting blood.

That fellow was looking at their battle by the side with his hands crossed, seemingly not intending to help at all!

In this instant, the Stoneleaf King suddenly came to a realization. Damn it, I fell for that fellow’s ploy.

From the very start, the Violetleaf King didn’t intend to collaborate with him! The entire matter was a ploy to have him and the Jadeleaf King kill one another.

The previous vow had only restrained the other party from making a move against him, so it wasn’t against the rules for the other party to have the Jadeleaf King deal with him.

Furthermore, no matter who died in the fight, the surviving side would still have to let him live for the time being in order to ensure that the Celestial Master Teacher remained under control. In other words, that fellow would be the ultimate victor of the fight regardless of who won!

What a fearsome scheme.

This won’t do. I can’t let that fellow succeed!

Understanding this, the Stoneleaf King quickly sent a telepathic message to the Jadeleaf King while fending off the latter’s attacks. “Jadeleaf King, don’t fall for that fellow’s tricks! He is trying to turn us against each other and have us kill one another.”

“Have us kill one another?”

Seeing that there was room for negotiation, the Stoneleaf King heaved a sigh of relief as he quickly replied, “That’s right! The merit from finding the Celestial Master Teacher is huge; it is more than sufficient for the three of us to share it. There’s no need for us to turn against one another over such a small matter.”

“Hmm…” Pondering over the Stoneleaf King’s words, the Jadeleaf King was about to reply when he suddenly felt cold killing intent behind him. Unknowingly, a sword had emerged behind him, and it was aimed straight for one of his flaws, making it hard for him to deal with it.

Hu!

The Jadeleaf King quickly leaped aside to dodge the attack, but even so, the sword still managed to leave a deep slash on his back, causing him grievous injuries. Crimson blood flowed down his back profusely.

Turning around, he saw the Violetleaf King retreating several dozen meters away with his sword tightly in his grasp, fleeing out of his attack range. There was an excited gleam in the other party’s eyes as he shouted, “Old Stone, you were right! That spot is indeed his mingmen.”

“Damn it!” the Jadeleaf King bellowed furiously.

He had thought that there was some truth to the Stoneleaf King’s words, but who would have thought that it was only a ploy to distract him while the Violetleaf King launched an assault on him? With a frenzied cry that was overflowing with fury, he sent a palm strike toward Zhang Xuan while bringing his saber down upon the Stoneleaf King simultaneously.

“I…” Not expecting the Violetleaf King to leap into battle right when he was about to convince the Jadeleaf King, the Stoneleaf King felt incredibly stifled and crazed within.

Never in his life had he encountered anyone who was so shameless!

How can you make me take responsibility for the trouble you have caused? That’s really too much!

Furthermore… turning his glance over, he realized that the Violetleaf King was already standing a safe distance away from the Jadeleaf King after launching his assault. The other party’s arms were crossed before his chest as he watched the commotion with a look of interest.

Feeling so indignant that he could spurt blood, the Stoneleaf King knew that it was futile for him to attempt to explain himself to the Jadeleaf King anymore. He had already lost the latter’s trust for good, so he could only grit his teeth and focus on the battle.

Boom boom boom!

Even though the Jadeleaf King possessed higher cultivation than the Stoneleaf King, the Stoneleaf King was able to even the playing field with the powerful Lightning Elemental Orb in his hands and his superior physical defense. On top of that, the Violetleaf King’s previous assault had dealt significant damage to the Jadeleaf King, so both parties found themselves evenly matched for the time being.

However, the devastating shockwave that emanated from their powerful clashes caused the entire ancient city they were in to collapse uncontrollably, forming rubble all around.

Incredible… Seeing the strength the battling duo wielded, Zhang Xuan gave them a huge thumbs up.

No wonder they were the Five Upper Kings, the fighting prowess that they possessed was indeed frightening!

With Zhang Xuan’s current strength, he could easily decimate any Saint 2-dan pinnacle cultivator. However, against experts of the Stoneleaf King and Jadeleaf King’s caliber, the only option for him was to flee as far as he could.

Putting aside battling them, even the shockwaves emanated by their fight were hard for him to bear.

As time passed, the battle between the both of them intensified.

Logically speaking, with the Stoneleaf King’s superior defense and control over the powerful lightning field, the Jadeleaf King should have fallen already. Yet, both sides were still fighting on equal grounds.

Nevertheless, it was apparent that the Stoneleaf King held the decisive advantage in the battle. With the lightning formation in his hands, he was able to send wave after wave of powerful strikes at the Jadeleaf King relentlessly, causing injuries to gradually accumulate all over the Jadeleaf King’s body. Without a power source like the lightning formation to fuel his attacks, the Jadeleaf King found his stamina and zhenqi depleting swiftly as well.

“Damn all of you… Even if I have to die, I will bring the both of you down with me!” Knowing that he would only be killed at this rate, the Jadeleaf King roared furiously as immense power burst forth from his body. The illusory figure behind him suddenly grew larger, and finally, as if breaking past its bottleneck, it freed itself entirely from the body.

That… He drew his Primordial Spirit out from his body forcefully! Zhang Xuan narrowed his eyes in alarm.

Back then, he had encountered such a situation with the Waterleaf King as well.

Back then, in a moment of rage, the Waterleaf King had used a secret art to draw out his Primordial Spirit to attack him. However, it was a pity that the other party had chosen the wrong method of attack, resulting in his failure!

Currently, the Jadeleaf King was steadily accumulating injuries, and he knew that he would be killed eventually. Thus, he decided to go all out and use the secret art to draw his Primordial Spirit from his body.

Using the secret art, even if he were to survive the side effects, he would sustain permanent damage, and his cultivation would decline sharply. However, one thing was for sure—he would surely be able to kill the darned duo before him.

If the Stoneleaf King is killed, it is unlikely that I will be spared… I should find a place to hide in first. Considering the drastic side effects that came with the utilization of the secret art, Zhang Xuan knew that the Jadeleaf King was already determined to kill the both of them, and he couldn’t help but frown.

This situation wasn’t advantageous for him.

He had intended to spectate the battle from afar, but if the Jadeleaf King were to become desperate and go after him right before his death, that would be disastrous.

Thus, Zhang Xuan immediately got up and prepared to flee from the battle. At that moment, however, a figure gradually rose from the ground.

As that figure rose, he shook his head vehemently to shake out the grogginess in his mind.

That figure was Feng Xun. Due to his powerful constitution, his ability to recover was truly incredible!

“What is going on? Where am I?” Feng Xun mumbled in confusion beneath his breath.

Just as he barely opened his eyes, he saw a brick heading right toward his face.

Padah!

With his eyes rolling up, Feng Xun fainted once more.

Chapter 1052: Fudging

It was not convenient to allow Feng Xun to see the current sight before him. Otherwise, how could Zhang Xuan explain how he was able to disguise himself as an Otherworldly Demon and have the Stoneleaf King and Jadeleaf King fight against one another? Not to mention, even if he could come up with an explanation, it was another matter whether Feng Xun would trust him or not. After all, anything concerning the Otherworldly Demons required caution.

Thus, the most effective method to use at this point was to just knock the other party out.

It was simple, efficient, and effective. There was no point going to so much trouble when there was such an ideal solution. Besides, the bricks from the collapsed buildings all around him only seemed to be further tempting him into it.

Zhang Xuan subconsciously lowered his gaze to shoot a glance at Feng Xun, and he saw the latter lying on the ground with his face still twitching uncontrollably. It was as if he was unable to believe that a Thousand Men Commander of the Combat Master Hall like him would end up being knocked out three times consecutively. Furthermore, it seemed to be getting more and more humiliating each time.

Shaking his head, Zhang Xuan turned his attention back to the duo fighting in the sky, and his eyebrows shot up.

After the Jadeleaf King drew out his Primordial Spirit, the Stoneleaf King immediately fell into a disadvantage. Despite the superior defense that the Stoneleaf King possessed, it took mere moments for the Jadeleaf King to inflict injuries all over his body and even sever his arm, causing the Lightning Elemental Orb to fall to the ground. Fresh blood trickled profusely down his body, and his face turned pale.

It seemed like the Jadeleaf King had realized that the key to the Stoneleaf King’s power lay in the Lightning Elemental Orb. Without the augmentation from the lightning formation, there was no way the Stoneleaf King could stand against him.

“Let’s die together then!” Suffering grievous wounds, the Stoneleaf King knew that he couldn’t stand against the Jadeleaf King in his current state. Thus, with a furious roar, he also utilized his secret art and drew his Primordial Spirit out.

The Stoneleaf King didn’t possess a cultivation as high as the Jadeleaf King. Even after drawing his Primordial Spirit out, the Jadeleaf King could still live by finding a suitable body to house himself in, but the same option wasn’t open to the Stoneleaf King. Thus, this could be considered a suicidal attack by him.

Hong long long!

The two powerful Primordial Spirits began clashing with one another, and the intensity of the battle was hiking up as time passed. Zhang Xuan surveyed his surroundings, only to note that the surroundings had really been completely sealed. Thus, he could only shake his head helplessly.

Given the current circumstances, there was no way he would be able to escape. Even if he chose to hide in the Myriad Anthive Nest, he wouldn’t be able to hide the nest itself. With just a scan from their Spiritual Perception, he would be found in an instant. By then, he would be completely cornered, putting him in an even worse position.

Zhang Xuan frowned. If the Stoneleaf King wins, I can just poison him to death. However, if the Jadeleaf King wins, I will be in deep trouble.

A battle at such a level was something he couldn’t hope to intervene in with his current strength. If he forcefully got involved, he would be killed before he could even do anything.

If the Stoneleaf King won, he would still hold the initiative. However, if the Jadeleaf King won, considering what he had done to the other party previously, there was no way the other party would let him off.

Taking another look at the battle, he saw that the Stoneleaf King’s Primordial Spirit was being overwhelmed by the Jadeleaf King, forced to retreat again and again. At this rate, it was only a matter of time before the Stoneleaf King lost.

I really miscalculated… Zhang Xuan’s mouth twitched.

As expected of the third strongest expert of the Ten Great Kings. Even with the Stoneleaf King in control of the lightning formation, it seemed like the one who would emerge victorious in the end was still the Jadeleaf King.

What should I do? Seeing that the Stoneleaf King was on the verge of succumbing to the Jadeleaf King, Zhang Xuan paced around worriedly. However, in that moment, he suddenly caught sight of a certain figure not too far away.

After drawing his Primordial Spirit out, the Jadeleaf King had left his body lying completely unguarded by the side.

He likes to draw out his Primordial Spirit, doesn’t he? Hehehe… With a sinister chuckle, Zhang Xuan walked over to the Jadeleaf King’s body.

Zhang Xuan had to admit that the fellow’s Broken Jade Technique was indeed rather powerful. It had granted his body exceptional durability and sturdiness. While it was not on par with the Stoneleaf King’s, it was plenty fearsome.

Drawing the Glacier Rain Sword, Zhang Xuan hacked down forcefully on the Jadeleaf King’s body, but to his astonishment, he was unable to breach the other party’s defense.

It seemed like the Jadeleaf King hadn’t left his body completely unprotected after all. He seemed to have used some kind of powerful secret art to reinforce his body’s defense before drawing his Primordial Spirit out.

Next, Zhang Xuan tried to place his finger on the Jadeleaf King’s acupoints to infuse his zhenqi in, but a short moment later, he shook his head.

The Jadeleaf King’s body was wholesome like jade. With Zhang Xuan’s current strength, he was unable to force his zhenqi into the other party’s body to poison him.

After a moment of hesitation, Zhang Xuan flicked his wrist, and a pile of lava appeared before him.

Previously, when he was passing through the lava, he had taken the opportunity to secretly store some of it in his storage ring, thinking that he could utilize the heat to smith better weapons. It was good that he had done so, because it happened that he had a good use for it at this very moment.

With another flick of his wrist, he threw the lava right at the fellow before him.

Tzzzzzzzzz!

As soon as the lava came into contact with the other party’s body, the sizzling sound of corrosion immediately echoed loudly in the air. The body, which even the Glacier Rain Sword was unable to cut through, began melting.

Not bad… Zhang Xuan nodded in satisfaction.

Honestly speaking, even when stored within the storage ring, the lava would still cool down very soon. Thus, it was good that he could find a use for it now.

As powerful as the body of the Jadeleaf King was, it still paled in comparison to the lava at a hundred meters deep in the lava pool.

“You…”

On the other hand, the Jadeleaf King seemed to have noticed something from above, and glancing downward at his body, he nearly spurted blood and died on the spot.

As he had yet to fully reach Leaving Aperture realm, it was highly damaging for him to force his Primordial Spirit out of his body. However… as long as his physical body remained unharmed, he could still return to it. He would have faced a sharp decline in his cultivation from doing so, but at the very least, he would still have been able to live. Yet, who could have known that someone would attempt to burn his body?

That was equivalent to having one’s home burned down by an arsonist! His Primordial Spirit no longer had a place to return to anymore!

“You scoundrel!” the Jadeleaf King spat in anger.

In his moment of confusion, the Stoneleaf King managed to get a few attacks in, which nearly caused his Primordial Spirit to dissipate.

“I will deal with you first before killing that fellow.” As angry as the Jadeleaf King was, he knew that he wouldn’t be able to get even with the Violetleaf King without dealing with the Stoneleaf King first. Thus, with a furious roar, he charged forward and launched a frenzied wave of attacks on the Stoneleaf King.

Boom boom boom boom!

Deafening explosions reverberated across the horizon, and the spiritual energy within a radius of several dozen kilometers was disrupted by the intense battle. Not too long later, the Stoneleaf King’s Primordial Spirit finally dissipated under the relentless assault of the Jadeleaf King.

The dissipation of one’s Primordial Spirit was equivalent to the complete destruction of one’s soul. In such a state, not even a deity could save one.

The reason the Stoneleaf King was ranked fourth among the Five Upper Kings was due to the immense strength his physical body possessed. However, having focused too much of his efforts on developing his physical body, his Primordial Spirit had ended up being slightly weaker than his peers. As such, the only plausible conclusion in a clash with the Jadeleaf King was his defeat.

Of course, considering the situation back then, the Stoneleaf King had no choice but to pit his Primordial Spirit against the Jadeleaf King’s too. His limbs had been severed, and his physical body had sustained grievous injuries. If he hadn’t drawn his soul out using his secret art, he would have died as well.

The only difference was how long it took.

“It’s your turn…”

After slaying the Stoneleaf King, the Jadeleaf King immediately turned to the culprit who had reduced his physical body into a puddle of goo. With a furious roar, he charged forward.

“Kill me, and I will kill this Celestial Master Teacher!” Zhang Xuan quickly held Feng Xun up and placed the latter before him. “Think about it. As long as he remains alive, you can hand him over to our tribe. With the contribution you earn from that, finding a new body for you to possess and regaining your strength will be a walk in the park.”

At this moment, this was the only leverage he had over the Jadeleaf King, as well as the only card he could play.

The Jadeleaf King was tempted to skin the fellow before him alive, but there was sense in the other party’s words. If the Celestial Master Teacher were to die, the battle that he had fought would have been for naught. After all he had been through, this was an outcome he couldn’t accept.

“Do you think that I will trust you?” Forcing himself to remain calm, the Jadeleaf King glared at the Violetleaf King with wintry eyes.

If not for the other party, he wouldn’t have ended up fighting with the Stoneleaf King, landing himself in such a pitiful state. He had decided that from this point on, he wouldn’t believe a single word that the other party said… including even punctuation!

Holding Feng Xun’s neck tightly, Zhang Xuan gazed at the Jadeleaf King nonchalantly. “It doesn’t matter whether you trust me or not. However, there is one fact that you have to acknowledge. If this human dies, you won’t be able to obtain anything.”

“You’re right. If he dies, I won’t be able to obtain anything. However, without a body, I won’t be able to live for long either. Since the eventual outcome is death anyway, don’t you think that I will be better off finding another companion to accompany me on the journey to hell?” the Jadeleaf King spat coldly.

If he had reached Saint 5-dan Leaving Aperture realm, his Primordial Spirit might still have been able to survive outside of his body. However… he had used his secret art to escape from the confines of his body, and that had dealt heavy damage to his Primordial Spirit. If he couldn’t find a body to house his Primordial Spirit soon, it wouldn’t be long before he breathed his last.

This was similar to how an infant that was born after forty weeks of pregnancy was the healthiest. If one were to attempt to conduct a caesarean delivery prematurely, it could potentially be damaging to both the mother and the child.

Such was the same for the Primordial Spirit as well.

At Half-Leaving Aperture realm, a cultivator would have already opened their Yuanshen acupoint, the pathway for the Primordial Soul to escape from the confines of the body. They still couldn’t draw it out, not because it was impossible to do so, but because their Primordial Spirit wasn’t strong enough for it yet.

This was the situation the Jadeleaf King was in. His Primordial Spirit was still too weak to sustain itself, so he needed to find a body to nourish it. At the current rate, his Primordial Spirit would slowly wear thin and eventually dissipate.

In a sense, this was similar to the woes faced by soul oracles, the only difference being that the time soul oracles had was significantly shorter.

“Without a body? Isn’t the Stoneleaf King’s body lying right over there? You can possess it!” Zhang Xuan said with a smile.

“You…” the Jadeleaf King’s eyes were glacier cold. “There is a fundamental difference in the cultivation techniques we practice, so if I possess his body, I will be in constant anguish and suffering.”

“This…” Zhang Xuan rubbed his lower jaw with a frown. “I see. That makes things a little troublesome.”

Despite his lack of understanding of Primordial Spirits, through his extensive knowledge of souls from the heritage of the soul oracles, he knew that the other party was speaking the truth.

It was true that the Jadeleaf King would be able to survive by possessing the Stoneleaf King’s body, but due to the fundamental differences in their cultivation techniques and constitutions, not only would he suffer a steep fall in his fighting prowess, he would be in constant misery as well.

“Right!” Zhang Xuan didn’t hesitate for long before slapping his head in realization, seemingly having thought of something. “Why didn’t I think of it earlier? I happen to have specially crafted a puppet not too long ago, and since it is attributeless, there is no way it can clash with your cultivation technique. Why don’t you enter it to recuperate for the time being? Once we bring the Celestial Master Teacher back to our tribe and receive the reward, you will surely be able to make the breakthrough to Leaving Aperture realm, and by then… it won’t matter whether you have a body or not!”

“Puppet?” The Jadeleaf King frowned.

“That’s right!” Zhang Xuan nodded. He flicked his wrist, and a huge Otherworldly Demon puppet appeared before his eyes.

It was one of the puppets that he had taken out of the underground cavern where Wu Yangzi had been imprisoned. After resolving the flaws in its structure, it wielded prowess comparable to a Saint 3-dan cultivator.

“This is forged out of the body of an ordinary tribesman, so it is attributeless. It does complement my Primordial Spirit fairly well.” The Jadeleaf King took a look at the puppet and hesitated.

The puppet had been forged using the living body of an Otherworldly Demon, and it was driven by a reserve of spiritual energy at its core. While it was weak, its strength lay in that it was attributeless, so it was a better fit with his Primordial Spirit compared to the Stoneleaf King’s body.

Naturally, this also meant that he could display greater fighting prowess within the body of the puppet as well.

“To tell you the truth, you have nothing to earn from killing me. In the first place, the one who tried to kill you wasn’t me but the Stoneleaf King. Besides, given the limited strength I wield, there’s no way that I will be able to harm you!” Zhang Xuan shook his head.

“It took me a great amount of effort to forge this puppet, and I was intending to use it to craft a clone. However, since you require it, I will give it to you to serve as a temporary body. Once we return to the tribe with the Celestial Master Teacher, everything can be resolved easily.”

Saying so, Zhang Xuan patted his puppet fondly, seemingly a little reluctant to part with his treasure.