Library of Heaven’s Path - Chapter 650

Chapter 650: Saving Her

 

Zhang Xuan had seen many beauties.

Shen Bi Ru, Mo Yu, Zhao Feiwu, Yu Fei-er, Luo Qiqi… Even his students, Wang Ying and Zhao Ya, were beauties in their own rights.

Among them, there were a few who bore feelings for him, and some even voiced their willingness to be with him…

But Zhang Xuan’s heart remained unmoved.

He wasn’t devoid of feelings, nor was he uninterested in beautiful ladies; he was simply unmoved.

Since he possessed no particular feelings for them, he wasn’t willing to get involved with them.

He thought that it might be due to the Library of Heaven’s Path in his head. Perhaps the library had come together with the unfeelingness of the heavens. Never had he imagined a day would come where his heart would actually beat helplessly at the sight of a lady.

It was as if the other party possessed some kind of quality that drew him in, leaving him with no choice but to leap forward.

She was extremely beautiful, such that even Zhao Ya would pale before her. Even so, Zhang Xuan’s mind wasn’t so weak as to be assailed by mere physical appearance. But for some reason, this lady had an extraordinarily intimate presence to him.

As if he had seen her somewhere before.

“I mustn’t allow anything happen to her…”

Such a thought simply appeared out of nowhere.

Prowling in the area were more than thirty Transcendent Mortal 5-dan spirit beasts and eight beast hunters. If they were to attack the white-robed lady, she would surely be unable to withstand their assault.

‘Save her!’

This thought sprouted in Zhang Xuan’s mind, and it was growing stronger by the second, compelling him into action.

He didn’t want to see this white-robed lady being torn apart by all of these spirit beasts.

‘If I were to rush forward to save her, I would be surrounded by them before I could even reach her. If so, I would be dead before I could even achieve anything!’

While the thought had gripped Zhang Xuan’s entirety, he knew that it would be foolishness to dive in without a plan.

There were plenty of formidable aerial spirit beasts amidst the group as well. Even with Zhang Xuan flight capability, it would still be difficult for him to outrun them.

‘Should I disguise myself as Yang shi to scare this group off?’

After a moment of thought, Zhang Xuan realized that he couldn’t find any better idea. Thus, he decided to resort to his specialty… hoodwinking!

If he could frighten this group off, that would be for the best.

Otherwise… he would have no choice but to face them.

At the most, he would just have to call his clone out at that time to fight alongside him. While victory was unlikely, he was confident that he could at least get away.

‘It’s settled then!’

Gritting his teeth, Zhang Xuan refined the details of his plan before standing up. His muscles slowly shifted, turning his appearance into that of Yang shi.

Hualala!

Right when he was done with his preparations, the spirit beasts finished circling the entire area. There was a bizarre glint in their eyes, and it seemed as though they would leap forward at any moment.

“I have to go in now or else I won’t make it in time…”

Frowning, Zhang Xuan immediately flew straight toward the side of the lake, where the white-robed lady was.

“Humph!”

While he was in the air, a cold harrumph resounded in the area. It sounded like the roar of a dragon, causing the entire forest to tremor.

His soul energy and zhenqi were devoted to this harrumph, and it carried a grandness that made one feel small in comparison.

Accustomed to playing as an expert, Zhang Xuan naturally commanded an aura befitting of one. With his majestic demeanor, he resembled a deity descending from the heavens.

The spirit beasts and beast hunters who were just about to pounce on the white-robed lady all halted their movements before his presence.

While the intelligence of spirit beasts hadn’t reached the level of humans yet, they were still no fools.

Considering how the figure was able to fly in the sky, it was unlikely that they would be able to stand against him.

Hu!

Seeing that his presence had made everyone stop for the moment, Zhang Xuan heaved a sigh of relief. With a few steps, he walked to the aerial space right above the white-robed lady.

From the current location where he was standing, he would be able to grab her and escape swiftly should the unexpected happen.

Now that he was closer to the white-robed lady, he was able to catch a clearer look at the latter’s features. She was a young lady of a similar age to him. She had a composed look on her face, seemingly unaware that she was already completely surrounded by many spirit beasts and beast hunters.

With his hands behind his back, Zhang Xuan’s gaze fell upon the spirit beasts and beast hunters.

“I am fond of this scenery, and I don’t wish for blood to besmirch this land. Back down!”

After saying these words, he secretly sent a telepathic message to the young lady below him.

“Try to find a way to escape later on. Spirit beasts have already surrounded this area, and I fear that they… mean you harm!”

However, after waiting for a while, Zhang Xuan still didn’t receive the other party’s reply. Glancing downward, he saw the white-robed lady looking at him nonchalantly.

‘Could it be that… she doesn’t believe me?’

Zhang Xuan frowned.

Those spirit beasts and beast hunters had approached silently, and they were currently hiding amidst the greenery. It was possible that the other party did not believe his words.

Thinking about it, it wasn’t too surprising. Given that a man had suddenly appeared and sent a telepathic message to her saying that the area was filled with spirit beasts, she would probably think that he was a lunatic.

“Do my words mean nothing to you?”

Knowing that he would only make himself seem less credible the more he explained the matter, Zhang Xuan decided to turn his gaze back to the forest, flung his sleeves, and roared, “I told you to back down!”

Roar!

Zhang Xuan’s bellow had succeeded in inducing fear in the spirit beasts in the region. One of them unintentionally let loose a fearful whimper, revealing its presence.

Knowing that the other party was already aware of their presence, the spirit beasts and beast hunters decided to step out of their hiding spots.

Hualala!

The might of more than thirty Transcendent Mortal 5-dan spirit beasts and eight beast hunters exerted an immense pressure on Zhang Xuan.

“Now you should believe me, right? They are intending to deal with you and your Snow Fox…”

Cold sweat dripped off Zhang Xuan’s forehead as he sent a telepathic message to the white-robed lady.

The white-robed lady seemed to be slightly astonished by the arrival of the spirit beasts as well.

“You don’t need to fear. Since I’m here, I won’t allow them to do as they please. Don’t worry, I’ll chase them off for you!” Zhang Xuan reassured her before turning to the crowd.

“Are you certain you want to challenge me?”

Hong long!

A powerful surge of soul energy swept through the entire area.

Zhang Xuan’s cultivation might be ordinary, but his soul energy was superior to even the Transcendent Mortal 8-dan Ye Wentian’s.

With the release of his soul energy, the spirit beasts and beast hunters immediately felt immense threat.

Padah!

One of the aerial spirit beasts even lost control of its body and plummeted from the sky.

A few spirit beasts also collapsed to the ground, unable to withstand the pressure.

Seeing this situation, the tense Zhang Xuan heaved a sigh of relief.

It seemed these spirit beasts were no fools. They knew better than to challenge an opponent beyond them.

Roar!

But just as Zhang Xuan thought that the group would back down from fear, a ferocious howling sounded. It came from the Armored Beartiger that he first met.

Hualala!

Hearing the howling, the frightened spirit beasts immediately regained their nerves. They turned their gazes over once more—this time, it was filled with savagery.

‘What’s going on?’

It was just a moment ago that all of them were trembling in fear. Yet, after this fellow’s howling, all of them seemed to have regained their fighting spirit. Zhang Xuan’s face immediately warped in fear.

Could it be that… this Armored Beartiger recognized him as the person from before?

In the previous meeting with this fellow, his true cultivation was probably exposed. But even so, the person whom he saw previously was Zhang Xuan while the current him was Yang shi. How could the other party possibly recognize him?

Roar!

While Zhang Xuan was still bewildered by the situation before him, the Armored Beartiger yelled furiously once more. Pushing its large paws against the ground, it leaped forward.

‘This is bad!’

Zhang Xuan’s face darkened.

It was extremely clear that he had given himself away somehow.

It seemed that his disguise still needed a little more work for it to be effective under the scrutiny of spirit beasts’ astute senses!

Even though they didn’t possess intelligence on par with humans, they had sharp eyes and sensitive noses in exchange. Perhaps he had neglected an important aspect of his disguise that allowed the Armored Beartiger to see through it.

Or perhaps, it might be due to the lack of harmony between his soul and his body, resulting in his inability to hide his aura perfectly.

With his aura leaking out, it wasn’t too difficult for them to deduce that this ‘expert’ was a fake.

‘I have no choice but to fight them now…’

Seeing the large fellow rush over, Zhang Xuan knew that a fight was inevitable. Thus, he rushed in front of the white-robed lady and grabbed her hand. “Run!”

Hu!

But before they could escape, the Armored Beartiger was already right before Zhang Xuan. It swung its massive claws, and a sharp wave of might tore through space, heading straight for Zhang Xuan’s arm.

“Damn it!”

Zhang Xuan’s face darkened. The Armored Beartiger was much stronger and faster than he had expected.

The strongest aspects of an Armored Beartiger was its claws and strength. Even though Zhang Xuan’s physical body had been tempered by the Cleansing Lake, it would still be hard for him to clash with the other party face-on.

Letting go of the lady, Zhang Xuan flicked his wrist and the Glacier Rain Sword appeared in his palm. He immediately slashed it toward the other party’s claw.

Huala!

The sword qi immediately covered a distance of several dozen meters and collided with the other party’s attack.

Boom!

A loud explosion created two huge depressions of seven to eight meters deep.

Zhang Xuan remained unmoving on the spot whereas the Armored Beartiger was forced back. A shallow, white cut appeared on its body.

Even though the Armored Beartiger was one of the strongest even among Transcendent Mortal 5-dan spirit beasts, Zhang Xuan’s soul, physical body, and zhenqi were simply extraordinary.

Even so, the other party was indeed formidable.

If it had been any other ordinary Transcendent Mortal 5-dan spirit beast, Zhang Xuan’s sword would have surely split it in two. To leave behind just a single shallow white cut said a lot about the other party’s fearsome defensive capability.

Roar roar roar!

However, the very survival of the Armored Beartiger against Zhang Xuan showed that he wasn’t sufficiently powerful to stand against all of them. The spirit beasts and beast hunters in the surroundings immediately realized that Zhang Xuan was just acting before. Thus, with a loud roar, they charged forward furiously.

Sou sou sou!

Numerous arrows also came flying straight toward Zhang Xuan—the beast hunters!

They specialized in long-range attacks, and their arrows were infused with dense zhenqi. Even from afar, astounding killing intent could be felt from them.

Narrowing his eyes, Zhang Xuan felt his goosebumps rising up.

There were aerial spirit beasts to guard the sky, land spirit beast to charge on land, and even long-range support fire from the beast hunters… If they managed to surround him, it would be difficult for him to break out from their encirclement even with the help of his clone.

“Flee!”

Flicking his wrists swiftly, multiple blasts of sword qi shot out to deflect the arrows. Following which, Zhang Xuan pulled the white-robed lady forward and leaped into the lake.

Amidst this perilous situation, this was the only possible escape route!

Chapter 651: Consonance of Soul and Body

 

The white-robed lady seemed to be unwilling to leave, but Zhang Xuan knew that there wasn’t time to persuade her. Thus, he pulled her along forcefully.

Putong!

The duo fell into the lake. Seeing the two of them enter the lake, the Snow Fox also came swimming over.

“Let’s leave quickly. Otherwise, we’ll surely die!”

Grabbing the Snow Fox with one hand and pulling the white-robed lady with the other, Zhang Xuan yelled anxiously as he swam to the depths of the lake.

He had examined the spirit beasts carefully and there were none that specialized in aqua combat. They would be much safer down here.

Furthermore, this lake was connected to a river. It was possible for them to escape from their pursuers through here.

Hula!

Not too long after they swam down into the depths of the lake, a violent disturbance rippled from the top of the lake. There were a couple of spirit beasts who jumped into the lake to pursue them.

Knowing that there was no time to be lost, Zhang Xuan drove his zhenqi, and they picked up speed. Based on his memory, he swam in the direction where the river was at.

As Zhang Xuan expected, they were indeed much safer in the water. While there were some spirit beasts who chased them, he managed to ward them off with relative ease. Slowly, the number of spirit beasts decreased. After around two hours, they managed to shake off all of the spirit beasts. Only then did Zhang Xuan heave a sigh of relief and start swimming to the surface.

Holding his breath for two hours wasn’t too hard for him given his current cultivation. Turning to look at the white-robed lady beside him, it seemed that the other party was fine as well.

Considering how the spirit beasts had to approach her so carefully, it was likely that her cultivation was on par with his.

Hu!

As the beast and two humans emerged from the water, Zhang Xuan immediately scanned his surroundings. Only after confirming that there was no danger did he heave a sigh of relief.

“It’s safe now…”

Zhang Xuan pulled the lady to the shore.

After swimming for two hours, they were now a considerable distance away from the waterfall. Given the various splits in the meandering river along the way, it would be hard for the spirit beasts to track them down.

However, it was best for them to be careful anyway. The other party did have aerial spirit beasts who specialized in scouting on their side.

“Let’s find a safe spot, get some food, and dry our clothes!”

The three of them were looking rather unkempt after the long swim. Their clothes were sticking firmly to their skin. Zhang Xuan smiled bitterly.

Knowing that Zhang Xuan had gone through so much to save her, the white-robed lady seemed much friendlier from before. Smiling, she nodded in agreement at his words.

There were several large caves dug out by the spirit beasts in Verdant Mountain. It didn’t take too long for the duo to find an empty one.

Following which, they gathered a few dry branches and started a campfire. Only then did they feel their bodies warming up.

Even with cultivation levels such as theirs, swimming for two hours in the middle of winter was still no joke. The chill felt like a sharp dagger stabbing at their insides.

“I am Zhang Xuan! You are…”

After drying his clothes, Zhang Xuan took out a few pieces of dried jerky from his storage ring and offered them to the other party. Following which, he reverted his appearance and clasped his fist.

For some reason, this lady simply felt extremely familiar to him, as though he had known her all his life. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have gone through so much trouble to save her.

With a faint smile, the lady shook her head. She took the jerky from Zhang Xuan’s hands, tore off a small portion, and ate it. Her movements were extremely graceful and refined.

“You… can’t speak?”

Realizing that the other party hadn’t spoken a word since they met, Zhang Xuan was taken aback.

Until now, it seemed like the other party had been replying to his words with a smile.

The lady shook her head.

“Is it due to some kind of persisting illness or… do you need me to treat you? I am actually quite a capable physician!” Zhang Xuan said.

There were some who would lose their voice due to injury or cultivating incorrectly. However, it was still treatable as long as one had the correct treatment method.

Considering how he had read many books on medicine, and also had the Library of Heaven’s Path to fall back on, it shouldn’t be too difficult for him to treat the other party.

The white-robed lady shook her hands.

“Are you afraid that I can’t cure you… or are you unwilling to be treated?” Zhang Xuan frowned.

The lady continued to shake her hands nonchalantly. It seemed as though she was already used to being in such a situation, and she didn’t want to be treated.

“Since that’s the case… I won’t talk about it anymore then!”

Since the other party wasn’t willing to be treated, Zhang Xuan couldn’t possibly force his treatment on her.

For some reason, sitting beside this lady made him feel extremely calm, drawing him away from the material aspect of life.

“Hmm?”

Sitting silently, Zhang Xuan was searching for something, anything, to say when his face suddenly warped in pain. His entire body began shaking uncontrollably.

“Shit…”

Zhang Xuan clenched his fists tightly.

Even though his physical body had grown much stronger after the tempering from the earth flame and Cleansing Lake, it wasn’t sufficient for him to fully adapt to his massive soul. Thus, he should have avoided overexerting himself while training his physical body for it to adapt to his soul.

Who knew that he would have met with this white-robed lady and end up overexerting himself? He didn’t feel anything in the face of danger back then, but now that they were safe, he immediately felt a sharp pain in his soul as though someone had stabbed needles deep into it, and dizziness suddenly overwhelmed him.

Using the shoe measurements in his previous life, his current soul was size 45 while his physical body was size 42. While he could still slip in with some force, he would still be injured should he walk too much.

The current situation was as such.

Even though his body and soul were incompatible with one another, he might still have been fine if he hadn’t overexerted himself. But he did, and now he had to tolerate an insufferable pain in his soul.

Honestly, Zhang Xuan wanted to leave a good impression on the other party by saving her, but such a situation happened instead. He couldn’t help but feel a little stifled.

“Suppress!”

Zhang Xuan forcefully suppressed his soul to force it to adapt to his physical body. Who knew that the more he tried to do so, the more violent the backlash became? It was as if the side effect of forcefully stuffing his soul back into his body was coming back to bite him all at once.

“AHHH…”

With a roar, Zhang Xuan couldn’t hold on any longer, and his soul began gushing out of his glabella.

It was the previous problem playing up again—an overly powerful soul for a relatively weak physical body. Unless he could raise the strength of his physical body, the two wouldn’t be able to fuse together perfectly.

“It’s over…”

Feeling that his soul was about to leave his body, Zhang Xuan heart turned cold.

Actually, if his soul were to leave his body, he would be able to avoid such pain… but if he were to allow it to occur now, it would be as good as telling the other party that he was a soul oracle, and this would be difficult to explain.

Even though the soul oracle occupation was a complete one, its heritage had already gone missing for many years, and it had officially been eradicated by the Master Teacher Pavilion a long time ago. In the view of most cultivators, they were a callous and mysterious existence.

If the other party were to learn that he had such a sinister occupation, the goodwill that he had built up with much difficulty would definitely disappear instantaneously.

What in the world was this? Of all the times for his condition to work up, it just had to be now…

How would the other party view him after this? Would she think that he was up to no good?

Just as Zhang Xuan was at a complete loss, the white-robed lady stood up and pressed on his glabella lightly.

Hu la!

The soul that was about to slip out of his body was suppressed in an instant, and it returned obediently back into his body.

At the same time, a unique energy flowed through his entire body, relieving it of the extreme pain it felt instantaneously.

“This…”

Zhang Xuan widened his eyes in shock.

This was a problem which had troubled him greatly, and yet the other party resolved it with a single pat. What was this?

Could it be that… the white-robed lady possessed a cultivation far higher than the Transcendent Mortal 8-dan Ye Wentian?

One must know that not even Ye Wentian could resolve the problem of his soul going missing. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have just placed Zhang Xuan on the stone table helplessly.

Doubtful, Zhang Xuan was just about to ask about the issue when a pang of exhaustion suddenly struck him. His vision darkened, and he gradually lost consciousness.

Amidst his sleep, he felt as though his soul and physical body were harmonizing once more, and the discomfort he felt previously gradually vanished…

Sometime later, he woke up.

“Hmm?”

Rubbing his eyes, Zhang Xuan sat up. Indeed, the incompatibility between his soul and physical body had vanished, and he felt much more relaxed than before.

“My physical body hasn’t gotten any stronger, but my soul seemed to have undergone some kind of refinement. It has become much purer, making it easier to slip it into my body!”

Zhang Xuan’s eyes lit up.

Even though his soul was still ten meters tall, it had become much more flexible, making it easier to enter his body and control it.

‘I should give it a try!’

Closing his eyes, Zhang Xuan’s soul swept through his body, and he could feel that every single muscle and cell was within his control. He could now perfectly move his entire body.

Even before the affair at the Cleansing Lake, he had never felt such precise control over his body before.

‘This is… Perfect Consonance of Body and Soul?’

Zhang Xuan clenched his fists tightly, and his body trembled in excitement.

At Transcendent Mortal 5-dan, a cultivator would be able to harmonize his body and soul as one. This consonance would refine his control over his strength and body, allowing for more precise movements.

Rumor had it that if this consonance were to reach the level of perfection, one would be able to look inwardly into one’s physical body and repair the damaged regions. One’s body would be able to become as flawless as a piece of white jade.

However, even Transcendent Mortal 9-dan experts would be unable to reach such a realm. Only Saints would have a chance of accomplishing this… and yet, Zhang Xuan actually succeeded!

In the midst of Zhang Xuan’s excitement, a thought suddenly flashed through his mind, and he froze.

‘But… if my soul and body are perfectly consonant, won’t my soul be unable to leave my body?’

Typically, becoming a soul oracle meant abandoning one’s natural body. As far as Zhang Xuan knew, no soul oracle had achieved a Perfect Consonance of Body and Soul before… If his soul and body were to be perfectly consonant while he was unconscious, would it mean that he had lost his ability as a soul oracle?

If that was the case, then there was nothing for him to be happy about!

Even taking the occupations from ancient times into account, the abilities of a soul oracle were one of the more practical and useful ones. For example, there would be no other occupation that would have allowed Zhang Xuan to absorb the spiritual energy from the Cleansing Lake earlier on.

Thus, Zhang Xuan quickly drove the Soul Guiding Formula. Fortunately, he realized that his soul could still part from his body and move freely.

Only then did he heave a sigh of relief.

Sending his soul back into his physical body, Zhang Xuan stood up and looked around the cave.

However, the cave was oddly silent. The campfire was already extinguished, and there was not a person to be seen. The white-robed lady whom he had saved previously had already disappeared without a trace.

“Lady?” Zhang Xuan yelled. He was just about to go out to look for the latter when he caught sight of a line of neatly written words on the stone wall not too far away.

‘You have saved me once, and I have returned the favor. Thus, we are even now. There is still a long time ahead of us, so may we meet again in the future!’

“Meet again in the future?”

Zhang Xuan was dumbstruck. “She left?”

Chapter 652: Consonant Spirit Realm Pinnacle

 

Seeing the words left on the wall, Zhang Xuan felt disappointed.

This was the first lady that had sent his heart beating, but they ended up parting so quickly. He didn’t even manage to get the other party’s name.

Zhang Xuan raised his hand and wiped away the words on the wall before walking out of the cave.

The vast sky appeared before him, but there wasn’t a single person in sight.

It seemed like the other party had already left long ago.

After searching around the perimeter and realizing that the other party was gone, he began calculating the time based on his surroundings, and the result left his head shaking.

“I was actually out for three days?”

He didn’t expect to have been out for three whole days.

“The Perfect Consonance of Soul and Body has raised my zhenqi cultivation to Consonant Spirit realm pinnacle…”

Previously, Zhang Xuan’s breakthroughs were dependent on completing the corresponding Heaven’s Path Divine Art. But this time, just by fainting once, not only did his soul and body merge together flawlessly, his zhenqi cultivation even made a huge leap.

From Clarifying Turbidity realm pinnacle, he advanced all the way to Consonant Spirit realm pinnacle!

That was an entire cultivation realm!

However, considering that the main goal of Consonant Spirit realm was to harmonize one’s soul and body together, as well as to nourish one’s soul, that was to be expected.

The very concept of his soul being flawlessly consonant with his body was aligned with that of the Heaven’s Path Divine Art. As such, he naturally achieved a breakthrough with this.

Zhenqi gushed through his body at rapid speed, nourishing his entire body and revitalizing his spirit.

“A normal Consonant Spirit realm cultivator would wield a might of 3,200,000 ding, but my strength has reached… 4,000,000 ding!”

Closing his eyes, Zhang Xuan immersed his consciousness into his dantian.

With the Perfect Consonance of Soul and Body, he could look inwardly to clearly see how much might he wielded at the moment even without testing it out.

With a might of 4,000,000 ding in Consonant Spirit realm pinnacle, he could rival a Cosmos Bridge realm primary stage cultivator with just his zhenqi strength.

If the 2,000,000 ding from his physical body and 3,200,000 ding from his soul cultivation were to be added into the equation, that would total up to a staggering 9,200,000 ding. Even a Transcendent Mortal 7-dan Perfect Harmonization realm intermediate stage cultivator might be killed with a single punch from him.

(Perfect Harmonization realm primary stage 8,000,000 ding; intermediate stage 9,000,000 ding; advanced stage 10,000,000 ding; pinnacle 11,000,000 ding!)

But of course, Perfect Harmonization realm involves harmonizing everything into a singularity. One’s zhenqi, soul, and physical body would be enhanced significantly. At the same time, one would also achieve astounding mastery over one’s control over the environment, thus granting one sharp instincts against danger. It wouldn’t be easy at all to injure an expert of this caliber.

Take for example Zhang Xuan’s fight with Princess Fei-er, even though he wielded the advantage in terms of strength, he still had to make use of the Library of Heaven’s Path to defeat her.

A difference in cultivation realm meant a significant difference in speed, reflexes, and preciseness in movements as well. All of these advantages couldn’t be made up for with mere strength.

While Zhang Xuan’s strength might be superior to even Perfect Harmonization realm intermediate stage cultivator, his actual fighting prowess would allow him to draw with a Perfect Harmonization realm primary stage cultivator only.

But beneath that, none would be a match for the current Zhang Xuan. Even if a bunch of Cosmos Bridge realm pinnacle cultivators were to come charging at him, he would still be able to eradicate them easily.

“After reaching Consonant Spirit realm, my master teacher rank can be considered to have reached half 5-star…”

Zhang Xuan’s cultivation had always been the greatest impediment to his progress as a master teacher. Now that he had raised his cultivation, he could be considered as a half 5-star master teacher just like Luo Xuan and the others.

“Three days have already passed, I wonder if they’re still here…”

Given that their schedule was tight, it was hard to tell whether Hong shi and the others were still in Huanyu Capital.

Under normal circumstances, as soon as the cultivation at the Cleansing Lake was over, they would have to head to Hongyuan Master Teacher Academy. However, given that the Cleansing Lake had broken down, there was no point remaining here. Thus, it was possible that they might have headed off first.

It was a long distance to Hongyuan Empire, if they didn’t make haste, they might fail to make it in time for the start of the opening ceremony, and this could spell the disqualification of their candidature.

The Master Teacher Academy would accept a bunch of freshmen in the second month and eighth month of each year. Their group was rushing in order to join the second month’s batch, and it was already the first month now. They didn’t have much time left.

“I should return…”

Knowing that he didn’t have much time left, Zhang Xuan took in a deep breath and prepared to fly back to Huanyu Capital to check if Hong shi and the others had left already or not. However, flurried footsteps sounded at that moment, and a few human silhouettes came into sight.

“Xing Yuan, Princess Fei-er, and the others? Why are they here?”

Zhang Xuan immediately leaped silently onto a huge tree, and gazing downward, he was taken aback.

The people he saw were none other than Yu Fei-er, Xing Yuan, Luo Qiqi, Wu Zhen, and Ye Qian.

Luo Qiqi stood at the very forefront, and she had a map in her hands. She seemed to be looking for something while others were following behind her with grim expressions.

The group of five was in a rather unkempt state. All of them had clear injuries over them which indicated that they had just undergone a bitter fight.

“Qiqi, how much further?”

Anxiety could be seen on Yu Fei-er’s face.

Luo Qiqi confirmed the terrain in the surroundings and replied, “Based on the map, it should be somewhere here…”

“Good. We should quicken our pace. Even though I’ve stopped those fellows with my formation plate for the time being, given their strength, they could overcome it anytime and come rushing in…” Yu Fei-er said.

“Indeed!”

Xing Yuan nodded as he subconsciously glanced behind warily. It seemed that the matter which had happened previously had left him fearful.

“It’s truly weird. Spirit beasts usually operate alone, so why are the spirit beasts here cooperating with one another? They were all prowling the area frenziedly in groups, as though trying to find something.”

Wu Zhen found the situation they were in unbelievable.

“I also find it weird as well. The two great land spirit beasts, Grandlion Spirit Beast and Armored Beartiger, are usually the nemeses of one another. Yet, they actually collaborated with one another and attacked in unison as though they were old buddies. And that Dracoeagle Beast as well… When did an aerial spirit beast become so intimate with land spirit beasts?” Xing Yuan added in bewilderment.

Since the Cleansing Lake couldn’t be used anymore, they recuperated in the capital for nearly three days before entering the Verdant Mountain to complete the mission the academy had assigned to them. However, before they could even reach their destination, they stumbled upon a group of frenzied spirit beasts.

Possessing a might of Transcendent Mortal 5-dan, every single one of those beasts were incredibly powerful. To make things worse, they were even working with one another, hunting down every human that they saw. Under their frenzied onslaught, Luo Qiqi and the rest of the group nearly lost their lives.

If not for the many defensive artifacts that Yu Fei-er possessed, they surely wouldn’t have been able to get away!

“Ye Qian, didn’t you say that the Verdant Mountain is very safe? You call this safe?”

Recalling that huge bunch of spirit beasts pursuing them and the desperate situation they were in, Yu Fei-er found herself bubbling with rage.

Other than that darned Zhang Xuan, when had she suffered such injustice?

“I…” Cold sweat appeared on Ye Qian’s forehead. With a tearful face, he replied, “The spirit beasts are usually tame and don’t attack humans… I have no idea what’s going on either!”

He also found himself incapable of comprehending the situation before him.

This wasn’t the first time he had been in Verdant Mountain, and he knew a fair bit of the spirit beasts here. Under normal circumstances, these fellows rarely attacked humans. Yet, today, they were all collaborating with one another to strike down all of the humans they saw.

One must know that before coming here, he had reassured them confidently that the Verdant Mountain was completely safe!

Yet, for last few hours, they had been chased by the many spirit beasts around the entire mountain, and they felt so exhausted that they could spew blood. Just the thought of them left him stifled.

“Alright, you need not explain anymore. If those fellows come once more, you will block them by yourself…” Yu Fei-er waved her hands.

Ye Qian’s lips twitched.

If he, a Consonant Spirit realm cultivator, were to stand against that rampaging horde singlehandedly, he would probably die in the very first wave of attacks. After a moment of hesitation, Ye Qian said, “Why don’t I have my father dispatch some troops over to drive away the spirit beasts?”

Huanyu Capital wasn’t too far away, and as long as they wanted to, they could have the army up here to save them. Dozens of Transcendent Mortal 5-dan spirit beasts might be fearsome, but they couldn’t possibly stand against an entire army of cultivators.

“Don’t you know that this is a mission from the academy? To dispatch troops here, are you that intent to see us fail and return in disgrace?” Yu Fei-er harrumphed coldly.

“This…”

Ye Qian scratched his head.

The other party was right. The mission they were on was confidential and couldn’t be made known to anyone. If others were to learn of it, failure to accomplish the mission would be the least of their worries—they might even be expelled for failing to maintain confidentiality.

“Alright, let’s stop talking about such useless stuff. Let’s hurry up and find the entrance to the underground chamber. As long as we enter the underground chamber, we should be safe. Otherwise, I’ll throw you to the horde of spirit beasts to let them have a taste for themselves what a crown prince tastes like!”

Frowning, Yu Fei-er waved her hands.

“Yes!” Ye Qian’s lips twitched, but he didn’t dare to argue back. Thus, he hurried over to Luo Qiqi’s side to help her with the navigation.

He might be the crown prince of Huanyu Empire, but there was nothing he could do before this obstinate princess.

After looking around, he pointed forward and said, “It seems like our destination isn’t too far away. The entrance should be behind that hill…”

“Good, let’s hurry then!”

The group immediately rushed forward to the coordinates denoted on the map.

Right after they left, Zhang Xuan’s figure appeared from his hiding spot.

“They must be trying to finish some kind of mission…”

He had heard that Yu Fei-er’s group had come to Huanyu Empire to accomplish some kind of mission for the Master Teacher Academy, but to think that their destination would be Verdant Mountain.

“Judging from their words, they must have met with those spirit beasts!”

Zhang Xuan scratched his head.

To save that white-robed lady, he offended more than thirty spirit beasts at once. Perhaps out of anger, those spirit beasts attacked all of the humans that came into their territories, and Luo Qiqi and the others just became a victim of their wrath.

“If they are still in the surroundings, it would be best for me not to leave via flight. Otherwise, they might notice me…”

Perhaps it was due to the difficulty of finding the exact position of their destination through the lush crown of the trees, but it was fortunate that Luo Qiqi and the others didn’t ride an aerial spirit beast over as well.

Of the thirty spirit beasts, there were some that specialized in aerial battle. Had they chosen to ride on an aerial spirit beast, they would have been noticed and surrounded immediately, thus putting them in a very vulnerable position.

If they were surrounded on the ground, they would at least be able to retaliate and possibly escape. But in the air, the only fate awaiting them would be descending to their graves.

“This will be troublesome…”

Similarly, Zhang Xuan wouldn’t want to be surrounded by those spirit beasts in midair as well.

Even though his cultivation had soared by a fair bit and he no longer feared those spirit beasts, he would still like to avoid a fight if possible.

Chapter 653: Attracting Spirit Beasts

 

‘I guess I’ll walk to the capital!’

Jumping down from the branch, Zhang Xuan confirmed his direction before walking over.

The other party might be on a mission, but this had nothing to do with him. The most important matter for him at the moment was to liaise with Hong shi and the others and return to Hongyuan Master Teacher Academy rather than waste his time here.

Hualala!

After taking a few steps, Zhang Xuan heard some heavy footsteps. He immediately leaped up and hid in the tree. Following which, he saw a few large spirit beasts sniffing off the ground before rushing in the direction where Luo Qiqi and the others disappeared to.

‘They found them…’

Zhang Xuan frowned.

Even though these spirit beasts were only at Transcendent Mortal 5-dan—other than Ye Qian, Luo Qiqi and the others were all 6-dan experts—it would still be a difficult battle to fight against them.

‘I guess I should still offer them some help.’

Thinking so, Zhang Xuan followed behind the spirit beasts.

No matter what, he was acquainted with Princess Fei-er and the others, and Luo Qiqi was his apothecary student as well. He couldn’t just stand idly by the side knowing that they were in danger.

Roar! Roar!

“Damn it, they’re here again. Ye Qian, you’re up…”

A ruckus sounded ahead of him, and following which, a violent ripple of energy spread from the forest.

‘They’ve started fighting!’

Knowing that there was no time to lose, Zhang Xuan immediately rushed forward, only to hear a sharp gust of wind blowing above him. Raising his head, he saw a massive Dracoeagle beast swooping down to grab him.

It was the same one that had been amongst the beasts surrounding the white-robed lady back then.

As Zhang Xuan had been hiding within the lush crown of the trees while concealing his aura, he hadn’t been noticed by the spirit beasts yet. However, as soon as he drove his zhenqi and charged forward, they immediately noticed his presence.

Having met its mortal enemy, the Dracoeagle Beast’s eyes reddened in wrath. Its steel talons sliced through the air, producing a sharp screeching sound that seemed as though it would tear through even metal.

“If I get entangled with it, it’ll become hard for me to escape later on…”

Knowing that, if he were to waste time on this fellow, the other spirit beasts would soon gather around him and it would be hard for him to leave then, Zhang Xuan clenched his jaws.

“Moo!”

The Dracoeagle Beast possessed the Dragon Bloodline as well so the mysterious ‘beast language’ that he learned previously should be effective on it as well. Through practice, he had realized that its effects were less significant on those that didn’t possess the Dragon Bloodline. As this was the only spirit beast that possessed the Dragon Bloodline back then, he knew that he would be slaughtered by the other spirit beasts once he expends all of his zhenqi on the ‘beast language’—it had insane zhenqi consumption after all. Thus, the only viable course of action back then was to escape.

And as expected, after the shout, the Dracoeagle Beast suddenly froze in fear, and it began plummeting from the sky.

Putong!

The spirit beast with a wingspan of ten meters fell heavily to the ground, creating a cloud of dust in the air as it twitched uncontrollably.

Roar!

After dealing with this huge fellow, Zhang Xuan was just about to leave when he heard a roaring sound. The Armored Beartiger from before leaped up, and swinging its claws, a sharp force came falling onto him.

The commotion from before had attracted the attention of the spirit beasts. As the fastest spirit beast in the area, this fellow immediately rushed over to help.

“This will be troublesome.”

The other party had its eyes fixed on him as though he had killed the other party’s parents. Knowing that a battle wasn’t avoidable anymore, Zhang Xuan shook his head.

‘Since you want a battle, a battle you will get!

‘It just happened that my cultivation has raised by a fair bit, so I guess I’ll just try it out on you.’

Zhang Xuan thrust his palm forward with astounding might, creating a powerful shock wave that immediately covered a distance of dozens of meters to strike the Armored Beartiger.

Huala!

He hadn’t used his soul energy in this attack, but even so, with the strength of his physical body and zhenqi harnessed behind it, the might of the attack exceeded 6,000,000 ding. This was far beyond the tolerable limit for the Armored Beartiger. The force from its claws was immediately dissipated, and its body was pressed down firmly against the ground.

“Roar?”

The Armored Beartiger widened its eyes in shock, as though it had seen a ghost.

Just three days ago, it fought with this fellow, and while the other party’s swordsmanship was exquisite, he was still far lacking in strength to stand against it… How could it possibly gain the strength to overwhelm him completely with just a single palm in just a few days?

This was… a little, no, way too exaggerated!

If it had known that the other party was so formidable, it wouldn’t have dared to prowl around in search of him. Instead, it would have certainly made sure to hide well so as to stay out of the other party’s way…

“Don’t you dare pursue me anymore. Otherwise, I’ll start spilling blood!”

A roar, and the Dracoeagle Beast plummeted to the ground. A palm, and the Armored Beartiger lost its fighting will. Harrumphing coldly, Zhang Xuan flung his sleeves and turned around to assist Luo Qiqi and the others. However, at this moment, the group of spirit beasts consisting of the Grandlion Spirit Beasts and a few others who were further in front turned around and encircled Zhang Xuan.

Most probably, the Dracoeagle Beast had called for them before engaging Zhang Xuan in a fight.

“Since you came knocking on your own accord, don’t blame me if you were to get injured!”

Initially, Zhang Xuan had no plans of going after these spirit beasts. But since they had come over to challenge him, there was no reason for him to hold back at all. Leaping lightly off the tree, Zhang Xuan dashed forward.

Heaven’s Path Movement Art!

Along with the growth of his physical body and cultivation, Zhang Xuan’s control over Heaven’s Path Movement Art was getting more and more adept, and his maximum speed had increased as well. In an instant, it was as if he had torn a hole through space and leaped through it, appearing right before the Grandlion Spirit Beast in an instant and knocking it down with his body.

‘You specialize in defense?

‘Fine, I’ll use brute strength to crush the defensive ability you are so proud of!’

Peng!

As the two came into collision, the Grandlion Spirit Beast suddenly found its massive body flying backward swiftly, crashing through dozens of trees in the course of his movement, leaving him light-headed from the impact.

After sending this huge fellow flying, Zhang Xuan twisted his body and charged toward a wolf-like spirit beast.

‘Pi pa!’, the sheer might of Zhang Xuan’s fist compressed even air itself. Unable to dodge the attack, the wolf-like spirit beast could only take it forcefully. However, its defense didn’t even last for an instant before it was crushed into the ground, subdued.

…

While an intense battle was going on here, Luo Qiqi and the others were dumbfounded.

It was just a moment ago that the group of spirit beasts had caught up to them and was readying to launch an attack. Furious, Yu Fei-er pushed Ye Qian forward to take the brunt of the attack.

Given Ye Qian’s Consonant Spirit realm cultivation, even if he were to survive this ordeal, he would surely end up lying on the bed for months afterward. Who could have known that, before anything could happen, those furious spirit beasts would suddenly back down?

“Could it be that they are aware of my identity as the crown prince, so they dared not lay their hands on me?”

Ye Qian scratched his head in embarrassment.

But that was impossible!

When had the savage spirit beasts ever considered a person’s social standing before ripping him apart? Even an emperor would be no exception to this rule!

“Someone has attracted the attention of the spirit beasts in our place. Look, there’s a battle going on there!”

With a frown on her face, Yu Fei-er was the first one to figure out the situation.

All of the retreating spirit beasts had headed in the same direction, and a violent disturbance in the spiritual energy could be felt from that direction as well. Adding the frenzied roars in that direction, it was clear that a battle was ongoing.

“Ye Qian, could it be one of your men?” Xing Yuan frowned.

Their mission had to be carried out in absolute secrecy. As such, they had strictly told Ye Qian that he was not to allow anyone to follow them. In order to ensure that, they even chose to walk on foot instead of riding on an aerial spirit beast…

Given that someone had lured the spirit beasts away as soon as they had met with danger, they found it hard to believe that it wasn’t the doing of Ye Qian’s men.

“It isn’t me, I didn’t allow anyone to follow me…”

Ye Qian quickly waved his hands to explain himself.

He knew how important the mission was, so how could he make such a serious mistake?

“We’ll know once we get there…”

Luo Qiqi waved her hands.

“Un!” Xing Yuan nodded. “Nothing can be allowed to go wrong with our mission. If we really were followed, we will be in deep trouble…”

With this, the group silently advanced toward the direction where the battle was ongoing.

A moment later, they arrived at the scene, and with just a single glance, they all froze.

“It’s… Zhang shi!”

“Why would teacher be here?”

“Wasn’t this fellow taken away by his teacher? How could he appear here?”

…

Seeing that it was a familiar face, different expressions surfaced on their own faces.

The one who was delighted was naturally Luo Qiqi, whereas the one who despaired was Princess Yu Fei-er.

She had lost a wager with Zhang Xuan, so meeting him and having the bet enforced was the last thing she would want to see happening.

“I know! Teacher must have seen that we were getting attacked, so he intentionally attracted that bunch of spirit beasts over to him…” Luo Qiqi suddenly said.

“You’re overthinking the matter, when has he ever been so kind?” Yu Fei-er harrumphed.

“If that wasn’t the case, why would the aggression of these spirit beasts suddenly turn from us to him? Given how frenzied they were, it was unlikely that they would have changed target if not for Zhang laoshi intentionally drawing their attention!” Luo Qiqi said.

“This…”

Everyone was stunned.

Luo Qiqi’s words made perfect sense.

It was just a moment ago that all of the spirit beasts looked as though they would devour them whole. As such, they thought that a bitter fight awaited them. Yet, in the blink of an eye, they abandoned them and turned their hostility toward Zhang shi instead. It was a little hard to believe that Zhang shi hadn’t done anything to draw their aggression given such circumstances.

“Regardless of whether he intentionally drew their attention or not, look at their battle…” Wu Zhen interrupted the thoughts of the crowd, and pointed to the battle with a shaking finger.

Hearing those words, everyone immediately turned their gazes over; almost instantly, their pupils dilated in shock, and their mouths went dry.

“Wasn’t he still at Clarifying Turbidity realm pinnacle a few days ago?”

Xing Yuan gulped down his saliva.

Just three days ago, when they were entering the Cleansing Lake, the other party was still at Clarifying Turbidity realm pinnacle. How could he possibly be at Consonant Spirit realm pinnacle at this very instant?

They had seen geniuses who improved swiftly… but this was completely inconceivable!

More importantly… even though he had reached Consonant Spirit realm, their cultivation was still higher than him. Yet, despite fighting with so many spirit beasts that even they would feel threatened before, he was able to subdue them with ease as though an adult playing with a child…

Wasn’t his fighting prowess a little way too strong?

Princess Yu Fei-er widened her eyes in shock, and her face twitched violently.

She never thought that this shameless figure would actually possess such astounding strength!

If the other party had displayed such astounding prowess in their previous battle as well, she would probably have been defeated in a single move.

If that was the case… did he do it intentionally?

‘That must be it!’

Recalling how the other party kicked her bottom, her face flushed from rage.

If it wasn’t intentional, how could his attacks so coincidentally land on her bottom each time?

He could have subdued her easily, but he chose to kick her bottom instead. A ruffian he was indeed! Shameless!

Unaware of everyone’s thoughts, Ye Qian asked, “Senior, since Zhang shi is so formidable, and he could already be considered as a member of the academy as well, is it possible for us to bring him on the mission with us? With him, I feel that we’ll be in a much safer position.”

“Bring teacher along with us?” Luo Qiqi’s eyes gleamed in excitement. “Indeed! With him, the success rate of our mission would be boosted significantly!”

“Un, your words do make sense. I approve of this matter!” After a moment of contemplation, Xing Yuan nodded in agreement.

“No, he can’t go with us!”

Yu Fei-er’s eyes widened at that suggestion, and she quickly shot it down.

Chapter 654: Wu Yangzi

 

“He can’t go with us?” Luo Qiqi frowned as she turned to look at her close friend. “Why?”

This mission was fraught with danger. Given teacher’s wisdom and superior cultivation, he would be able to aid them out of difficult situations. Why would her good friend turn down such a good idea?

“H-he… is lecherous!” Yu Fei-er exclaimed with gritted teeth.

“Lecherous? You’re overthinking it, he has no interest in you at all…”

Luo Qiqi shook her head at her good friend’s words.

She had confidence in this aspect.

Putting everything aside, Luo Qiqi’s appearance was top-notch as well, comparable to Princess Yu Fei-er. Yet, despite her beauty and her respect for Zhang shi, the other party never even spared her a glance.

Given how obstinate you are… that’s even more impossible!

“…” Yu Fei-er staggered backward as her vision darkened.

What do you mean by this? No interest in me?

I’m not that bad, alright?

Why does it sound as though I was turned down by the other party? As an esteemed princess, I should be the one turning others down…

“Qiqi is right. Zhang shi has high standards. He has a student known as Wang Ying who is much prettier than you—I’ve seen her myself—but he has no interest in her whatsoever. Given that, it’s unlikely for him to be interested in you either…” Xing Yuan nodded in agreement.

Given his fondness for Yu Fei-er, he felt threatened by Zhang Xuan’s capability and the intricate relationship between the duo. Thus, he had his men investigate the latter’s background.

Not only did Zhang shi have a student who was even more beautiful than Yu Fei-er, he had also had many pursuers in the past, but he still remained unmoved by any of them.

Yu Fei-er might be beautiful, but her temper was simply horrendous. Even Xing Yuan could only barely tolerate it himself. For others… it was probably completely out of question.

“What did you say?”

‘Luo luo!’, the sound of teeth gritting against one another sounded as Yu Fei-er glared at Xing Yuan with widened eyes while emanating blatant killing intent. “Xing Yuan, why don’t you try repeating what you have just said…”

“I…”

A cold shiver ran through Xing Yuan.

Seeing that Xing Yuan was frightened into such a state, Wu Zhen chuckled lightly beneath his hand. However, a cold glare from Yu Fei-er immediately removed any hilarity he saw in this matter. “What are you laughing for? Are you dying for another beating…”

“…” Wu Zhen trembled.

I’m just watching the commotion, there’s no need to involve me in your affairs, right…

“Alright, enough! I’ll invite teacher later on, and Fei-er, you’d better don’t talk at all. I fear that teacher might try to enforce the bet or command you to serve him if you get on his bad side.”

Seeing the group falling into an argument before the entrance to the underground chamber had even been found, Luo Qiqi shook her head.

“…”

Upon hearing the words ‘enforce the bet’, Princess Fei-er suddenly recalled the matter of her being a maid, and this immediately silenced her.

By the time the argument among them halted, Zhang Xuan was already done cleaning up the spirit beasts.

The thirty or so spirit beasts were lying on the floor, moaning in agony.

This time, the beast hunters didn’t come along. However, even if they did, the same fate probably would have awaited them.

Seeing Zhang Xuan clap his hands and preparing to leave after clearing up the spirit beasts, Luo Qiqi yelled and walked over.

“Teacher!”

“Little Qi!” Zhang Xuan smiled.

In truth, he had noticed the group as soon as they arrived.

Since he had come to save them, there was nothing for him to hide.

Walking up to Zhang Xuan, Luo Qiqi bowed deeply and said, “Teacher, I have an insolent request that I need to ask of you.”

“Hmm?”

“I wish to invite teacher to participate in a mission from the academy…” Luo Qiqi began explaining the matter.

“Mission?” Zhang Xuan waved his hands. “I’ll pass on the matter. I still need to meet up with Hong shi and the others, and head for Hongyuan Master Teacher Academy…”

Hearing Zhang Xuan’s words, Luo Qiqi was taken aback for a moment before replying.

“Hong shi? They have already left!”

“Left?” Zhang Xuan frowned.

How could they leave without the champion of the Master Teacher Tournament?

“Indeed. In order to make it in time for the opening ceremony, they took a flying ship of the Huanyu Empire royalty along with the others. Before leaving, Hong shi consulted Pavilion Master Mo on your matter, and it was only with his agreement that they decided to leave…” Luo Qiqi replied.

“Flying ship?” Zhang Xuan asked doubtfully.

“Un. It’s a military transportation device found only within empires. It is driven by dozens of spirit beasts, and the ship can house up to a thousand people!”

Seeing that her apothecary teacher hadn’t even heard of such a thing before, Luo Qiqi looked at him in bewilderment.

There was no master teacher in the empire who didn’t know about flying ships. Given how knowledgeable he was and how formidable his teacher was, how could he have never heard of flying ships before?

Zhang Xuan nodded.

Truthfully, he had been thinking that given how far an empire’s territory stretched, if a war were to happen, wouldn’t it take years just to deploy troops, needless to say, send reinforcements in?

It turned out that there was a transportation device for this very purpose!

To use dozens of aerial spirit beasts to ferry a thousand people at once… probably only the royalty of an empire would possess the wealth and resources to do so.

“Right, Hong shi took teacher’s students along with him as well. He said that there’s no need to worry about you since you were with Yang shi, and it would be best for them to wait for you at Hongyuan Empire…”

Luo Qiqi continued filling Zhang Xuan in on the details.

Hearing those words, Zhang Xuan smiled bitterly.

He didn’t expect so many things to happen in the three days that he was out.

Everyone thought that given how formidable Yang shi was, he would be completely safe together with him. They probably never could have imagined that… the seemingly omnipotent Yang shi in their mind was actually just a hoax, a fictional character!

“Forget it!” Zhang Xuan shook his head.

He was still worried about his students and Sun Qiang since Hong shi had left, but since Hong shi had taken them along with him, they should be fine.

All he had to do was to appear at Hongyuan Master Teacher Academy when the time comes.

Since there was nothing tying him down now, Zhang Xuan became curious about the mission Luo Qiqi spoke of.

“So, what kind of mission are you all on?” Zhang Xuan asked.

“It’s…” Luo Qiqi hesitated for a moment before switching to telepathic message. “It’s the underground chamber of 6-star Blacksmith Wu Yangzi!”

“6-star blacksmith?” Zhang Xuan’s eyebrows shot up.

“Un. Wu Yangzi is an extremely famous grandmaster blacksmith from three thousand years ago, and he possesses blacksmithing skills unmatched by any. He is known as Hongyuan Empire’s number one blacksmith in the past ten thousand years. In fact, even the royal seal currently used was crafted by his hands!” Luo Qiqi explained.

“If he is a grandmaster blacksmith of Hongyuan Empire… why would his underground chamber be located here?” Zhang Xuan asked doubtfully.

Hongyuan Empire was at least several million kilometers away from here. Why would a grandmaster blacksmith travel so far out here?

“This…”

Luo Qiqi scratched her head awkwardly and said, “He was… kidnapped!”

“Kidnapped?”

For a 6-star master teacher, whose cultivation had reached Saint rank, to be kidnapped… are you for real?

Besides, standing behind every single blacksmith was the entire Blacksmith Guild. It was one of the strongest occupation alliance even when considering the entire continent. To dare to lay their hands on one of their esteemed members… who could be so arrogant?

“Un. Given how formidable his blacksmithing skills are… it is believed that someone captured him to have him forge weapons for them! Due to this matter, the Master Teacher Pavilion and Blacksmith Guild sent many experts out to search through the entire Hongyuan Empire, but they were still unable to find him,” Luo Qiqi said. “However, in the last few months, while I was reading through some ancient texts, I found some clues about the incident back then!”

“You?”

Zhang Xuan was perplexed.

Given how so many experts in the Master Teacher Pavilion and Blacksmith Guild failed to find anything at all, how could she, a mere 5-star primary master teacher and Grade 2 student of Hongyuan Master Teacher Academy, possibly find any clues? More importantly, there was an interval of several thousand years in between!

“Actually… it’s all just a deduction on my part. On top of forging pills, I have an interest in smithing as well, and Grandmaster Wu Yangzi has always been a person I deeply respected. I even once tried to learn his ‘Zither Forging Technique’… but due to his incomplete heritage, I was only able to learn a small portion of it.” Luo Qiqi explained.

“I did some research on the matter, and I realized that there were actually some weapons in Huanyu Empire that were created using such a forging technique. Perplexed, I did some investigation, and in the midst of doing so, I chanced upon a map to an underground chamber. That was why I applied for this mission with the academy. But of course, it’s still too early to tell whether it leads to Grandmaster Wu Yangzi’s underground chamber or not.”

Zhang Xuan nodded.

To actually notice some clues based on how a weapon was forged, it seemed like Luo Qiqi was a truly tenacious person.

But thinking about it, if not for her tenacity, how could she, a talented Grade 2 genius and a Transcendent Mortal 6-dan pinnacle cultivator, possibly acknowledge him as her teacher without any hesitation?

“Even though teacher hasn’t reported to the Master Teacher Academy yet, you can already be considered as a member of the academy already. Thus, you’re qualified to participate in this mission as well… Furthermore, the purpose of this mission is just to find whether the underground chamber exists and whether it is related to Wu Yangzi. There is not much danger involved in it. As long as we succeed, we’ll obtain two academic credits, and this will surely prove to be useful to teacher in the future!”

Luo Qiqi smiled.

“Academic credits?” Zhang Xuan was baffled by those words.

As the librarian of a high school in his previous life, he had heard of this term before. Was there something like that in the Master Teacher Academy as well?

“Academic credits are something unique to Master Teacher Academies. It’s said to be a system enforced by Kong shi personally. It serves as a judging criterion, and students can use it to purchase better cultivation resources, lessons for higher ranked master teachers… or even a currency for purchasing anything at all! Without these, students will find themselves unable to make any progress within the academy. In fact, one could say that the most valuable items in the Master Teacher Academy aren’t spirit stones or Tutelage Jade Tokens but academic credits!” Luo Qiqi explained.

As master teachers, those in the Master Teacher Academy had no lack of Tutelage Jade Tokens and spirit stones, and thus, such resources had lower value there.

“Is there an academic credit criterion to graduation?” Zhang Xuan asked with a bizarre expression.

“Of course not! Academic credits are just a currency used among students, they aren’t a fundamental criterion for graduation… how can one possibly be barred from graduation just because they don’t have sufficient academic credits?” Luo Qiqi replied in exclamation.

Only then did Zhang Xuan heave a sigh of relief.

Taking the model from high schools in his previous life, he thought that academic credits would be a necessary requirement for graduation… but it seemed like the only thing alike was its name. In essence, they were two completely different items.

“Teacher… do you want to come with us? If this is the underground chamber where Grandmaster Wu Yangzi was locked in, there’s a high chance that his heritage will be inside!” Luo Qiqi said.

“Heritage?” Zhang Xuan was taken aback for a moment before his eyes lit up. “I heard that blacksmiths specialize in training their bodies. Suppose that he really left his heritage there, is it possible that there will be a physical body cultivation technique within it?”

Even though Zhang Xuan’s body and soul were in perfect consonance already, his body was still slightly weaker than his soul. If his soul were to grow larger than ten meters once again, the same incompatibility issue would crop up once more. Zhang Xuan couldn’t possibly abandon his soul cultivation, so it would be best if he could find some physical body cultivation technique to train his body.

Given that blacksmiths spent their days with flames, ores, and metals, their body had to be exceptionally resilient. Thus, they usually possessed a unique physical body cultivation technique.

Chapter 655: Formation Destroying Silver Needle

Not expecting to hear such a question, a bizarre expression appeared on Luo Qiqi’s face as she replied, “There should be! Not only is Grandmaster Wu Yangzi a blacksmith, he’s also an expert at tempering his physical body!”

“Alright, I’ll go then!” Chuckling lightly, Zhang Xuan nodded in agreement.

A high requirement for one’s physical resilience and might stood in the way of those who sought the path of a blacksmith. Without sufficient strength, one would be unable to forge the best of weapons. Thus, every master blacksmith that had ever existed was an expert at tempering their physical body.

It would be much better for Zhang Xuan to obtain the cultivation technique of a 6-star blacksmith than to search through the entire Huanyu Empire for other physical body cultivation techniques.

“Great!”

Hearing her teacher agree to join them on this exploration, Luo Qiqi was filled with excitement.

Even though it hadn’t been long since she had met this apothecary teacher of hers, the other party gave her the feeling of an unfathomable person. Somehow, she felt that they would be much safer were he to accompany them.

Having come to an agreement, Luo Qiqi beckoned the others over, and Princess Fei-er and the others walked up to the duo.

“I did lose the bet at the Cleansing Lake, but don’t you dare use it to blackmail me!”

As soon as Princess Fei-er walked up to Zhang Xuan, she immediately gritted her teeth and said, “I’ll prepare the spirit stones, but I’ll only be able to repay you when we arrive at Hongyuan Empire!”

“Given that something abrupt occurred in the Cleansing Lake, and neither of us completed the conditions of the bet… why don’t we just call it a draw?”

Seeing how the other party accepted the results of the bet candidly, Zhang Xuan chuckled lightly.

He was the one who collapsed the entire Cleansing Lake. While he did make some compensation to Huanyu Empire, he still felt a little embarrassed by the matter. After all, the farce did occur due to his carelessness.

Since something abrupt occurred before any of them could finish the bet, naturally, there wasn’t a winner or a loser.

“A draw?” Princess Fei-er was taken aback.

She’d thought that the other party would grasp onto this to force her to serve as his maid or taunt her, leaving her in a difficult and embarrassed position. Who knew that he would offer a truce instead?

Could he… really be that generous?

“That’s right. But of course, if you’re not content with the results, we could always have another bet!” Zhang Xuan continued.

Princess Fei-er’s mouth twitched, and she hurriedly shook her head. “There’s no need for it…”

It was just a moment ago that she thought the other party was generous when he uttered such kind words. But now it seemed like everything he said was a mere facade.

Have another bet? You must be taking me for a fool!

After losing so tragically twice, if I were to continue betting with you, it would just be a matter of time before I’m completely broke.

“What about you all? Are any of you interested in betting against me for Princess Fei-er’s sake?”

Seeing how the lady paled upon hearing his words, Zhang Xuan shook his head and turned his gaze to Xing Yuan and the others.

Honestly, these bets were truly too good a source of income to miss. After all, even though he might have quite a few spirit stones at hand for the moment, considering the immense spiritual energy consumption for the Heaven’s Path Divine Art, it probably wouldn’t be too long before his wealth dried up.

“We’ll pass…”

Xing Yuan and the others flinched upon seeing Zhang Xuan’s sight on them.

‘Betting against you is like betting on a rigged game. No matter how foolish I am, I can’t possibly bet on something that I can’t win in.’

“Sigh, I don’t even get a chance to lose at all.”

Seeing that no one dared to bet against him, Zhang Xuan shook his head in disappointment.

Are these truly geniuses from the Master Teacher Academy?

To dare not engage in a bet against him, weren’t they a little too cowardly?

If the others were to learn of his thoughts, tears would definitely start streaming down their faces. We aren’t the ones who are weak, it’s you who is monstrously strong, alright?

The previous head of the Mystical Treasure Hall devoted decades to the deciphering of the stone pillars only to meet with little success, and you completed what he couldn’t within seconds. The other master teachers took days to absorb the spiritual energy from the Lake Eye, but you actually took in almost everything within minutes… Who would possibly be so bored as to challenge you in an impossible bet?

…

“Let’s hurry to the underground chamber!”

Knowing that Zhang Xuan had a formidable teacher whom even Pavilion Master Mo was deferential to, not to mention, he himself possessed exceptional strength as well, Xing Yuan and the others didn’t dare to view him as an ordinary freshman. Instead, they thought of him as a fellow peer.

The next matter they had at hand was to find the entrance to the underground chamber. They swiftly introduced themselves before scaling across the mountain before them and walking into a vast valley.

Luo Qiqi came to a stop.

“Based on the descriptions in the map, the underground chamber should be located here!”

“Here?”

Xing Yuan and the others glanced at one another in confusion.

This valley wasn’t too huge, and it looked perfectly ordinary on the outside. Surrounding them were trees and plants, and the chirps from birds echoed harmoniously in the area, creating an exceptionally lively scenery. However, after searching around, they couldn’t find any entrance that could possibly lead to an underground chamber.

Could the news have been false, or did they get the wrong location?

“This is the very valley where the weapon forged using the [Zither Forging Technique] was found by a beast hunter three thousand years ago. Through my investigation, it seems that six other weapons forged using the same technique originated from this location as well. Corroborating these with my other intelligence, I’m certain that there’s an underground chamber here!” Luo Qiqi said confidently.

“However… the spiritual energy in the air is exceptionally stable, and there isn’t the slightest disturbance to be felt. It doesn’t seem like there’s a formation here though?”

Xing Yuan and the others frowned.

If the entrance to the underground chamber wasn’t plain to their eyes, it could only mean that it was hidden beneath a formation… However, given the lack of disturbance in the spiritual energy in the surroundings, it was impossible for there to be a formation here.

“Let me take a look. I’m a 5-star formation master, so I should be able to find the formation and decipher it if there’s one!”

Princess Fei-er stepped forward.

Their group didn’t come together just based on their degree of intimacy. Their expertise also complemented the flaws of one another.

One would require five 5-star supporting occupations to qualify as a 5-star master teacher, and Princess Yu Fei-er happened to be a 5-star formation master as well.

‘Un!” Everyone nodded.

Princess Fei-er flicked her wrist and took out a compass. Following which, she circled around the valley, searching around with every step she took. A moment later, she abruptly came to a halt.

Flicking her wrist, she took out a sharp needle reminiscent of a spear.

It was hard to tell what it was forged on by its outer appearance, but there was a unique inscription on it which emanated a cold gleam.

Noticing the doubtful gazes from Ye Qian and the others, Luo Qiqi explained what it was.

“This is a Formation Destroying Silver Needle!”

“Formation Destroying Silver Needle?”

“Un. There are some high-grade formations that absorb spiritual energy from the environment and hide themselves within their environment, thus making them extremely difficult to detect. Thus, such a tool is required to make their true forms appear. There are special formation inscriptions on it that can send the spiritual energy harnessed within a formation into disarray, forcing it to reveal itself,” Luo Qiqi explained.

Only then did everyone understand the situation and nod their heads.

Zhang Xuan also nodded too as he examined the needle with a peculiar gaze.

He had read about Formation Destroying Silver Needles in the books from the Formation Master Guild before, and it was written inside that they had the ability to dispel formations. Zhang Xuan thought that such a tool would only be seen in higher tier Formation Master Guilds, but to think that Princess Fei-er would have one with her as well.

It seemed like they did come prepared.

After drawing the Formation Destroying Silver Needle, Princess Fei-er didn’t rush into action. Instead, she walked around with the compass in hand and even bent down to pinch the soil before and pluck a few blades of wild grass.

High-grade formations could change their weak point depending on the geography of the location. If one couldn’t find the crux of the formation, nothing one did would be able to sway the formation.

It was just like how if one wanted to sink the boat, one had to open up a hole in the crucial regions. Otherwise, even if one were to crack open a gaping hole in the deck, it wouldn’t do anything at all.

“Step back!”

After taking a look, Yu Fei-er seemed to have found something, and she turned around and waved her hands to gesture for the others to step back.

Knowing how dangerous the formation could be, Luo Qiqi and the others retreated to outside the valley without saying anything.

After the group stepped out of the valley, a deep frown appeared on Princess Fei-er’s face. All of the sudden, her disposition changed into that of a valiant warrior on the battlefield.

Hu!

With a flick of her wrist, she threw the Formation Destroying Silver Needle out, and it fell onto a region not too far away from her. Following which, she formed a few seals with her hands before tapping on the needle forcefully.

Weng!

The silver needle began to spin.

As it spun, the formation inscriptions on the surface of the silver needle seemed to have turned into a vortex of spiritual energy, drawing in the spiritual energy in the surroundings into its center. Eventually, it formed a massive pillar of spiritual energy that extended to the heavens.

“The Formation Destroying Silver Needle can draw spiritual energy from the surroundings and cause a huge spiritual energy disturbance, thus forcing even the greatest of formation to show its marks,” Luo Qiqi explained.

Zhang Xuan nodded.

Formations were sustained by spiritual energy, and if the spiritual energy in the surroundings was sapped dry, it would lose its balance, thus revealing its form. It was the same logic as how the rocks at the bottom of the river would be revealed as the current ran dry.

The collapsing of the formation at the Cleansing Lake was also due to its balance being destroyed.

Hu hu hu!

As the rotation of the silver needle hastened, more and more spiritual energy was drawn from the surrounding. At the same time, a thick layer of sweat cloaked Princess Fei-er’s forehead.

“Open!”

With a slight buzz, the surroundings of the silver needle abruptly distorted. A slight mist came into appearance.

“Indeed, there’s a formation here!”

Upon seeing the mist, everyone’s eyes lit up.

The mist was the sign of the presence of a formation… This meant that Luo Qiqi’s deduction was accurate, and it was highly likely there was an underground chamber here!

Wuwuwuwu!

The rotation of the silver needle quickened even more, but Princess Fei-er was already wearied.

Given how this formation was able to remain hidden so many years without being noticed, there was no doubt that it was a high-grade formation. Even a 5-star formation master like her was finding it difficult to break open the formation.

Hu!

Exhaling a mouthful of turbid air, Princess Fei-er halted the Formation Destroying Silver Needle before falling to the floor weakly. Exhausted, she couldn’t even care about her own appearance at this moment.

“How is it?”

Seeing her state, Luo Qiqi immediately rushed up and fed her a pill to recover her vitality. Only then did her pale complexion finally recover slightly.

After resting for a moment, Princess Fei-er stood up and shook her head.

“There’s a grade-6 formation here. Due to my limited cultivation, I’m unable to force it to show itself.”

She had put her entire strength into the previous attempt, but she was only able to force out hints of the formation. Her current strength was still a little too low to force it out entirely.

“If even you are unable to force out the formation, how can we enter the underground chamber?”

Luo Qiqi frowned.

If they couldn’t even force the formation to appear, naturally, they wouldn’t be able to decipher it either, let alone, enter the underground chamber.

They had come here proudly to accomplish a mission, but who knew that they would be stopped right at the doorstep?

If they were to return like that, they would surely become a laughingstock.

“I don’t know either…” Princess Fei-er shook her head.

She thought that with her capability as a 5-star formation master, even if she couldn’t decipher the formation, it shouldn’t be too hard for her to force the formation to show its form. Who knew that she would end in failure? She couldn’t help but feel disappointed.

Gritting her teeth, Princess Fei-er said, “Allow me to rest for a moment first, I’ll give it a try after I’ve recuperated fully…”

However, at that moment, a nonchalant voice suddenly sounded.

“This won’t work!”

Turning around, she saw Zhang Xuan walking up to her.

“You know formation deciphering too?” Seeing that he was the one who spoke, Princess Fei-er harrumphed. “Since you said that this won’t work, why don’t you share your wisdom with us and tell us what incredible plan you have in mind?”

“I dare not say my plan is incredible, but since there’s a formation here, all we have to do is to decipher it, right? Why must we go through an additional step to force it to show itself?” Zhang Xuan replied.

Since the purpose was to find the entrance of the formation, they could just decipher the formation straight. Why go through the additional step of forcing it out?

Princess Fei-er flung her sleeves and harrumphed coldly.

“You’re proposing for us to decipher the formation directly? Humph, do you even know the slightest thing about formations?”

Chapter 656: Underground Chamber

 

If a formation didn’t show its form, could one tell whether it’s a Confinement Formation, Slaughter Formation, Illusory Formation, or Beguilement Formation?

It was just like fighting an unidentifiable spirit beast. If one couldn’t even see its form and identify its flaws, how did one intend to kill it?

‘You must be kidding!’

Those who knew the slightest thing about formations wouldn’t utter such amateurish words!

“The Way of Formation is deep and profound, and it has a long heritage behind of it. It’s one of the top occupations throughout the entire continent, paling little in comparison to even master teacher. Such profound knowledge, and all you can say is to decipher it? You sure know how to speak rubbish!”

Princess Fei-er harrumphed coldly. This was her chance to get back at the other party for the previous two humiliations. Her eyebrows shot up, and she spoke majestically. “This valley might not be too big, but it is more than a hundred mu (6 hectare). Furthermore, there are a few thousand different flora and fauna in here. As for the geography, it is located within a mountain range and is connected to a forest and a lake. Its east is faced with yang whereas its west is faced with yin.

“In other words, it’s a blessed land suited for setting up all kinds of formations. Just speaking of grade-6 formations, there are 14,372 types that could be set up here. Each of them also has innumerable different variations. Unless the formation is dragged into sight and analyzed, it’s impossible to tell which it is!

“If one doesn’t know the formation’s type, variation, area, and strength… Let me ask you, how could one decipher the formation?”

Flinging her sleeves, Princess Fei-er harrumphed coldly.

Xing Yuan and the others nodded in agreement.

While Yu Fei-er could be obstinate at times, and she was extremely emotionally-charged in her actions, she did possess incredible talent in formations. She was a famous formation master genius even within the Master Teacher Academy.

This was also the main reason why Luo Qiqi invited the other party along after receiving the mission.

Not expecting her good friend to put down her teacher, Luo Qiqi frowned.

“Enough, Fei-er… even if teacher doesn’t know much about formation, you can still explain the situation to him calmly. There’s no need to use such a tone with him…”

Her teacher might be a rare genius in pill forging—even a 6-star apothecary would pale before him—but in the field of formations… he did seem to be a little lacking.

However, this was to be expected. After all, it was impossible for one to be proficient in everything.

Unfazed by the other party’s rant, Zhang Xuan continued making his point.

“You’re just making things pointlessly complicated. Formations are created by placing formation flags in alignment with the environment. As long as we find the formation flags, it should be easy to stop the formation.”

“Formations are indeed created by formation flags, but do you know how many combination of formation flags there are? Even if one were to know where the flags are located, one must remove it in a strict sequential order. Or else, it could possibly bring about a backlash from the formation, causing everyone here to die.”

Hearing the nonsensical words that the other party was spouting, Yu Fei-er’s face reddened in anger.

What the heck was this!

If she knew how ignorant this fellow was in the Way of Formations, she would have challenged him to a duel on that back then.

“Cough cough. Teacher, formations cannot be broken that easily, not to mention, this kind of hidden formation. It is impossible to find the formation flag under such circumstances…”

Luo Qiqi’s face also reddened as she quickly explained the situation to the other party. However, before she could finish her words, the young man before her scratched his head and stomped on the ground.

Sou!

A formation flag popped up and fell into his hands. Holding onto it, Zhang Xuan turned to look at the group with a sheepish expression.

“This should be the formation flag, right? It doesn’t seem to be as troublesome as you all make it out to be.”

“Ah?”

Everyone was stunned. In that instant, they looked as though they had seen a ghost.

It was just a moment ago that they thought the other party was just an ignorant oaf who was trying to show off. However, upon seeing this sight, their eyes were about to pop out from their sockets. This was especially so for Yu Fei-er.

Was this for real?

She had spent so much effort on trying to force out the formation that she was completely drained at this very moment. Yet, she could just barely see a slight hint of the formation. Yet, that fellow, with just a casual step… actually took out a formation flag!

What was with this huge disparity?

“This… does seem to be the formation flag…”

Luo Qiqi gulped down her saliva.

This formation flag looked ancient, and it had suffered significant wear and tear from the trial of time. With just a glance, anyone could tell that it had been buried underground for a very long time.

The chances were that it had originated from the formation that appeared earlier.

“Fei-er, look…” Luo Qiqi exclaimed.

Suppressing her shock, Princess Fei-er said, “Look at what? Even if he coincidentally found one formation flag, it would be futile if he can’t remove the remaining ones sequentially. If a grade-6 formation could be torn down that easily, 6-star formation masters wouldn’t have such a prestigious standing…”

So what if you found one formation flag by coincidence? Formations like this have at least a hundred formation flags scattered all around. You might have altered the structure of the formation by extracting one of them, but you are a long way off from destroying it!

In fact, a careless mistake might even cause the entire formation to explode.

The accumulation of spiritual energy of a formation that had been operated for several millenniums was frightening. If it were to explode, the consequences would be as dire as what happened in the Cleansing Lake. Even a Transcendent Mortal 8-dan expert could be blown to bits in an instant.

Formations weren’t a joke. If it could be dispelled so easily, why would 6-star formation masters waste so much effort learning the art?

The more she thought about it, the angrier she felt. Princess Fei-er was just about to lecture the other party when she felt someone pulling on her arm. Shifting her gaze, she realized that it was her close friend, Luo Qiqi. Perplexed, she frowned. “What’s wrong?”

“Don’t say anything else, just look over there…”

Luo Qiqi’s face was pale in shock.

“Look over there?”

Princess Fei-er turned her gaze over, and the sight that stood before her left her face twitching uncontrollably. She nearly fainted on the spot.

Unknowingly, the young man who she’d thought was still standing beside her was already twenty meters away. While walking, he would bend down from time to time to pluck out a formation flag, just like a farmer pulling out onions from his field. As though to further exaggerate things, he was even whistling leisurely.

Hwee, hwee, hwoo…

“…”

Her eyes rolled up.

Princess Fei-er was on the verge of tears.

Do you really need to be so exaggerated?

That’s a formation that I failed to force out despite using the entirety of my strength, and yet there you are, plucking out its flags one after another casually…

When dealing with hidden formations, even the greatest formation masters would use the Formation Destroying Silver Needle to force it out first before analyzing its type based on the spiritual energy it exuded before deducing the location of its Life Gate…

Yet, this ignorant fellow simply jumped past all those steps and began plucking out the flags… Have we gone crazy?

Of course, if it was just plucking out formation flags, most people could do it. But… you don’t know the slightest thing about formations, and the flags were also hidden as well, so how could you do it so confidently and leisurely?

To even begin whistling on top of that… Are you that confident that there would be no backlash?

It was truly fortunate that she didn’t bet with him earlier, otherwise she would be deeper in debt at this very moment…

“It seems like… teacher does know the location of every single formation flag, as well as the sequence so as to prevent any backlash…”

Luo Qiqi felt her throat turning dry.

Based on her teacher’s words previously, she thought that he didn’t know anything about formations at all. Only now did she realize that she was gravely mistaken… the other party was in truth a master at formations!

Even Princess Fei-er, a 5-star formation master, was far from a match for him!

In fact… she didn’t think that even the formation masters who expertise in deciphering formation could do it the way he did!

I mean, look at that… precise footsteps, leisurely posture, bored gaze, and relaxed whistling…

The hell! Tell us the truth, are you the one who set up this formation?

Otherwise, how could you be so familiar with it?

“This…”

“He actually… broke the formation just like that?”

Xing Yuan, Wu Zhen, and Ye Qian also rubbed their eyes in disbelief as they glanced at one another in astonishment.

Hidden formations were one of the hardest types of formation to decipher. If one couldn’t force it out, it would be impossible to decipher it.

Yet, to be plucking out the formation flags while whistling so leisurely…

They had never seen such an unbelievable sight in their life before! Why did it feel as though they were dreaming?

“I’m done!”

Amidst everyone’s dumbstruck gazes, the young man flicked his wrist and put the pile of formation flags into his storage ring. After which, he clapped away the dust from his hands before turning to look at the group.

Even though the formation flags were already worn out, he could still set up a grade-6 formation with them. Not to mention, they were also antiques, so they would probably fetch a hefty price in an auction.

The group hurriedly scanned the surrounding, and they noticed a clear change in the previously empty valley.

A massive gate—six meters tall—appeared right before their eyes. It was hard to tell what metal it was forged with, but it was full of aged marks that indicated more than a millennium of history behind it.

Beyond the gate was a flight of stairs that headed deep into the underground. From the spot they were standing at, it seemed to lead into an abyss.

“It’s indeed that underground chamber!”

Upon seeing the gate, everyone’s eyes lit up in excitement.

This proved that Luo Qiqi’s deduction was accurate!

While the evidence that Luo Qiqi provided was credible, and the odds were in their favor—if not, the academy wouldn’t have offered them this mission for academic credits after cross-checking the evidence—they still couldn’t hold back their agitation at having found a concrete lead on Grandmaster Wu Yangzi.

“Let’s enter!”

Xing Yuan’s eyes were gleaming with excitement.

“Wait a moment first. It’s hard to tell how long it’s been since the underground chamber was last opened, so there might be all kinds of poisonous fumes inside!”

Luo Qiqi stepped forward to stopped him. Flicking her wrist, she took out a jade bottle. “This is an antidote that I forged specially for this occasion. It can neutralize up to a thousand types of poisonous fumes found in underground chambers.”

After which, she opened the jade bottle, and round pills rolled out.

Given the lack of ventilation within a typical underground chamber, rotting corpses, insects, and natural-produced gases were among many factors that could lead to poisonous fumes in it. Thus, Luo Qiqi specially prepared pills to deal with this. Otherwise, even a Cosmos Bridge realm expert might fall under the venomous onslaught.

“Un!”

Knowing that this was a matter involving their safety, everyone took a pill and swallowed it without protesting.

Zhang Xuan was no exception either. He took a pill and swallowed it too.

After swallowing the medicine, Luo Qiqi turned to Wu Zhen and said, “Wu Zhen, since you specialize in mechanisms, we’ll be depending on you later on!”

Among the group, Wu Zhen was a proficient celestial designer, and he possessed extensive knowledge over the various kinds of mechanisms and traps. Given that they were stepping into uncharted territory, there was no guarantee that there would be no defensive mechanisms to fend off intruders.

“Leave it to me!”

Flicking his wrist, Wu Zhen took out an artifact reminiscent of an umbrella.

It was a tool that celestial designers use specially for deciphering mechanisms, a ‘Thousand Utility Umbrella’.

“Let’s go!”

Opening the Thousand Utility Umbrella, Wu Zhen led the way in.

Without any hesitation, the rest of the group followed along as well.

Seeing that they were prepared, Zhang Xuan also followed behind Luo Qiqi.

Hu!

Darkness immediately overwhelmed them as soon as they stepped through the gate, rendering them blind.

Xing Yuan stepped forward, flicked his wrist, and a few Night Illumination Pearls immediately rolled down the stairs, providing illumination for the group.

For the time being, the sound of pearls rolling down was still echoing ceaselessly throughout the chamber, indicating the deep depth of the underground chamber.

Scanning the surroundings and confirming that everyone was safe, Wu Zhen said “Let’s proceed then!” before leading the way forward.

Chapter 657: Two Stone Tablets

The further down they proceeded, the colder they felt. A sinister sensation gripped them as though they had stepped into a graveyard.

It was fortunate that they were only surrounded by ordinary cavern walls. There were no mechanisms, formations, or any other traps, and this left them sighing in relief.

After descending for several hundred meters, they arrived at a vast underground chamber.

Xing Yuan took out another handful of Night Illumination Pearls and threw them forward.

Hu la!

The Night Illumination Pearls rolled across the entire chamber, bringing dim light to the room.

Due to the high cultivation of the group, they were still able to see the sight before them clearly despite the dim illumination.

Not too far from the stone stairs was a small bridge with a small stream flowing through it. Oddly, despite being sealed for innumerable years, the air in the underground chamber wasn’t stale at all.

The group had expected to encounter pungent and poisonous gas that had accumulated over the years, but never had they thought that the air down here would the same as the air at the surface.

“Everyone, be careful. This underground chamber was probably built to house many people. Otherwise, it’s impossible for it to be so well-ventilated,” said Wu Zhen.

“To house many people?”

The others frowned.

“That’s right. If that’s not the case, there’s no need to go through the effort of drawing a stream from the river over here or ventilate it so thoroughly!” Wu Zhen explained.

Specializing in mechanisms, he knew how difficult it was to ventilate and draw a stream into an underground chamber.

If it was just a temporary lodging for a small group of people, given how vast the space was, they wouldn’t run the risk of suffocating. There would be no need for them to go through so much effort to ventilate the place so thoroughly.

Hearing his explanation, Zhang Xuan nodded in agreement.

He had visited the soul oracle tomb previously, and it did feel much more stifling than here. The airflow was clearly worse than here.

“Could it be that there was more than one culprit who kidnapped Grandmaster Wu Yangzi?”

Luo Qiqi blinked her eyes in shock.

Based on her investigation, this underground chamber was closely related to Wu Yangzi, and chances were that he was kidnapped and brought here back then… Given that the environment was built to house many people at once, could it be that Wu Yangzi was held hostage by a group of people?

“That I can’t confirm…”

Wu Zhen shook his head. “There’s a stone tablet over there, let’s go and take a look.”

Right in front of the bridge stood an average-sized stone tablet. Under the dim illumination, they could still vaguely see the inscriptions on it.

Upon walking up, three huge words came into sight.

“Yearning Abode Lodge?”

Luo Qiqi frowned.

Underground chambers were usually either tombs or a secret gathering location of a power. What did these out-of-place three words mean then?

“These words are a little weird.”

Ye Qian frowned.

“Oh?” Hearing his interjection, everyone turned to look at him.

Even though this crown prince was only a half 5-star master teacher, he had already reached the level of 5-star in the Way of Painting. Thus, he possessed an exceptional sensitivity toward matters that were in the field of painting.

“Words can bring out one’s true thoughts and mental state. These three words have reached the third level ‘Infused Intentions’, thus allowing one to clearly feel the emotions of the writer then. The feeling I’m getting is that the writer feels out-of-place and wishes to stay away from the temporal world,” Ye Qian said.

Zhang Xuan nodded. He felt the same feelings from the words as well.

Yearning Abode Lodge, both the face meaning of those words and the emotions behind them reflected the writer’s intent to return to his hometown.

As a skilled painter himself, he could see this much even without the Library of Heaven’s Path.

“Longing for one’s home? It seems like this really is the underground chamber where Grandmaster Wu Yangzi was brought!”

Luo Qiqi’s eyes lit up. “Most probably, he was kidnapped by someone, and his yearning for Hongyuan Empire compelled him to leave behind these words. But regretfully, until the day of his death, he wasn’t able to return there.”

“Your explanation does sound plausible.” Xing Yuan and the others nodded.

The very fact that an underground chamber was called Yearning Abode Lodge was very bizarre in itself. However, if the person who wrote this was here against their will, that did explain it.

It was very possible, and these few words were left behind by Wu Yangzi to express his longing for his home.

“I disagree with your view. On top of one’s longing for his home, there is a strong killing intent reminiscent to that in a battlefield infused into these words as well…” Ye Qian frowned. “Grandmaster Wu Yangzi was known to be an amiable person, so it’s unlikely for such savage killing intent to originate from him!”

Grandmaster Wu Yangzi had spent his entire life accompanying metal and weapons. Even though his craft was centered around weapons of slaughter, he himself didn’t carry such a disposition.

However, these three words had glaring killing intent infused into them, and that in itself was intriguing.

“In truth, I think that it’s precisely due to the presence of the killing intent that makes it even more likely that it was Grandmaster Wu Yangzi who left it behind!”

Xing Yuan chuckled. “For a proud 6-star blacksmith to be kidnapped and locked in this kind of unholy location, it would instead be bizarre if he carried no killing intent at all!”

“This…”

Ye Qian was taken aback.

Indeed. For a person of such standing to be captured and locked in this kind of gloomy underground chamber, it was only natural that he would feel indignant and motivated to slaughter those who put him into his current state.

Luo Qiqi spoke grimly.

“As a 6-star pinnacle blacksmith, Elder Wu Yangzi’s cultivation had long reached Saint realm. Given that even a person of his strength was trapped here… Everyone, be careful. I fear that this underground chamber might not be as simple as it seems!”

“Un!”

Everyone nodded as tension built within them.

How could an underground chamber that could even lock a Saint realm cultivator possibly be anything simple? Even though three thousand years had passed, such means still weren’t something that a bunch of Consonant Spirit realm and Cosmos Bridge realm fellows could withstand.

“Let’s go!”

After looking around the stone tablet and confirming that there was nothing useful around it, the group advanced forward.

At the back of the group, Zhang Xuan spared another glance to the words on the stone tablet and frowned. He walked up to it, touched it lightly with his finger, and seemingly realizing something, a deep frown surfaced on his face.

Passing the stone tablet, he proceeded onto the bridge.

The bridge wasn’t too long, but the current of the stream below was surprisingly swift. The swishing sound of the water felt exceptionally pleasant amidst this ghastly quiet atmosphere.

Wu Zhen turned around to nod at the group before placing the Thousand Utility Umbrella in front to scout the way. The others followed tightly behind him.

At the opposite side of the bridge was a vast hall, and within it was yet another stone tablet.

Holding onto a Night Illumination Pearl, Xing Yuan walked forward, and under a dim yellow light, he saw three large words inscribed on it: Burying Sorrow Lodge.

“This…”

Seeing the words on it, the group blinked in astonishment.

Was this the name of the underground chamber as well? Does this place have two names?

Yearning Abode Lodge previously, and Burying Sorrow Lodge now, what exactly was the true name of this place?

“These three words are calm and upright. Only by finding joy again can one abandon sorrow; this means that there’s something inside that he seeks which can help him to overcome his sadness…”

Ye Qian took a look and analyzed the words. “If I’m not mistaken, these must be the words left behind by those who imprisoned Grandmaster Wu Yangzi!”

“You’re right. Since they had imprisoned Grandmaster Wu Yangzi to forge weapons or artifacts for them, naturally, they would be overjoyed enough to forget even their sorrows…”

Xing Yuan nodded.

Luo Qiqi and Princess Fei-er hesitated for a moment before nodding in agreement as well.

This was the most plausible explanation for the entire matter.

Just that, they still couldn’t understand why there was a stone tablet with different inscribing on each end of the bridge?

After looking at the stone tablet, they took a look around the hall. However, it was entirely empty, and there was nothing to be seen at all.

“Let me take a look!”

Wu Zhen walked around the walls, knocking on them as he passed them by, but he soon shook his head and said, “There isn’t any mechanism here.”

“Could there be a hidden formation then?”

With a formation compass in hand, Princess Fei-er also explored the area, but her face slowly darkened.

“There isn’t any formation here either.”

“It can’t be that this is it to the underground chamber?”

Everyone frowned.

Given the effort made to set up such a formidable hidden formation outside, dig out this deep underground chamber, setting up the ventilation, and drawing a river in here, all there was here was this big hall?

If that was the case, wouldn’t this be way too pointless?

“With just this empty hall, we won’t be able to determine whether Wu Yangzi once lived here or not. If that’s the case, it means that our mission is a failure…”

Luo Qiqi frowned.

She had confidence in Wu Zhen and Princess Fei-er’s capabilities.

Since the both of them said that there was nothing here, that was likely to be the case.

However… given that this area was completely empty, there was nothing they could use to gauge whether Wu Yangzi had been here or not. How were they supposed to report this matter when they return?

What was even more bizarre was that if there was nothing here, where in the world did those weapons that were forged using Grandmaster Wu Yangzi’s unique forging technique come from?

“Indeed. To think that all we would see was a mere empty hall after all the effort we took coming here.”

Xing Yuan also shook his head in disappointment.

He thought that they would be able to find some clues by coming here, but there was nothing more than two stone tablets and a small bridge here. Was their mission destined to end in failure?

Just as everyone was shaking their heads in disappointment, Luo Qiqi suddenly said, “Teacher, did you… manage to discern anything at all?”

Everyone quickly shifted their gazes, only to see that Zhang Xuan was standing before the second stone tablet once more. The latter stretched out his hand and touched the tablet.

Zhang Xuan turned around and said, “I find that there’s something very bizarre with these two stone tablets.”

“Bizarre?”

Everyone walked forward and gathered around the stone tablets once more.

Zhang Xuan revealed his deduction.

“Un. Yearning Abode Lodge and Burying Sorrow Lodge… If I’m not mistaken, it should represent two different roads. The words left on the stone tablets are probably a choice offered to those who stumble upon this area.”

“Now that you say it, that does seem possible!”

Everyone was taken aback.

Of the entire underground chamber, the most conspicuous objects were the stone tablets. Perhaps, there was some kind of mechanism hidden within it.

“Let me take a look!”

Wu Zhen hesitated for a moment before walking up.

He took out a Night Illumination Pearl and carefully studied the stone tablet. Suddenly his eyes lit up.

“There does seem to be… a mechanism hidden in here.”

“A mechanism?”

“Perhaps this mechanism will open up a passageway that lead us to another location. In other words, we are only at the entrance of the underground chamber!”

Everyone’s interest was immediately piqued, and they hurried forward to the tablet to take a look as well.

Chapter 658: Indecipherable

Since there was a mechanism on the stone tablet, there was a good chance that the place they were in wasn’t the real underground chamber. Perhaps, there might be a passageway leading to it, just that they hadn’t found it yet.

“Teacher’s eye of discernment is indeed formidable!”

Luo Qiqi turned to look at Zhang Xuan with eyes shining in admiration.

Indeed, she did well pulling her teacher along with them. His eye of discernment was proving to be incomparably valuable at this timing.

Otherwise, they would surely still be wasting their time, looking around futilely.

Seeing her good friend admiring Zhang shi, Yu Fei-er pouted in displeasure and harrumphed.

“He’s just lucky!”

Even though she knew that Zhang shi possessed extraordinary capability, she still couldn’t help but feel a little displeased when she saw the other party doing well.

Zhang Xuan turned to look at her and asked, “Lucky? Do you want to bet with me then?”

“You…”

Nearly choking on her saliva, Yu Fei-er gritted her teeth and turned her head away.

Knowing that it was best not to interfere in the conflict between the two—the previous time, he was pummeled due to it—Wu Zhen turned a blind eye to it. He hurried over to the stone tablet and said, “Let me see if I can decipher the mechanism!”

Closing his eyes tightly, he began feeling the tablet lightly with his fingers.

Since it was a mechanism, there must be a core controlling it. With his deep understanding of mechanisms as a celestial designer, he should be able to analyze its inner workings through the minor differences on its surface and find its weakness.

“Everyone, be silent. He needs to concentrate hard to find the core. As long as he finds it, he should able to break open this mechanism without any trouble!” Xing Yuan said.

While the mechanisms created by celestial designers were formidable, they had their flaws as well. There was no mechanism that couldn’t work without a core to power it, and once one finds it, even the most difficult of mechanisms could be undone easily.

“Un!”

Understanding this, everyone nodded and fell silent. In an instant, the only sound that could be heard in the area was the torrent beneath the bridge.

Controlling his breathing and heartbeat, Wu Zhen drove his zhenqi to make his touch even more sensitive. He quickly felt his way around the entire stone tablet, and after contemplating for a moment, he abruptly opened his eyes.

“Alright, I’ve found the core. I should be able to open the underground chamber now!”

Wu Zhen chuckled with deep confidence.

His cultivation might not be on par with Xing Yuan, Luo Qiqi, and Princess Fei-er, but he had the absolute confidence in dealing with mechanisms.

It was finally his turn to shine.

Taking a deep breath, he shook the Thousand Utility Umbrella in his hand.

Huala!

A sharp needle suddenly appeared at the top of the umbrella.

The needle was around three centimeters long, and under the warm glow of the Night Illumination Pearl it emanated a fearsome cold gleam. With just a look, one could tell that it was extremely sharp.

“This is the Thousand Utility Thorn of the Thousand Utility Umbrella. It’s used to decipher all kinds of mechanisms. Just for this thorn, five 5-star blacksmiths would have to work tirelessly for ten days to successfully forge it!” Luo Qiqi explained.

“Five 5-star blacksmiths would have to work tirelessly for ten days?” Zhang Xuan was shocked.

This sharp needle that was as thin as a strand of hair actually required so much effort behind it?

But thinking about it, crafting such a sharp and narrow needle couldn’t possibly be an easy task.

After all, the narrower it was, the more prone it would be to breaking.

Luo Qiqi continued explaining. “Un. It is only because he’s a master teacher that he could mobilize so many blacksmiths at once. If it had been anybody else, it would have been impossible to hire them for such a laborious job!”

Zhang Xuan nodded.

As the number one occupation in the world, being a master teacher did have lots of benefits.

There was only benefits that stood to be gained from getting acquainted with a young and talented 5-star master teacher. Thus, it wasn’t too hard for Wu Zhen to get five 5-star blacksmiths to spend ten whole days to craft a weapon for him. If it had been any other occupation, that would have been impossible.

Weng!

While they were speaking, the aura around Wu Zhen suddenly surged, and his eyes widened. The Thousand Utility Umbrella abruptly stabbed the side of the tablet diagonally.

Ding!

As soon as the Thousand Needle Utility came into contact with the stone tablet, it seemed to sink into a small crack that was so small that one couldn’t even see it with one’s eyes.

Ji ji ji!

Some heavy creaking noises sounded from the stone tablet, as though it was grinding against the floor.

Upon hearing this noise, Wu Zhen’s confident face suddenly darkened, and he hurriedly shouted, “Darn it, be careful!”

However, before he could finish his words, a storm-like noise suddenly came from the stone tablet, and countless sharp needles shot out from it.

Each of the needles moved at an exceptionally fast speed, and while it wouldn’t be fatal were it to hit, it could cause one a fair bit of suffering.

Huala!

Wu Zhen immediately pressed a point on the Thousand Utility Umbrella, and it opened up.

The cloth of the Thousand Utility Umbrella was forged using a unique material, making it as resilient as a shield. Putting aside these needles, even a sharp weapon couldn’t hope to tear through it.

If not for such incredible functionalities, the Thousand Utility Umbrella wouldn’t be an artifact so well-loved by celestial designers such that they would go to the extent of bankruptcy just to have one forged.

Ding ding dang dang!

The resilient umbrella managed to deflect most of the needles, but there were still some which slipped through its defense.

“Retreat!”

Stepping forward, Xing Yuan flicked his wrist and took out a shield.

Knowing that underground chambers were usually filled with mechanisms and traps, he had brought many things in preparations for the various circumstances they could face. This shield was both two meters in height and width, and it could easily cover everyone behind.

Hu la la!

With a sound reminiscent of rain pattering on banana leaves, the thin needles were stopped in their tracks. Quite a few of them ended up lodging themselves into the ground and the shield.

“That was close!”

Seeing the dense congregation of needles on the ground and the shield, everyone felt cold sweat trickling down their backs.

If not for Xing Yuan preparing this in advance, they would have been turned into pincushions. They would probably be wishing that they would be dead even though the attack wasn’t fatal.

Wiping the cold sweat off his forehead, Xing Yuan turned to Wu Zhen and bellowed furiously.

“Are you trying to open the underground chamber or are you trying to murder us?”

You were supposed to decipher the mechanism, not to murder us. If we had reacted any slower than that, we would have been done in just now.

In fact, despite his swift reaction, he was still pierced by five small needles. He couldn’t control the overwhelming rage bubbling within him.

It was just a moment ago that the other party confidently declared that he had solved it when such a matter occurred. Can’t you look properly before piercing your umbrella into that mechanism?

“I…”

Knowing that he was at fault, Wu Zhen’s lips twitched. “Every single mechanism will have some intentional flaws installed to serve as traps to prevent others from deciphering it successfully. I picked the wrong one just now. Don’t worry, I won’t make any mistake this time…”

Closing the Thousand Utility Umbrella, he closed his eyes and began feeling the stone tablet once more. Finally, he confirmed another point, and he declared with a look of confidence, “This is definitely right this time around…”

“Are you certain?” The face of a doubtful Xing Yuan appeared from the back of the shield.

“I’m certain. If I’m mistaken this time again, I’ll cut my head off!” Wu Zhen gritted his teeth, and without any hesitation, he pierced the Thousand Utility Thorn into it once more.

He was determined to succeed this time to cleanse off the humiliation from his failure, as well as to prove himself!

Hong long! Ji ya!

The Thousand Utility Thorn struck the stone tablet, and the heavy creaking sound echoed once more. This time, before Wu Zhen could say anything, countless thin needles shot out once more.

Wu Zhen’s face paled. At this point, he was already on the verge of crying.

I clearly checked it multiple times, how could I possibly be wrong…

While Wu Zhen was in disbelief, Xing Yuan was on the verge of explosion. Tearing away needles from his face, he howled.

“You’re courting death!”

Are you sure you are sufficiently capable?

Can’t you have at least given us a warning before you pierced the stone tablet? My head is still outside, you know… If not for me using my zhenqi to ward off the might of the needles, who knows what could have happened to me now?

But even so, having an entire face full of needles as though a porcupine had made him frenzied.

Can’t you be a little careful and aim for the correct point?

Two consecutive failures; are you really trying to pull everyone down to their graves along with you?

“Don’t worry! I’ll surely get it right the next time…”

Plucking away a few silver needles from his head, Wu Zhen’s lips twitched in frenzy. He closed the Thousand Utility Umbrella once more and began feeling the stone tablet.

After a long time, he paused, and gritting his teeth, he said, “I’m sure that it’s this one, no mistake about it…”

“Are you… very certain?” Xing Yuan asked questioningly.

“I’m very certain!”

Xing Yuan nodded.

“Alright… Do it then!”

Xing Yuan swiftly hid behind the shield, concealing his entire body behind it.

Even though this fellow had spoken confidently, he had also done the same the two previous times. After triggering the trap consecutively, he would be a fool to not seek cover.

“Un!”

Gritting his teeth, Wu Zhen held up his Thousand Utility Thorn and pierced the stone.

Ji ya ya!

This time, it wasn’t the sound of heavy creaking but the melodic tune of gears turning.

“Haha, I succeeded! There’s surely no problem this time…”

Hearing this sound, Wu Zhen’s eyes lit up, and he quickly turned around to share his joy.

“That’s more like it…”

Heaving a sigh of relief, Xing Yuan’s head peeked out from the umbrella. Given the difference in noise, the other party should have gotten it right this time…

Huala!

As soon as his head peeked out, a storm-like noise resounded in the air once more, and innumerable flying thin needles appeared in his sight.

“The heck!”

Xing Yuan was on the verge of crying.

Big Brother, will you only be content after you get rid of me?

Didn’t you say that you had succeeded?

If you really had succeeded, what’s with these thin needles?

In truth, Wu Zhen felt even more frenzied than him at this very moment.

He clearly heard the cogs of the mechanism turning, why would it still shoot out thin needles?

Even though he had opened the Thousand Utility Umbrella in time to ward off the majority of them, due to his slower reaction from having his guard down, he was still pierced by dozens of needles. The places stabbed by the needles swelled red, creating quite a glaring sight.

Xing Yuan, it’s not that I want to kill you, but that this mechanism wants to kill the both of us…

“I got it…”

After a long moment, after Wu Zhen finally plucked out the thin needles from his body, he suddenly thought of something and his mouth twitched. “This seems to be… a grade-6 mechanism set up by a 6-star celestial designer…”

“Grade-6 mechanism?”

Everyone staggered.

If it was a grade-6 mechanism, what the hell were you doing up there?

As a 5-star celestial designer, you should know better than to make such an elementary mistake!

Knowing what everyone was thinking, Wu Zhen hurriedly explained himself.

“It is because there’s a booby trap contained within the grade-6 mechanism!”

“A booby trap?”

“Un. Using some special means, this grade-6 mechanism is disguised as a grade-5, and fake flaws were installed on them to lure others to trigger them. Furthermore, there are different sounds to triggering these flaws to beguile those attempting to decipher it, thus putting their guards down momentarily… I’ve only seen this kind of mechanism in some books once, and I thought its heritage had already died out. Who knew that… I would actually find one here!”

Wu Zhen’s face paled.

This booby-trapped mechanism was designed so exquisitely that even a 6-star celestial designer could possibly fall into the trap, not to mention, him.

As an occupation specializing in the crafting of mechanisms, celestial designers had a unique heritage, and it was an occupation recognized by the Master Teacher Pavilion. There was a significant difference between the knowledge or capability of those in between every single rank. As a 5-star primary celestial designer, it was perfectly normal that he would be unable to see through the booby-trapped mechanism of a grade-6 mechanism.

It was fortunate that limited by the disguise, it was impossible to fill the stone tablets with anything stronger than the needles. Otherwise, they would have been dead by now.