Library of Heaven’s Path

The Inner Demon was on the verge of tears.

All along, he had been the one to break the mental resilience of others, causing them to doubt themselves so as to create an opening in their state of mind. Using this opening, he would devour the cultivator whole.

Yet, against this fellow, he didn’t even have the time to finish his words before the other party suddenly offered to become his teacher. That was not playing by the rules!

I am an Inner Demon, alright? I am here to beguile you, not to be beguiled by you!

Suppressing the exasperated emotions within him, the Inner Demon continued speaking with the same alluring voice as before.

”Cough cough! As I was saying, there is a huge problem in your cultivation at the moment. If that wasn’t the case, how could someone as talented as you, the first one to come close to being a Celestial Saint, possibly be put through so much pain? Just put your trust in me, and you will be able to unleash the full extent of your potential.”

His voice had a certain quality that drew others into a trance, making him even more fearsome than a demonic tunist.

”I get what you are saying, but you are the one who is severely misunderstanding something here. The fact that your cultivation technique is different from mine is sufficient evidence to say that you have a huge flaw in your cultivation. If you don’t believe me, why don’t you try executing a battle technique? I will analyze your situation for you.” Waving his hand nonchalantly, Zhang Xuan eyes remained perfectly clear, unaffected by the Inner Demon’s beguilement.

Had the other party attempted to beguile him using another topic, there was no saying whether he would have fallen for it or not. However, to attempt to make him doubt his cultivation technique… He was a person who could even make Ancient Sage Qiu Wu’s fragmented soul dissipate in embarrassment, so how could a mere Inner Demon shake his faith in his cultivation technique?

Peng!

Before Zhang Xuan finished his words, the Inner Demon vanished on the spot with a loud pop.

Since it was unable to beguile Zhang Xuan, its raison d’être had already vanished. As such, it could only vanish into nothing.

Before its disappearance, it was actually suffering a mental breakdown within. How in the world did he meet with this kind of a cold and impassive figure? If he had a choice, he would never go there again.

Wuuuuu… I want to go home…

Zhang Xuan’s battle with the Inner Demon had only lasted a moment.

To the eyes of outsiders, they had only seen a thick streak of lightning falling upon Zhang Xuan. The thick streak of lightning did not seem to have caused any damage to him—he had not spurted blood nor trembled in pain. His body had simply jolted abruptly for a moment before falling still.

The next moment, a ray of golden light abruptly burst down from above, and innumerable flowers formed of Origin Energy fluttered in the air.

Luo Ruoxin was dazed for a moment before her eyes widened in shock. ”This… He has already cleared the Heart Ordeal? But… how did he do it so quickly?”

The Heart Ordeal was the most difficult phase in the Saint Ascension Ordeal, so Luo Ruoxin had been clenching her fists tightly in anxiety, worried that he would not be able to overcome it. Yet, who would have thought that just a brief instant after the lightning fell on Zhang Xuan’s body, he cleared the ordeal? This was too shocking!

Huala!

As the flowers of Origin Energy fell to the ground, the dark clouds in the sky gradually cleared, and a pillar of pure white radiance descended from the sky. It was as if someone had broken a hole in the sky, causing energy to leak from the heavens.

Shrouded amid the white radiance, the injuries that Zhang Xuan had sustained previously were healing at a visible pace, and his aura was also growing stronger and stronger with every passing second.

Upon seeing this sight, Luo Ruoxin heaved a sigh of relief before stepping forward.

Shortly after clearing the Saint Ascension Ordeal was the period when Zhang Xuan would be the most vulnerable. Even the slightest damage inflicted in this moment could claim Zhang Xuan’s life. Within this span of time, she would have to make sure to guard him tightly so that no one could lay even a single finger on him.

”The descent of sacred light… Zhang shi has managed to become a Celestial Saint!” With reddened eyes, Zhang Yinqiu’s tightly clenched fists finally opened up as the tension left his body.

With this, they would finally be able to defeat the Skyleaf King!

However, in that solemn moment, a frenzied laughter sounded.

”Hahaha… I have finally succeeded…”

Following which, the ground suddenly began trembling intensely. It was not just limited to the Saint Ascension Hall; it felt as if the entire Qiu Wu Palace was coming to life.

The Skyleaf King raised his hand, and a map gradually floated toward him.

In that moment, everyone suddenly felt a restraint acting upon them, as if they were going to be trapped within the painted world once more.

”It’s over…”

In this moment, everyone’s heart turned cold.

Zhang Xuan had managed to clear the Saint Ascension Ordeal, but he still required some time before he could become a Celestial Saint. If the Skyleaf King managed to escape from the Saint Ascension Hall, their plan to defeat him would end in failure. Instead, trapped within the painting, they would become easy prey that the Skyleaf King could pick on at his whim.

However, they had already expended all of their zhenqi in the previous fight, and they were unable to stop the Skyleaf King anymore.

Just a step away from success, who would have thought that they would be outdone at this critical moment?

”Hahaha, it’s my victory! What Celestial Master Teacher or Celestial Saint, it makes no difference at all! You will only end up dying at my hands like the other ants.”

Having succeeded in gaining possession of the Qiu Wu Palace, the Skyleaf King could no longer hold back the agitation in his heart. With a furious roar, he turned his sight toward the crowd.

They had humiliated him again and again over the past few days, and he had finally found an opportunity to return the favor.

Boom!

Raising his palm, he sent a powerful palm strike toward the young man seated on the Saint Ascension Platform—Zhang Xuan.

That was the fellow whom he harbored the greatest hatred towards. Not only did he attempt to steal something from his living quarters, he even had his ally destroy his physical body. No matter what, the Skyleaf King was determined to end his life right there and right then!

Hu la!

There wasn’t anything extraordinary about the strength of the palm, but for some reason, it was able to tear through even space itself, opening up a black rift in its trajectory.

Gaining possession of the Qiu Wu Palace was equivalent to becoming the new master of the folded space. In other words, the Skyleaf King wielded absolute authority over the ancient domain. Within this space, even if his opponent possessed far greater strength than him, he would still be able to crush the other party easily.

”Damn it!” With a furious bellow, Zhang Xuan’s clone rushed forward to stop the palm strike.

However, upon contact with the black rift, he was immediately ripped in two before falling back to the ground.

An ability that could even sever space was far beyond what Zhang Xuan’s clone could deal with at the moment, even after his abilities were augmented from absorbing the entire Lightning Elemental Orb.

”It’s over…”

Seeing how powerful the Skyleaf King’s attack was, everyone felt their heart turning cold in despair.

Who would have thought that the only Celestial Saint after Kong shi would actually die in such a manner?

Just as everyone thought that it was Zhang Xuan’s end, the young lady who had been standing guard beside the Saint Ascension Platform all this while, Luo Ruoxin, suddenly raised her gaze to look at the Skyleaf King with a frown of displeasure on her face.

”Humph!”

She flicked her hand lightly.

Kacha!

The incomparably powerful palm strike suddenly stopped in midair before dissipating entirely. In the following moment, the Skyleaf King suddenly found his Primordial Spirit being completely immobilized in midair, as if an ancient insect trapped within a fossil. Even the gleeful look from before had frozen on his face.

Unable to believe what was happening, the Skyleaf King roared fearfully, ”How can this be possible? Y-you… Who the hell are you?”

He was not too sure how powerful he had become after gaining control over the Qiu Wu Palace, but one thing was for certain—even a Saint 7-dan cultivator would have been killed before the palm strike he had launched earlier.

Yet, with a casual flick of her hand, the young lady had actually dissipated his attack and sealed his movements completely… Just how powerful was she?

If she was so powerful, why hadn’t she made a move from the very start?

”As long as I am here, none of you will lay a finger on him.” Completely disregarding the Skyleaf King, Luo Ruoxin placed her hands behind her back and made a cold declaration before turning back to Zhang Xuan once more, perfectly composed.

The rest of you can fight to your deaths all you wish, but I will not allow a single one of you to hurt him!

”This…”

The faces of Wu shi and the others paled upon witnessing that scene.

They had traveled through the ancient domain with the young lady, and not once had they noticed anything extraordinary about her. Who would have thought that she was actually such a powerful expert?

It was truly bewildering.

”Can you see through her cultivation?” Guild Leader Han asked Wu shi discreetly.

With a bitter look on his face, Wu shi shook his head.

With his strength and eye of discernment, he was actually unable to measure the depth of the strength of the person standing before him!

In other words, the other party was much, much stronger than him, achieving a level that was beyond his understanding.

”But if she possesses such powerful strength, why didn’t she save us back at the celestial palace? Why did she watch nonchalantly as we lost so many friends?” Guild Leader Han gritted his teeth in indignation.

”To an expert of her caliber, our existences might very well mean nothing at all.” Wu shi sighed deeply. ”Perhaps, in the very first place, the reason she chose to come to the ancient domain was Principal Zhang.”

Even though he had not had much interaction with the young lady, he could tell through the nonchalant eyes of hers that she was not one who concerned herself deeply with those around her, much like an observer watching a commotion impassively. It was only in affairs regarding Principal Zhang that the air of nonchalance around her would be broken temporarily.

How could a person like that possibly do something excessive as to save them?

Besides, the celestial palace was intended to be one of the trials set by Ancient Sage Qiu Wu. If she had made a move then, there might have been unforeseen circumstances.

”This…” Guild Leader Han was rendered speechless.

Indeed.

As a cultivator advanced their cultivation and comprehended the essence of the world, life and death would gradually unravel before their eyes as an inevitable state of life. It was simply a natural cycle of the world—life was not something to be celebrated, and death was not something to grieve over either. Considering how Luo Ruoxin did not owe anything to them, she had no reason to interfere and save them either. Otherwise, she might end up finding herself being restrained by the rules of the world.

The higher one’s cultivation became, the more fearful one would be of the heavens.

”Besides, it’s not like she hasn’t done anything at all. She was the one who had been dropping us hints all along, and due to that, Jiang Yuan even accused her of being the Skyleaf King,” Wu shi said.

After a long moment of hesitation, Guild Leader Han finally nodded in response. ”You’re right.”

While Luo Ruoxin had not helped them against the Otherworldly Demons, her advice had played a crucial role in helping them through the ancient domain. If not for her, they would not have been able to bypass the Black Sand of Oblivion or escape from the celestial palace back then.

Upon understanding all of that, Guild Leader Han was finally able to let go of some of the frustration he felt within. Glancing at the completely immobile Skyleaf King, he could not help but ask curiously, ”To be able to seal the movements of the Skyleaf King so easily… how powerful do you think she is?”

”I think that she could very well be…”

At this point, Wu shi’s face turned extremely grim.

”… a 9-star master teacher!”