Chapter 1749: The Ruthless One Awakens

"No attack... Could it be that the sequence of this technique has also reached the Heavenly Dao level? This... who could possibly cultivate it?"

Soon, bypassing one stone after another, he reached the central stone platform. Zhang Xuan was stunned.

He had used the Heavenly Dao sequence without a single error, and this stone forest was exactly the same!

Didn't this mean that the recorded technique had already reached the Heavenly Dao level?

"It seems that Teacher Kong, like me, also possesses the Heavenly Dao Library!" Zhang Xuan mused to himself.

This technique was most likely left by Teacher Kong. He knew the characteristics of Heavenly Dao techniques very well—except for those with Heavenly Dao true qi, no outsider could ever master it.

Otherwise, he would have long taught it to his students to help them progress quickly.

Ordinary people couldn't cultivate it, yet Teacher Kong possessed such a technique, indicating... he himself must have Heavenly Dao true qi and could practice Heavenly Dao techniques. Thus... the rest was self-evident.

After pondering for a while, knowing he would need to see Teacher Kong again to confirm, Zhang Xuan stopped hesitating. He calmed his mind, focused his breath, and slowly reached for the Saint Trace Stone on the stone platform.

Hum!

Feeling his hand approach, the Saint Trace Stone emitted a dazzling light. His soul, in an instant, felt as if it had fallen into molten lava, a scorching sensation flowing through his entire body.

"Hmph!"

Even the burning of his Supreme Soul Heavenly Flame had done nothing to him; this bit of pressure was nothing. He pressed down forcefully, grabbed it in his palm, and at the same time bit his fingertip, letting blood drip onto it.

Before long, the Saint Trace Stone ceased its resistance and successfully acknowledged him as its master.

With the stone's acknowledgment, the pressure immediately vanished, replaced by a warm sensation. Figures swam on the surface of the Saint Trace Stone, and streams of pure soul power replenished him, slowly increasing his soul.

Knowing this was an opportunity for transformation, Zhang Xuan immediately sat cross-legged, let his Supreme Soul leave his body, and touched the stone before him.

Rumble!

Soul power surged into his Supreme Soul, rapidly increasing its strength. In an instant, it broke through the bottleneck of the Golden Body Realm peak and charged toward a higher level.

An hour later.

He had already reached the third level of the Great Sage realm, the Great Perfection of Heart's Blood Surge.

Having reached this realm, the pace of progress slowed. He looked down and saw that the moving figures on the Saint Trace Stone had stopped, seemingly exhausted.

"It seems this thing also needs energy..."

He smiled lightly.

This Saint Trace Stone could enhance the soul realm, but like spirit stones, it contained only a limited amount of soul power and could not allow continuous advancement.

However, after refining it, he also learned that after a period of rest, it could be used again, unlike spirit stones which were single-use.

Otherwise, it wouldn't have been worth Teacher Kong's effort to store it in a separate hall and spend such a cost on the trial.

"What happens when the soul breaks through to Heart's Blood Surge?"

The Heart's Blood Surge realm involved sensing the heavenly mysteries in the void, allowing the cultivator to avoid danger and seek good fortune. With his Heavenly Dao Library, cultivating true qi to this realm easily invited backlash. Now that his Supreme Soul had reached it, would the same problem arise?

Thinking of this, his Supreme Soul entered his physical body, sensing the will of heaven in the void.

Crack! Crack!

A bolt of lightning struck, and he involuntarily convulsed.

"Indeed..."

His mouth twitched, and Zhang Xuan's face darkened.

He had thought that reaching the Great Perfection would avoid this situation, but it hadn't changed at all.

It seemed that for him, even the Supreme Soul could not pry into the heavenly mysteries... otherwise, it would be no different from embezzlement.

The greatest power of Heart's Blood Surge was the ability to predict danger in advance. Without this ability... his strength would inevitably be greatly diminished.

However, there was nothing he could do about it. He simply considered his power enhanced again.

Previously, when fighting against an Immortal Realm Great Perfection expert, using the Dragon Bone Divine Spear, he barely managed to win. To kill, he had to ambush or use other means. Now, with his Supreme Soul promoted, his strength could crush such opponents.

Whoosh!

Knowing that he couldn't advance further in a short time, Zhang Xuan flipped his hand and was about to put it into his storage ring when an urgent voice sounded: "Master, could you lend me this Saint Trace Stone first?"

"Ruthless One? You're awake..."

Zhang Xuan's eyes lit up.

It was none other than the Ruthless One, who had fallen asleep after devouring the sternum.

Unexpectedly, he had awakened now.

"The soul power of the Saint Trace Stone dissipated, and I woke up. Master, can you lend me this thing first... My soul is weak; with this, I can recover quickly!" said the Ruthless One.

"The power on this Saint Trace Stone has already been absorbed by me..." Zhang Xuan frowned.

He had just advanced, absorbing all the power it contained. What use would it be to give it to him?

Like a spirit stone without spiritual energy, it was useless in hand.

"The Saint Trace Stone, relying solely on natural absorption to store full spiritual energy, would take who knows how long, and it wouldn't be worthy of being called a treasure. Master, first take me out, then give me this thing!"

Said the Ruthless One.

"Alright!" Zhang Xuan nodded, flipped his wrist, and the Heavenly Dao Book appeared, with the Saint Trace Stone landing on it.

Swish!

The book opened, and the Ruthless One revealed half his body. He lightly pointed a finger, and the Saint Trace Stone flew out, landing before the several recently killed alien spirit tribesmen, spinning rapidly.

Hum!

After a moment, the figures on its surface moved again, emitting a dazzling light.

"This is... absorbing others' souls?"

Zhang Xuan's pupils contracted.

With his Insight Eye, he could clearly see that the Saint Trace Stone had just absorbed the souls of the several dead alien spirit tribesmen, purified them, and turned them into pure energy.

"Yes, the Saint Trace Stone has the ability to purify souls and devour spirits. For soul cultivators, it is even more important than ancient sacred treasures... Back then, the Soul Seal of the Soul Masters Guild was refined from this thing!"

Explained the Ruthless One.

"The Soul Seal was refined from this?"

Zhang Xuan was startled, then suddenly understood.

No wonder he felt a sense of familiarity when he first saw the Saint Trace Stone—so that was it!

After all, the Soul Seal was also in his possession, stored in his storage ring, though he had never used it.

"Able to absorb souls and transform them into pure soul power... this power is indeed terrifying!"

Zhang Xuan finally understood.

No wonder it could be compared to Bodhi Fruit and Ancient Saint Qi, stored alone in a hall—its power was truly extraordinary.

"Take it first!"

This ability sounded evil, but it depended on the user. In the hands of a good person, even the most evil thing could do good; in the hands of an evil person, even the best thing could be a murder weapon.

Thus, the trial of this Saint Trace Stone tended toward the extreme. It could be said that without cultivating the Heavenly Dao technique, one could not enter... So that was it!

In the void, Zhang Xuan had a feeling that Teacher Kong seemed to know of his existence. This item was clearly left for him.

For anyone else, even if they wanted it, they couldn't obtain it.

"Thank you, Master!"

The Ruthless One quickly absorbed the soul power from the Saint Trace Stone to consolidate his own soul power.