Library of Heaven’s Path

”Time to begin!”

Taking a deep breath, Zhang Xuan flicked his wrist, and a handful of formation flags appeared in his grasp.

There were quite a few 5-star formation flags in Yu Cheng’s storage ring that he could use. These formation flags were attributeless, making them ideal to craft the auxiliary formation.

Hu hu hu!

With a flick of his wrist, several hundred formation flags shot out and fell in the vicinity of the formation plate.

Following which, Zhang Xuan took a step forward and stomped his foot on the ground.

Weng!

With a buzz, the formation flags were immediately triggered with a slight tremor. A dense layer of mist emerged in the surroundings, shrouding the formation plate entirely.

Hong long!

The flame dragon prowling at the center of the formation plate abruptly grew from a meter tall to dozens of meters, and it seemed as if it would surge beyond the tall ceiling, burning the roof down to cinders!

”This is a grade-5 formation? How can he set it up so quickly?” Yuan Hong’s eyebrows leaped up in astonishment.

Formation master was one of his supporting occupations as well, but even as a 6-star master teacher, he knew it was impossible for him to set up a formation so swiftly.

Yet, the other party was able to do it so easily. Furthermore, he noticed that the method used in setting up the formation was very foreign to him. For even a 6-star master teacher like him to be unaware of it, chances were that the other party had truly received the teachings of a high-ranked master teacher.

Legend has it that top-notch formation masters had their unique techniques to swiftly set up formations and enhance the might of it.

Most likely, that fellow was using something like that.

”To intensify the Earth Flame so swiftly... the formation he is setting up should be an auxiliary formation to increase the pace at which the Earth Flame is being drawn at!” Yuan Hong nodded.

Despite Zhang Xuan’s swift movement, he was still able to roughly tell the gist of the formation through its effects and the positioning of the flags.

However... what was the point of setting up this formation?

Was that fellow intending on using Earth Flame to replace the Earth Flame Hearts?

”But surely that should be unfeasible? Even if the pace at which Earth Flame is being drawn at were to be enhanced, it will only make the flame dragon grow larger. It has minimal effect on the heat intensity...” Yuan Hong frowned.

As the vice head of the Blacksmith School, he could at least tell that much.

While the auxiliary formation would increase in the pace at which Earth Flame was being drawn out at, that would only lead to a quantitative increase in the flame dragon.

To make an analogy, it would be like the difference between burning a kilogram of coal and a ton of coal. Despite the difference in quantity, the difference in the temperature between the two would only be minimal at best.

”Rest assured, I have a plan in mind.” With a light chuckle, Zhang Xuan flicked his wrist and took out another set of formation flags.

Hualala!

With another flick of his hand, the flags were planted at the perimeter of the first formation.

Weng!

Zhang Xuan stomped his foot, and the formation was activated as well.

Hu hu hu!

As soon as the formation whirred into action, the towering flame dragon instantaneously withered, returning back to its original size of one meter.

However, despite the reduction in size, the heat it emanated was visibly far more hot than before, and even from a distance, the crowd could still feel a searing heat wave gushing at them.

”This... You compressed the flame dragon to forcefully raise the temperature? Not bad!” Astonishment flickered across Yuan Hong’s face.

The first formation increased the rate at which Earth Flame was drawn at whereas the second formation aimed to compress the Earth Flame as far as possible.

After undergoing compression, the Earth Flame might have reduced in size, but it was far more frightening than ever. In an instant, its temperature rose by more than tenfold!

Even Yuan Hong didn’t have the confidence of withstanding such intense heat.

”This... Is he really intending on using the Earth Flame to substitute the Earth Flame Hearts?” Yuan Hong’s face twitched.

Even though he had a rough idea of what Zhang Xuan was intending to do earlier, he subconsciously denied the possibility, thinking that it was impossible. However, as Zhang Xuan continued on, the doubt he harbored earlier intensified.

As the two formations continued to operate, the temperature of the Earth Flame rose higher and higher, and before long, it was already nearing an Earth Flame Heart.

Perhaps, this fellow might just be able to fix the Chamber of Earth Flame... However, Earth Flame was already an unstable material in itself. To extract large amounts of it and compress them together tightly... Was he really able to keep it under control?

The moment that he loses control over the Earth Flame, the entire Blacksmith School might potentially be destroyed.

Yuan Hong wasn’t the only one worried about that. Unsettled frowns were appearing on the many master teachers watching the spectacle as well.

How could those who dared to venture to the Passageway of Records and challenge the achievements of their predecessors be ordinary master teachers? While they were unable to name the two formations Zhang Xuan had set up, they were still able to comprehend their function and purpose.

Watching as more and more Earth Flame was compacted within the flame dragon, as well as sensing the astounding heat being emanated from it, they couldn’t help but feel their goosebumps rising in fear despite their formidable cultivation.

If they were to be caught up in an explosion involving it, there was no doubt that they would be burned into cinders.

”This should be enough!”

On the other hand, oblivious to the shock rippling through the crowd, Zhang Xuan heaved a sigh of relief after successfully setting up the formation.

While it may seem like two formations from the outside, it was actually just one formation consisting of an internal layer and an external layer.

The internal layer was responsible for drawing more Earth Flame into the formation, and the external layer would compress the energy to enhance its concentration.

When used in unison, it could force Earth Flame to emulate the effects of the Earth Flame Heart.

This was designed by a 6-star pinnacle formation master many years ago for the Chamber of Earth Flame. However, he was unable to resolve the issue regarding the instability of compound formations, so his plan never came to be.

”Time to start!”

Knowing that the difficulty would only rise the further he progresses, Zhang Xuan took in a deep breath and activated his Eye of Insight.

With the third acknowledgement of Celestial Master Teacher, his Eye of Insight had been enhanced once again. As long as he was unwilling to reveal it, not even a 6-star master teacher would notice his Eye of Insight.

Considering how his cultivation was still limited, it would be best for him to conceal his Eye of Insight for the time being until he possesses sufficient strength to protect himself.

Despite being concealed from the view of others, the Eye of Insight was still as powerful as ever. With its activation, the ruined formation swiftly appeared before Zhang Xuan’s eyes. The hidden formation flags flickered into existence around the flame dragon.

”All that’s left to do is to activate this formation...”

The original formation in the Chamber of Earth Flame had only broken down due to the lack of energy to power it. As long as he could activate it through the flame dragon, the Chamber of Earth Flame should function once more. Stepping forward, Zhang Xuan walked up to the crux of the formation.

”Activate!”

Stomping on the ground, Zhang Xuan infused his zhenqi into the center of the formation, and the formation was activated with a slight trembling of the flags. A mist began to form around the flame dragon.

Hualala!

However, as soon as the flame dragon came into contact with the mist, a sound of disharmony, reminiscent of something collapsing, abruptly sounded. It was as if the two formations were incompatible with one another, and an explosion would be imminent if they weren’t separated immediately.

”This is bad...” Yuan Hong’s face paled upon seeing that sight.

Formations couldn’t be compounded with one another. He had once witnessed a 6-star formation master being blasted to death in an attempt to compound formations. If an explosion were to occur here, the Blacksmith School might just be wiped out from the surface of the world.

Thus, he immediately stepped forward in preparation to suppress the formation. However, just as he was about to make a move, the young man abruptly shook his hand, and a spirit beast inner core was thrown into the center of the mist.

Hu!

As soon as the inner core came into contact with the mist, the sound of disharmony immediately dispelled. All of a sudden, the formation was stabilized as if it had found its cornerstone.

”That... he found the balance point between the two formations?” Yuan Hong widened his eyes in shock.

To make the rampaging formation calm down so swiftly, there could only be one possibility. That fellow must have found the balance point between the two formations and reinforced it.

”If I recall correctly... A Transcendent Mortal 8-dan Glaciersnow Fish’s inner core. Considering its cold attribute, it is indeed an ideal mediator for a fire attribute formation like this...” Recalling the details of the spirit beast inner core thrown out earlier, Yuan Hong couldn’t help but nod in approval.

Not only had the other party found the balance point of the two formations, he even wisely utilized a complementary factor—the cold attribute Glaciersnow Fish inner core—to mediate the flame energy. As the saying goes, ”no shadow creeps in the absence of light, and no light exists without the presence of shadow”. Through a contrasting mediating factor, he successfully stabilized the formation entirely!

”Compounding a formation to another through a set of well-defined sequence, incredible!” To be able to go that far with Earth Flame, this fellow was indeed a true genius!

It was no wonder why he declared confidently that he would be able to fix the formation. It seemed like he did possess the capability to back up his words.

As long as a balance was established with the formations, the rest could be easily fixed through employing some workers.

Seeing the formation being stabilized, Zhang Xuan heaved a sigh of relief.

When he first read about the Chamber of Flames in his book, it was filled with so many flaws that he thought that it would be difficult for him to successfully set it up. To his surprise, everything went smoothly.

”I’m done.” With a light chuckle, Zhang Xuan turned around and reported.

”This is... the Chamber of Earth Flame?”

”How beautiful! With so many flames flying around the room, can a human really step into it?”

”What an incredible heat! Senior Luo Yan, did you really survive three minutes inside? I don’t think that I can even last ten seconds in there before I am reduced to ashes...”

...

Looking at the exposed Chamber of Earth Flame, the crowd flew into a commotion.

Due to the rumors surroundings the Chamber of Earth Flame, there were very few who had opted to challenge. Thus, many were ignorant about the conditions inside.

As the Passageway of Records hadn’t been restored yet, there were no walls to conceal it. As a result, the situation within was plain for everyone to see, and the fearsome heat within left many astounded.

Leaping flames and blistering heat... How did the previous record holder even last seventeen minutes under such extreme conditions?

And did the fellow before them really last two hours within?

”Elder, I have successfully fixed the Chamber of Earth Flame. I should be spared from compensation now, right?” Ignoring the astonishment of the crowd, Zhang Xuan turned to Yuan Hong and asked.

”It does seem to be repaired on the surface. However, I’ll have to test the effects of the Chamber of Earth Flame personally to verify it!” Yuan Hong waved his hands.

Even though the Chamber of Earth Flame seemed no different from before, there was still a need to examine its effectiveness, especially given the difference in the catalyst.

”Please do.” Zhang Xuan smiled as he gestured the other party forward.

”Un. I was once in charge of maintaining the Passageway of Records, so I have a good idea of how the conditions should be like inside. I’ll go in to take a look!” Yuan Hong nodded.

In his years in the Blacksmith School, there was a period of time where he was placed in charge of the amenities of the school. He understood the structure of the Chamber of Earth Flame well, and the best way to verify if it had been restored was to test it out personally.

As such, Yuan Hong began making his way into the Chamber of Earth Flame.

Weng!

As soon as he stepped in, the flames scattered in the area began gathering around him, and the temperature started to rise swiftly.

”Hm?” Noticing that the functioning in the Chamber of Earth Flame was slightly different from what he saw earlier, Zhang Xuan frowned.

At that instant, a thought suddenly struck him, and he swiftly turned to Luo Yan and asked, ”What material did the Blacksmith School use to craft the formation plate used to grab earth flame from beneath the ground?”

”Oh, it’s an alloy made of Verdantrise Rock and Furnace Crystal!” Luo Yan replied after a moment of contemplation.

”Verdantrise Rock and Furnace Crystal?” Zhang Xuan’s eyes widened in shock.

Just as he was about to continue speaking, the ground abruptly shook.

Hong long!

With loud rumblings, a massive surge of heat wave abruptly rose from the ground, resulting in a pandemonium.

Following which, the Passageway of Records collapsed, followed by the Blacksmith Guild’s main hall...