Chapter 855: The Thousand-Tempered Soul Condensation Art

"The One Qi Returning to Origin Grand Formation?"

Standing on the wall, looking into the courtyard, Zhang Xuan raised an eyebrow: "A seventh-level formation?"

Among the many courtyards in the imperial palace, this one was neither the most spacious nor the largest, but its formation was the most formidable, having reached the seventh level.

A formation of this level surpassed the scope of the Hongyuan Empire, reaching that of a titled empire.

"It seems this should be the most important place in the palace, and that Sacred Domain Bodhi Tree is inside!"

A gleam flashed in his eyes.

According to Zhong Dingchun, the Sacred Domain Bodhi Tree was the foundation of the Hongyuan royal family. If so, it should be heavily guarded, and this courtyard fit the bill.

Whether he could save Wei Ruyan depended on going in and seeing for himself.

"With my current strength, breaking a seventh-level formation would take a great deal of effort!"

His Eye of Insight squirmed as he looked around, then he couldn't help shaking his head.

With his current strength, he could still break this formation, find the life gate, and slip in undetected, but even with the Eye of Insight's meticulous analysis, it would take one or two hours.

Now that he was in the palace, surrounded by dangers, there was certainly not enough time.

"No choice!"

With a thought from his soul, he snapped off a tree branch and, controlling its force, threw it straight into the courtyard.

Hum!

Like a stone falling into a lake, the grand formation inside, sensing the external impact, suddenly activated, emitting a series of clear chimes.

Countless sword lights flashed, and the branch was instantly shredded into pieces.

It turned out to be a powerful killing formation!

Ignoring the fate of the branch, Zhang Xuan's eyes were like lightning as he watched the formation operate and whispered in his mind,

"Flaw!"

When a formation is not operating, just like when a person does not use martial techniques, the Library of Heaven's Path cannot be used. Activating the formation allowed him to see its crux smoothly.

A book appeared in his sea of consciousness. After quickly reading it, he became thoroughly familiar with this grand formation.

With a light flicker of his body, he entered it, found the core position, and kicked it.

Whoosh!

The operating formation immediately stopped.

Although the soul was formless and intangible, it could control objects according to will and manifest forms. To stop the formation, he had to use his special move—a kick to break the formation!

Zhang Xuan breathed a sigh of relief and flew into the courtyard.

The courtyard was spacious, not much different from other courtyards, except there was not a single person in sight, nor could he find the so-called Bodhi Tree. Only a few ancient stone tablets stood in place.

"Did I come to the wrong place?"

Looking around, Zhang Xuan frowned.

According to Zhong Dingchun, this Sacred Domain Bodhi Tree should be quite large. But now, aside from some ordinary gardens, he saw no vegetation at all. Could it be that the Yu family's most important treasure was not in the most heavily guarded place?

If not for this, why set up a seventh-level formation?

To cover these few stone tablets?

Could it be that these stone tablets... were even more precious than the Bodhi Tree?

Full of doubt, he couldn't help but look at them.

The stone tablets were ancient, unknown how many years old, and appeared somewhat damaged. Lines of large characters were carved on them.

These characters were not carved by a calligrapher; they lacked that special artistic conception, and even the script was not particularly neat. Yet, for some reason, a single glance made one's soul sink into them, unable to extricate oneself, as if they possessed a special power.

"The Thousand-Tempered Soul Condensation Art!"

His eyes fell on the first stone tablet, and a line of large characters came into view.

"A method for cultivating the soul?" Zhang Xuan's eyes lit up.

He had thought it was something else, but it turned out to be a cultivation technique for the soul.

The soul had always been the most difficult aspect of cultivation. Especially after the loss of the shaman soul profession, cultivators revered true qi, and soul cultivators were clearly at a disadvantage, with few techniques passed down.

Because of this, his shaman soul had remained at the peak of the Return to Origin realm, unable to continue cultivation.

He had even been unable to suppress the previous congenital fetal poison.

He had thought this courtyard would contain the so-called Sacred Domain Bodhi Tree, but instead, it held a method for cultivating the soul!

This might not mean much to others, as it was extremely difficult to cultivate, but to him, it was a good thing.

He had obtained the shaman soul cultivation technique from the Mortal Transformation realms one through nine from Mo Hunsheng, but had never found a suitable supplementary soul cultivation method. Perhaps this so-called Thousand-Tempered Condensation Art could be of use.

"Flaw!"

His gaze swept over the stone tablets, and a book appeared on the bookshelf.

Now, in the palace and in danger, he had no time to cultivate or examine it in detail. He would first record it.

With his previous experience of copying inscriptions from stone tablets at the Sealing Saint Platform, wherever his eyes went, the content on the tablets was imprinted into his mind intact, forming a book.

Soon, he had recorded all the text from the several stone tablets, and Zhang Xuan breathed a sigh of relief.

Whether it was useful or not, he would take it first.

When he had time later, he would study it slowly.

"Who goes there?"

Just as he finished recording and was about to leave the courtyard to continue searching, a loud shout rang out, followed by a powerful force striking straight at his shaman soul.

"Damn!"

His expression darkened. With a thought, his shaman soul dodged the attack and quickly turned to look, seeing a middle-aged man staring intently in his direction.

Around forty years old, dressed in luxurious clothes, his aura was extremely powerful, giving a strong sense of oppression. His eyes, in particular, were like a whirlpool, seemingly able to see his existence.

"A soul expert..."

His pupils contracted.

Seeing the other's appearance, he immediately knew that the man couldn't see him but was skilled in soul arts and could sense his presence.

Just like Wei Ranxue back then.

It seemed that the one who sat firmly in the Hongyuan Empire, intimidating countless empires and kingdoms from daring to act rashly, this imperial palace was indeed not as simple as imagined. Even a shaman soul could not come and go freely.

"Daring to break into the palace, you have some nerve!"

As if sensing his observation, the middle-aged man let out a cold shout and threw a punch.

A powerful force surged in an instant, already reaching the peak of Saint Domain realm one.

A strongman of this level was among the most powerful in the Hongyuan Empire.

"Flee!"

Knowing he was definitely no match, Zhang Xuan did not hesitate. With a flicker of his body, he shot straight out of the courtyard.

"Trying to escape? Do you think the palace is a place you can come and go as you please?"

Sensing the lifeform that had infiltrated trying to flee, the middle-aged man raised his brows and grabbed with his hand.

Boom!

A huge palm print descended from the sky, sealing off all possible escape routes.

"Although he can't see me, he is skilled in soul arts and can sense my presence... If I can't escape, I might really be killed..."

Stopping abruptly, his expression grave, Zhang Xuan tensed his entire body.

This crisis might be even greater than when he encountered Wei Ranxue.

Wei Ranxue was a master teacher from the academy; no matter what, she would leave some leeway. But this man's attacks were fierce and merciless, as if determined to kill him.

Then again, an unknown lifeform breaking into the palace—who wouldn't be uneasy?

He dodged rapidly, but the opponent's palm force was too overwhelming. He was still grazed, feeling a burning pain and sustaining a minor injury.

"No good. If I keep dodging like this, I won't make it!"

Though anxious, Zhang Xuan did not panic. Instead, he carefully analyzed the current situation.

His soul's power was only at the Return to Origin realm, far inferior to the opponent's Saint Domain realm one peak. He simply couldn't evade.

If he kept dodging, he would only end up beaten to death.

"Use the formation..."

A gleam flashed in his eyes, and Zhang Xuan made a decision instantly.

To defeat the opponent with his own strength was impossible. Now, he could only rely on the One Qi Returning to Origin Grand Formation in this courtyard.

Through the Library of Heaven's Path, he already knew the formation's flaws and crux. To escape, he had to use this.

With that thought, he did not hesitate. With a flicker, he arrived at a formation node, just as the opponent's attack came crashing down.

"Activate!"

Without hesitation, he tapped his foot.

Boom!

The formation he had stopped earlier was instantly activated. A mist enveloped the middle-aged man in the blink of an eye.

"Go!"

Knowing that even if the opponent was familiar with the formation, it would take some time to break out, Zhang Xuan did not hesitate. With a flicker of his spirit, he shot straight out of the courtyard and rushed outward.

"Damn it..."

The middle-aged man, clearly not expecting the other to control the formation, roared in fury. By the time he emerged from the formation, the other's figure had vanished, and he could no longer sense him.

"What was that?"

Standing above the courtyard, looking at the now-vanished Zhang Xuan, the middle-aged man's face was ashen.

Although the content recorded on these stone tablets was profound and mysterious, and a single glance would make it hard for anyone to understand, so there was no worry about theft, the fact that someone could enter and leave the palace as if it were empty and control a seventh-level formation was a bit too exaggerated!

If not for the activation of the courtyard's formation arousing his suspicion and prompting him to come check, he wouldn't have even noticed.

"It seems the palace's security needs to be reinforced..."

A gleam flashed in his eyes.

Not knowing whether the other was a sacred beast or a human, the only way was to strengthen the palace's defenses and kill him directly when he appeared again.

...

"That was close!"

After escaping the courtyard, Zhang Xuan did not dare continue flying. Instead, with a thought, he slipped into a nearby small courtyard.

The formations of these courtyards could all be seen through by his Eye of Insight, so he didn't worry about triggering them. After sprinting several hundred meters, he finally evaded the other's spiritual search and couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

As expected of the Hongyuan Empire's imperial palace; there were indeed experts skilled in soul attacks.

Then again, since the Bodhi Tree nourished the soul, the royal family members' souls must be strong. It was not surprising that they knew some soul-based martial techniques.

This meant that trying to search recklessly for the so-called Sacred Domain Bodhi Tree within the palace would not be easy.

"After all this fuss, the banquet is probably about to start. I'll find another chance to come back!"

Knowing that this time he had alerted the enemy, the place with the Bodhi Tree would surely be even more heavily guarded. Even if he found it, he might get caught. After a moment's hesitation, Zhang Xuan decided to go back for now.

After all, Wei Ruyan's condition was not bad; she was not in immediate danger. There was no need to take the risk.

With a thought, he lay down again on the eaves. Looking at the dense, orderly, and magnificent buildings around him, he couldn't help scratching his head.

"Um... where exactly is the banquet hall?"