Chapter 1233: Returning to Qingyuan City

Zhang Xuan's eyes lit up.

An island this large could hold the Book of Heaven's Path; as expected of a library product, the quality was beyond reproach.

Putting away the books, Zhang Xuan flew back.

Although this trip to the Jibei Swamp had been extremely perilous, the gains were also exceedingly bountiful. Not to mention that after the merger with the Cruel One, his strength would inevitably soar; even the hundred or so puppets at the mid-stage of the Nascent Soul realm alone would definitely become a major combat force.

If fully tamed, once released, even a strong cultivator at the initial stage of Saint Domain Layer 6 would probably be thoroughly beaten and unable to resist.

Most importantly, unlike the alien puppets he had subdued last time, these puppets were Heavenly Artifacts, devoid of any alien aura. Even in the Master Teacher Pavilion, they could be used freely without any concerns.

"Master Zhang... where is that island?"

Returning to the group, Wu Shi and the others looked over with great confusion.

"This matter involves too much; you'd better not ask..." Zhang Xuan shook his head.

Deceiving others with lies would always be exposed one day. Rather than that, it was better not to say anything.

"Yes!" Everyone nodded.

Though curious, thinking of his identity as a Heaven's Acknowledgement Master Teacher, they all held back.

"Master Zhang, should we report this matter to the headquarters of the Master Teacher Pavilion?"

As they were leaving, Wu Shi couldn't help but ask.

After all the turmoil for who knows how long, the sky had already brightened. A night of terror, fortunately no one was seriously injured.

"Better not..."

Zhang Xuan shook his head.

Involving the Cruel One would inevitably involve the Book of Heaven's Path, making explanations extremely troublesome.

"This..." Wu Shi hesitated. "If we don't report it, the deaths of Hall Master Gou and Vice Hall Master Tian Qing cannot be explained, which might cause even more trouble..."

With two hall masters and so many seven-star master teachers dead in the Qingyuan Empire Master Teacher Pavilion, if it ended anticlimactically, the headquarters would inevitably send people to investigate thoroughly, causing even more trouble.

"Is that so..."

Zhang Xuan rubbed his brow.

According to his plan, he would quietly take the benefits, and everyone would pretend not to know... but with so many incidents, it was hard to keep a low profile.

"If we report proactively, we can decide what to conceal, which can save a lot of trouble..."

Wu Shi, understanding his concerns, said.

Although this Master Zhang was young, his character was extremely steady. Being able to conceal such a major matter as Heaven's Acknowledgement Master Teacher until now, his low-key behavior was exemplary.

Such a low-key person naturally wouldn't want to cause a public uproar!

However, the matter was too significant; not reporting was not an option. Reporting in advance allowed them to filter the information selectively, benefiting everyone.

"Hmm!" After thinking for a moment, Zhang Xuan flipped his wrist, and two corpses appeared before him. "This is the corpse of Emperor Qingtian. Report to headquarters that he was behind everything and has now been executed!"

"The corpse of Emperor Qingtian?"

Wu Shi was astonished.

Wasn't he already dead? How did another one appear?

Seeing his confusion, Zhang Xuan explained the situation in detail, and Wu Shi finally understood, shocked beyond words.

As expected of an emperor who had lived for who knows how many years, his avatars came one after another, like an indestructible cockroach!

If not for this young man, they would have been killed long ago, dead for who knows how long.

"Killing an emperor of the Qingtian lineage and the ten kings is a great merit. I will report to headquarters immediately and await their judgment..."

Understanding the situation, Wu Shi knew the young man's concerns and no longer mentioned the island turning into a human head.

"Hmm!" Seeing that he understood his meaning, Zhang Xuan nodded.

As long as the matter of the Cruel One was not mentioned, it was fine.

Emperor Qingtian was nothing; dead was dead, not a big deal.

This corpse could conveniently explain many strange occurrences in the Qingyuan Empire.

"Let's report this matter at our Master Teacher Pavilion. We can apply for imaging, which will make the information more accurate and intuitive!"

Ji Tianxiong interjected.

"That would be best!"

Wu Shi's eyes lit up, then he turned to Zhang Xuan, seeking his opinion.

The Master Teacher Pavilion had items that could directly transmit images to headquarters. The corpse of Emperor Qingtian was so significant that it naturally had to be sent up.

"How about this, Wu Shi, you go with Master Ji to explain to headquarters. I have matters to attend to and will return to Qingyuan City first!"

After a moment's hesitation, Zhang Xuan said.

Although the Cruel One had threatened Liu Yang, and he had pretended to be calm, in reality, he had long wanted to go back and see how things were.

Liu Yang, though not particularly outstanding in character and seeming quite ordinary, was a student he had brought from Tianxuan Kingdom. After nearly a year of growing together step by step, they had developed a deep bond.

"This... alright!" Knowing his concerns, Wu Shi nodded.

With the discussion concluded, they said no more. By noon, the group finally emerged from the swamp. Boarding flying sacred beasts, they arrived over Jibei City. Wu Shi and the others flew down, while Zhang Xuan continued flying toward Qingyuan City.

After the others left, Zhang Xuan did not hesitate. His body flickered, and he entered the Thousand Ant Beehive.

"I will kill you..."

As soon as he entered, he heard an angry roar.

Bam bam bam bam!

Then came the sound of beating. Approaching, he saw his doppelgänger relentlessly pummeling the soul of Emperor Qingtian, which was absorbed on the altar, not giving him any chance to recover.

At this moment, Emperor Qingtian's soul was so thin it could collapse at any moment, but his face was still full of ferocity, wishing he could cut both the man and his doppelgänger into pieces.

"Alright, stop arguing. Be good and don't move; let me search your soul..." Comforting him, Zhang Xuan placed his hand on the other's head. With a mental command, his massive soul body flew out from between his brows.

Zzzzzz!

Under Emperor Qingtian's terrified gaze, a thin thread extended into his sea of consciousness.

An hour later, Zhang Xuan's soul returned. Rubbing his brow, he let out a turbid breath.

By now, Emperor Qingtian's consciousness had collapsed and was on the verge of extinction.

"The Cruel One has fallen asleep. Refine and devour this guy..."

He waved at his doppelgänger.

Before leaving the swamp, the Cruel One's consciousness had fallen into slumber, preventing him from asking anything.

Since the other was asleep, keeping Emperor Qingtian's primordial spirit was useless. It was better to let the doppelgänger devour it, which might greatly increase his strength.

"Alright!"

The doppelgänger, full of excitement, dragged the utterly despairing Emperor Qingtian toward a room. Soon, miserable screams came from within.

Shaking his head, ignoring him, Zhang Xuan sorted through the memories he had just obtained from the soul search.

Regarding the Cruel One, it was roughly as previously said.

Emperor Qingtian had pledged allegiance to the Cruel One indeed to obtain his inheritance and become stronger. The Cruel One wanted to take him as a disciple to use his power to find other parts and recover his strength.

In any case, each had their own ulterior motives.

"The Cruel One only passed on the first five layers of the soul cultivation technique to him..."

Through the soul search, he found the soul technique the Cruel One had taught Emperor Qingtian, but it only covered Saint Domain Layer 1 to Layer 5.

"Transforming the soul into a primordial spirit is indeed not easy..."

After studying the technique, Zhang Xuan sighed.

The primordial spirit is formed when the soul merges with the primordial embryo, gradually growing into a fetal infant, composed of true qi and soul. Therefore, it can survive outside the body and possesses true qi power.

The soul is different; it is pure soul cultivation, tempered through various secret methods to give it combat power comparable to the physical body.

The former, infused with true qi, has an open and upright quality, while the latter is extremely cold, fearing sunlight and thunder, fundamentally different in nature.

Being pure soul, like muscles without a skeleton, the difficulty of transforming it into a primordial spirit is imaginable.

The Nascent Soul Tribulation is the greatest obstacle.

Therefore, although the soul profession has great benefits, once reaching the Nascent Soul Tribulation, many people reach their peak and find it difficult to advance further.

Out of ten thousand people, fewer than one can pass through the thunder tribulation.

This Emperor Qingtian, being able to cultivate to the late stage of the Nascent Soul realm through sheer effort, was a genius among geniuses.

"However, I cultivate the Heavenly Path Soul, which is inherently yang-attributed. After merging with the fetal infant, it becomes even stronger, so this issue shouldn't apply to me!"

From the beginning, Zhang Xuan had cultivated the Heavenly Path Soul, which lacked yin-cold properties and had been tempered by thunder. Although only at the Fetal Infant realm, it already shared similarities with the primordial spirit.

This common problem faced by soul cultivators was not a big issue for him.

"By merging the secret manuals on soul cultivation from the Jinghong Guild, Qiling Guild, etc., I have the Heavenly Path Soul technique from Saint Domain Layer 1 to Layer 4. The first two layers can be cultivated directly; the latter two require continuing to find high-grade spirit stones with essence!"

Integrating these five layers of techniques with the many books he had studied in the Qingyuan Empire, he quickly compiled the Heavenly Path Soul technique for the first four Saint Domain layers.

The first two layers could be cultivated with ordinary high-grade spirit stones. In less than two hours, he had completed the cultivation!

But the latter two layers required high-grade spirit stones with essence. He didn't have a single one on hand and would have to wait until he reached the Qingyuan Empire.

This trip had delayed him over ten days; presumably, the rewards from the War Master Hall should have arrived by now.

After dealing with Emperor Qingtian's primordial spirit, Zhang Xuan released the puppets he had collected.

He had the heart demons leave one by one, then tamed them using the Teacher's Word Heavenly Grant. In less than three days, all these fellows had pledged allegiance to him, becoming loyal subordinates.

Since there was still some distance to Qingyuan City, Zhang Xuan was not in a hurry. He carefully studied Emperor Qingtian's storage ring.

There were many treasures, but no high-grade spirit stones with essence.

It seemed that this fellow, being a Nascent Soul realm expert, would have used them himself even if he had any.

Shaking his head with helplessness, Zhang Xuan had to spend the remaining time reading and cultivating, not wasting a single moment.

...

While Zhang Xuan was hurrying back to the Qingyuan Empire, Wu Shi and the others had arrived at the Jibei City Master Teacher Pavilion. After a series of ceremonies, Ji Tianxiong lightly tapped his hand, and a surge of majestic aura stirred. The phantom of an old man slowly appeared before them.

The hall master of the Empire Alliance Master Teacher Pavilion, an eight-star master teacher, He Xuan!

"What happened that requires you to use image transmission to contact me?"

The voice came with a strong sense of oppression.