Chapter 1596: I'm Itchy

The ninety-nine portals before him differed in danger and certainly in opportunity; the choice between right and wrong would inevitably lead to a vast gap.

Otherwise, this boy would not have specifically given the time of one incense stick for people to decide.

The assessment left by the ancient sage restricted cultivation, so the Eye of Clarity was not very effective, but... what about the Library?

Under the Heavenly Dao, everything could be seen through...

Since that was the case, using it to choose which was correct and which was wrong should be very simple!

Thinking of this, Zhang Xuan acted without any hesitation. Flipping his wrist, he took out a piece of white paper and a brush, and with swift strokes, began to paint.

His understanding of the Dao of Painting had long reached the level of an Eight-Star Painting Master, and his speed and quality of painting were both extremely high. In less than three minutes, he had completely depicted the stone doors before him, so lifelike that they seemed ready to fly out at any moment.

After finishing the painting, the brush continued to dance, and on each door he wrote the two characters 'correct'.

With so many doors, as an assessment, there must be only one that was most correct. The Library could distinguish errors and flaws; as long as there were no flaws, that was the one that could be entered.

While he was writing, the stone statue boy beside him was utterly confused.

He had thought this fellow would casually choose a stone door and walk in, but instead he took out brush and paper, writing and painting... I told you to choose, not to sketch from life...

What was he doing all this for?

"Time is almost up. If you don't go in, you'll be disqualified and won't be able to participate in the assessment..."

Unable to hold back any longer, he reminded.

"Alright, I'll make my choice right away..."

Nodding, Zhang Xuan finished writing 'correct' on the last stone door, then touched his finger to the paper.

Huff!

In his mind appeared a picture, exactly the same as the one before.

In the blink of an eye, he found the flawless door. Only then did Zhang Xuan let out a sigh of relief.

"I've made my choice..."

Opening his eyes, he smiled lightly. Zhang Xuan strode forward and came before the stone statue boy. Seeing the boy's bewildered expression, he smiled gently: "Actually, I'm a painter. I like to copy good things I see... Just now, seeing so many stone doors, I felt an itch to paint. I hope you'll forgive me!"

"A painter? An itch to paint?" The stone statue boy was speechless, with black lines on his forehead.

Just looking at stone doors gives you an itch... Is there anything that doesn't make you itch?

Why don't you just itch to death!

"You're a stone statue, so it's normal that you don't understand this feeling."

Laughing heartily, Zhang Xuan casually patted the other's shoulder and walked sympathetically toward one of the stone doors.

"You..." Having been mocked, the stone statue boy gritted his teeth in anger.

Qiuwu Gusheng, a man of such integrity all his life, how did he end up taking in a student so infuriating that you want to beat him up?

To be honest, he was just too ridiculous... Telling you to choose a stone door, and you get an itch... Hmm, wait!

Gritting his teeth inwardly, he looked at the direction the young man was walking, then suddenly froze, his eyes filled with disbelief.

Creak!

Stepping into a stone door, the young man disappeared from sight.

"He chose this one? This is... how did he do it?"

His eyes blinked, but the stone statue remained motionless, utterly unresponsive.

He had thought this fellow knew nothing—no matter how he chose among the ninety-nine doors, he would never find this one. Unexpectedly, with a random pick, he walked right in...

"Good luck alone isn't enough; you need strength too. That thing inside is far more violent than I am, and it never shows mercy. Even if you choose correctly, it might not help—you could still die in there!"

Though filled with shock, the stone boy ultimately snorted.

...

The stone door creaked shut. Walking a few steps along the passage, Zhang Xuan was about to look around when a tremendous pressure suddenly struck him, making his body involuntarily sway.

This pressure assaulted his soul directly, carrying a tearing force, as if the slightest misstep would crush him to dust.

"It's a soul attack..."

His face darkened.

He had experienced many soul attacks, but never one so狂暴. It pierced straight through his flesh, making him feel as if he had fallen into a raging tide, unable even to resist.

"Activate the Witch Soul!"

Knowing that continued assault could leave him severely injured, he took a deep breath and, with a thought, activated his Witch Soul, which began circulating within his body.

Although his Witch Soul was only at the peak of Saint Domain Ninth Layer, it had been tempered by thunder and was immense in size. The opponent's attack was fierce, but with the circulation of power, he barely managed to withstand it.

Letting out a breath of relief, he hurried forward.

He wanted to see what could produce such a powerful soul attack.

Creak! Creak!

The further he went, the greater the pressure and the stronger the impact on his soul.

After taking a dozen steps, he stopped.

His cultivation was still too weak. As he went deeper, the pressure from ahead grew stronger, and he could no longer bear it.

"If it comes to it... I'll use the Master Kong's blood!"

His gaze turned solemn.

The power ahead, though highly damaging to the soul, could be perfectly neutralized by Master Kong's blood—but there were only three drops, and one had already been wasted. If he used it now, he might find himself at a disadvantage when encountering the alien clansmen hunting Zhao Ya.

He should conserve it when possible; after all, it was his strongest talisman. Once it was gone, danger would become a real problem.

"When I first encountered thunder, I had no way out and felt I might be electrocuted at any moment... but later, I learned to absorb its power! This pressure has a tremendous tempering effect on the soul. Why not take the opportunity to refine my soul, make it purer, and perhaps, like Lu Chong, achieve Witch Soul Shuttle?"

Last time he saw Lu Chong, he had given him the secret technique of Witch Soul Shuttle without reservation. He had studied it once before and found some flaws, so he wasn't keen on practicing it. Besides, his own strength was somewhat lacking... Now, with this pressure, unable to avoid or escape, it was the perfect chance to try.

Perhaps he would gain something unexpected.

"Begin..."

The technique for Witch Soul Shuttle immediately appeared in his mind.

"Witch Soul Shuttle moves through the gaps between space particles... Before, I couldn't understand space particles, so I thought it had many flaws. Now that my Space-Time Derivation Scripture has reached the fourth level, if I merge the two, could it form a Heavenly Dao technique?"

After reviewing the technique, Zhang Xuan was suddenly stunned.

Witch Soul Shuttle, though described as a secret art of the Witch Soul, was actually a utilization of space!

Now that he had integrated so many spatial texts and cultivated the Space-Time Derivation Scripture to the fourth level, if he merged this spatial technique with them, could he supplement its flaws and make it perfect?

"Correct!"

With a thought, Witch Soul Shuttle fused with the many spatial texts, and a book materialized before him.