Library of Heaven’s Path

Zhang Xuan had truly dug his own grave this time around. Taming a few saint beasts could give him a few more cards to play in times of crisis, but so many saint beasts… There was truly no need for that.

But these fellows were insistent on taking him as their master, and none were willing to back down at all. If he were to turn them down, it could possibly result in an upheaval. It would be foolish to undo all of the effort that had gone into calming down the Cloudmist Ridge.

In other words… he had no choice but to accept all of the spirit beasts.

Indignant! Very indignant!

What in the world is this?

Putting everything aside, just taking in the souls of so many spirit beasts would put a huge burden on him. If not for Zhang Xuan’s unbelievably powerful soul, he would have long lost his sense of self and gone insane!

But even so, he still suffered severe vertigo from having to take in so many souls, and his eyes turned bloodshot.

Tears streamed down his face endlessly, and he found himself choked by agitation.

I only came with the sole intention of conducting a lecture for you; I really had no intention to tame any of you at all…

Please, spare me…

…

After around twelve hours of effort, Zhang Xuan finally managed to take in all of the offered souls from the spirit beasts.

By the end of it, he was feeling so fatigued that he could faint any minute.

But still, he knew that this wasn’t the time to rest yet. It had been a day since Wei Ruyan’s soul was placed into the Bodhi Saint Tree to be nurtured, and she should be waking up soon. He had to take a look at her condition.

Otherwise, if the Bodhi Saint Tree were to succumb to Wei Ruyan’s unique constitution due to extended exposure to it, his efforts could end in futility once again.

The Innate Soul Constitution was simply too powerful. Even Zhang Xuan didn’t dare to underestimate its prowess.

Thus, leaving the Cloudmist Ridge, Zhang Xuan rushed all the way to the royal palace.

It was already late at night, but with all of the commotion in the Cloudmist Ridge, Yu Shenqing was in no mood to rest at all. Thus, upon hearing that Zhang Xuan had arrived, he rushed out to welcome him.

”Has anything peculiar happened to the Bodhi Saint Tree?” Zhang Xuan asked.

”Nothing that I can think of…” Yu Shenqing was confused by Zhang Xuan’s abrupt question.

”Let’s head over there to take a look.”

Without explaining himself, Zhang Xuan hurried over to the residence where the Bodhi Saint Tree was located under Yu Shenqing’s lead.

Soon, in the residence, he finally saw a lush Bodhi Saint Tree that didn’t show any signs of being poisoned, and he heaved a long sigh of relief.

”Zhang shi, I will be taking my leave now. If you have anything that you require my help on, feel free to let my men know.” Knowing that Zhang Xuan was going to settle a private matter, Yu Shenqing clasped his fist and bade farewell.

After Yu Shenqing’s departure, Zhang Xuan double checked that there was no one in the vicinity of the residence before drawing out his soul to take a look at the Bodhi Saint Tree.

Under the nourishment of the Bodhi Saint Tree, Wei Ruyan’s soul had already grown significantly stronger. Nodding in satisfaction, Zhang Xuan drew her soul out of the tree before gently placing it back into her body. After which, he used his soul energy to facilitate the fusion process between her body and soul.

It was no easy feat to fuse a separated soul and body together, but it was fortunate that Zhang Xuan cultivated the Heaven’s Path Soul Art. This granted his soul a unique property that allowed him to possess the body of another without suffering any significant rejection… Nevertheless, it still took around an hour before he managed to fuse Wei Ruyan’s body and soul together perfectly.

After doing all of that, Zhang Xuan tapped his finger on the other party’s glabella and said, ”Wake up!”

Weng!

A crisp buzz sounded, and Wei Ruyan began to open her eyes slowly.

It must be said that despite her many years of sickness, Wei Ruyan was still an incredible beauty on par with Wang Ying. What particularly caught Zhang Xuan’s attention were her eyes. Perhaps it was because she had never witnessed the evils in the world; her eyes were extremely bright and clear, reflecting the innocence of an infant.

”You are…”

Upon seeing the young man before her, a perplexed look surfaced on Wei Ruyan’s face.

She had been asleep all along, so this was the very first time she had met the benefactor who had saved her life.

”I am Zhang Xuan, a master teacher. I have managed to successfully cure the affliction you are suffering from, so you need not live a life filled with pain and suffering anymore.” Zhang Xuan nodded.

”My affliction has been cured?” Wei Ruyan could hardly believe what she was hearing.

For as long as she could remember, she had always been plagued by an affliction. Her father had taken her to many physicians and master teachers, and she had tried all kinds of treatments in the world, but nothing seemed to work. In the depths of her heart, she had already given up long ago.

When she fainted the previous time, she had thought that she would never come to again. Yet, she found herself opening her eyes to this world once more, and a man even told her that she was cured of her affliction. This was… She dared not believe what she was hearing to be true.

Seeing through her thoughts, Zhang Xuan smiled gently and said, ”Try standing up.”

”Stand up?”

Confused, Wei Ruyan pressed her palm softly against the ground to prop herself up, but to her astonishment, her body flew seven meters into the air instead, causing her to nearly crash head-on into a nearby tree.

”Ahhh!”

She screamed in fright as she fell back down, waiting in apprehension for the onset of pain the moment she crashed back onto the ground. However, her flailing arms, in a moment of panic, ended up creating a strong wind beneath her instead, which gently placed her back to the ground.

”T-this…” Wei Ruyan widened her eyes in shock, dumbstruck by the changes in her body.

Due to her affliction, despite her father being a Saint realm expert, she had never cultivated for a single day in her life.

But… to be able to fly into the air with a light push and land softly just by flailing her arms, it was clear that she possessed strength beyond that an ordinary mortal…

What was happening?

Seeing the look of confusion on the other party’s face, Zhang Xuan explained with a smile, ”You have consumed many precious medicinal herbs over the years, and even though they didn’t do your affliction any good, their medicinal properties are starting to work their magic now that your body has recovered. At the moment, you already possess strength comparable to a Chrysalis realm pinnacle cultivator!”

In order to save his daughter, Wei Changfeng had fed her all kinds of precious medicinal herbs, and on top of that, Wei Ruyan had also consumed the nearly grade-8 Grand Intermittence Pill just some time ago. As a result, despite having never cultivated for a single day in her life, her body still harnessed immense power comparable to a Chrysalis realm expert!

If one were to take into consideration her double unique constitutions as well, she was definitely on par with an average Half-Saint!

However, having never cultivated any cultivation technique or battle technique in her life, she didn’t know how to utilize her newfound strength.

”Chrysalis realm pinnacle?” Wei Ruyan was stunned.

Suffering from such a severe affliction from a very young age, the greatest wish she had was to be granted an ordinary life. She had never dared hope that she would be able to cultivate and harness such great strength.

But now… everything suddenly came to her at once!

”Zhang shi, thank you for saving my life!” Knowing that it was the young man before her who had granted her this second life, Wei Ruyan kneeled to the floor without any hesitation.

”Please rise!” Zhang Xuan stepped forward to help her up.

”Yes!” Standing up, Wei Ruyan began scanning her surroundings, and noticing the lack of a familiar figure, she asked, ”Zhang shi, where is my father? Does he know of my recovery?”

She had seen the extent her father had gone for her, so in her moment of recovery, the very first person she wanted to share the news with was him.

If her father found out that she had recovered and could even cultivate, he would probably immediately leap in joy.

Just by thinking about how her father would react to the news, Wei Ruyan’s eyes couldn’t help but curl into crescents, and her lips inched up into a sweet smile.

For many years, the both of them had relied on one another for support, creating an exceptional connection between them.

”Wei Changfeng…” Seeing the expectant gleam in the other party’s eyes, Zhang Xuan had no idea how he should break the news.

Noticing that something was amiss with Zhang shi’s expression, an ominous premonition surfaced in Wei Ruyan’s heart, and she asked anxiously, ”What about my father?”

”He has departed from this world.”

Shaking his head, Zhang Xuan sighed. As cruel as it was, this was the truth. Wei Ruyan would have to face it one day.

”Departed…?” Wei Ruyan’s face froze before slowly paling. Her body staggered weakly, and she shook her head in disbelief.

For as long as she could remember, her father had always been by her side. He told her bedtime stories and accompanied her during her treatment. No matter what her request was, he would always give in to her so as to make her happy. She had thought that she would leave this world ahead of him, but who would have thought that… this would be the very first thing she would hear after her awakening!

”Ruyan, you must live on. No matter the price, I will definitely save you!”

”Be good and take your medicine, it will help you recover…”

”You are my beloved daughter. I am willing to give you everything in the world, including my life…”

…

Those words still echoed clearly in her ears, but the person who had said them had already disappeared…

Time and time again, he had begged physicians to treat her. Time and time again, he had ventured into dangerous lands to seek rare herbs for her affliction…

There were innumerable memories of her traveling on her father’s back, going around to seek others for help. But now that she had finally recovered, her father was no longer around to see it…

Father…

Wei Ruyan’s eyes reddened as her vision was blurred by the tears streaming down her cheeks. Amid sobs, she turned to Zhang Xuan and asked hoarsely, ”How did my father die?”

”He died while trying to save you…”

Without hiding anything, Zhang Xuan told her everything that had happened.

This included the affair with the Ten-leafed Flower, You Xu’s scheme, and Wei Changfeng venturing into the depths of the Cloudmist Ridge alone…

Hearing that her father had trudged on, despite having sustained heavy injuries, in order to obtain the Cloudmist Flower to save her, Wei Ruyan’s clenched her fists tightly, and her skinny figure began to tremble uncontrollably.

”Father…” she muttered weakly.

A father’s love was greater than a mountain, and no words or actions could possibly repay those sentiments.

She had intended to use her entire life to repay the favor, but it was impossible now…

Taking a deep breath, Wei Ruyan seemed to have come to a decision, and her knees fell to the ground.

”Zhang shi, please accept me as your student!”

Since her father had lost his life in exchange for hers, she would have to live well so that her father’s soul would be consoled as he watched her from above.

Zhang Xuan nodded. ”Alright, I will accept you. From today on, you will be my student.”

From the moment he promised Wei Changfeng to take care of his daughter, he had already decided to take Wei Ruyan in as his student.

”Student Wei Ruyan pays respect to Zhang laoshi!” Kneeling on the ground, Wei Ruyan kowtowed grandly several times in order to complete the acknowledgement ceremony.

Knowing that this was the tradition, Zhang Xuan accepted her kowtows.

After acknowledging Zhang Xuan, Wei Ruyan stood up and asked through clenched teeth, ”Teacher, may I know where the culprit behind my father’s death, You Xu, is?”

Years of fighting against her affliction had made her mind exceptionally strong despite her young age. Her mental fortitude was at least on par with Lu Chong, if not surpassing him.

Since You Xu was the culprit behind her father’s death, she was determined to make him pay the price, regardless of whether he was a master teacher and the vice head of the Physician School or not!

Understanding Wei Ruyan’s emotions, Zhang Xuan nodded. ”I knew that you would surely want to exact vengeance for your father, so I have already detained him.

”Follow me!”

After saying these words, Zhang Xuan informed one of the guards to bid Yu Shenqing farewell in his stead. After which, he summoned the Byzantium Helios Beast, and the duo got on it and headed back for his manor.

Upon reaching his manor, Zhang Xuan had Sun Qiang bring the imprisoned You Xu over.

At this moment, You Xu had his cultivation sealed, and he no longer bore any resemblance to the majestic vice school head he used to be. In just half a month, he had grown so thin that he was barely even skin and bones, and he looked like he had aged a decade.

”This is the culprit behind your father’s death. I will leave him for you to deal with.” Knowing that Wei Ruyan would want to vent her anger and frustration, Zhang Xuan waved his hands before heading out, closing the door behind him.

If she wanted to exact vengeance for her father, she should do it with her own hands. He, Zhang Xuan, would never accept a weak-minded person as his disciple!