Library of Heaven’s Path

Zhang Xuan looked up into the sky and calmly remarked, “It’s even more powerful than the Aureate Body Ordeal.”.

Having weathered the many different woes of life, his state of mind had become calmer than ever. Even though a frightening force was building up above him, threatening to crush him, it did not faze him at all.

“Let me give this a try…”

A glint flashed across Zhang Xuan’s eyes as a thought suddenly came to his mind. He swiftly brought his soul back into his physical body.

“What’s the guild leader planning to do?”

Seeing such a sight, Ancient Sage Mo Ling felt as if his brain was going to explode.

The only thing that had achieved a breakthrough to Ancient Sage was Zhang Xuan’s soul; his physical body was still only at Sempiternal realm consummation! The act of returning his soul back to his physical body meant that he was implicating his physical body in the cultivation ordeal, and this was as good as an act of suicide!

“Is he planning to use the stress from the Ancient Sage Ordeal to temper his physical body and zhenqi so as to achieve a breakthrough to Ancient Sage for those two as well?” Sovereign Chen Yong narrowed his eyes contemplatively.

The reason for him possessing the tremendous strength that he did later in his life was because he had pushed himself past his limits back when he was younger. It was through such tenacity that he had eventually risen to become the strongest expert of the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe.

However, compared to the Young Master, it seemed like his tenacity really came nowhere close!

Given the Young Master’s talent, it was only a matter of time before he achieved a breakthrough to Ancient Sage, so there was no need for him to put himself at risk at all. Yet, the Young Master still chose to resort to such extreme means to temper himself and hasten his growth!

To challenge the Ancient Sage Ordeal with a Sempiternal realm consummation physical body and zhenqi was an extremely dangerous act. The slightest mistake could lead to one’s death, such that it could be said that the risk was not worth taking at all.

This was really too insane!

Zhang Xuan’s actions had successfully caught the attention of everyone present, such that they even subconsciously halted their fights to see what was going on.

Hong long!

As soon as Zhang Xuan’s soul returned to his physical body, his zhenqi billowed, and his physical body trembled. Yet another two swathes of ominous clouds were conjured on the spot, and they swiftly merged together with the others.

Heavenly flames and lightning streaks began crashing down furiously upon Zhang Xuan, devouring his entire silhouette.

The flames were black in color, indicating that they were Empyrean Heavenly Flames. Furthermore, they harnessed even greater destructive prowess than what he had faced back when he was challenging the Aureate Body Ordeal. Even Ancient Sage artifacts would swiftly melt before them!

“Aeon of Ancient Sage!”

With a bellow from Zhang Xuan, the painting scroll opened up once more, and Aeon of Ancient Sage swiftly surged into Zhang Xuan’s body.

In an instant, it felt as if someone had ignited every droplet of his blood, causing immense energy to emanate from his body to ward off the surrounding heat.

Kacha! Kacha!

Nevertheless, it did not take long before his skin and muscles began to char. Bloodied cracks swiftly crept across his body.

Even though Zhang Xuan was more powerful than normal cultivators, his physical body and zhenqi were only at Sempiternal realm consummation. There was no way that they could withstand such a powerful Ancient Sage Ordeal.

If not for his Heaven’s Path zhenqi continuously healing his body over and over again, he would have shattered into innumerable pieces already!

Is it really impossible for me? Zhang Xuan thought as he gritted his teeth to bear with the excruciating pain consuming his body.

He knew that his Ancient Sage Ordeal would be extraordinarily powerful, and just as Sovereign Chen Yong had thought, the reason that he had chosen to return his soul to his physical body was to utilize the pressure from the cultivation ordeal to push for a breakthrough.

As dangerous as such an act would be, he felt that it was also a rare impetus that he could make use of to achieve more breakthroughs. After all, it was not every day that one would encounter such a powerful force.

In the eyes of others, he was someone who faced no bottlenecks in his cultivation, and they felt that it was only a matter of time before he achieved a breakthrough to Ancient Sage.

If nothing went wrong, he would surely achieve a breakthrough within the next hundred years.

Achieving a breakthrough to Ancient Sage could definitely be said to be a miraculous feat, be it on the Master Teacher Continent or among the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe. The ones who had been able to do so in their dimension could be counted on a single hand.

However… Zhang Xuan could not bring himself to wait that long!

He wanted to find Luo Ruoxin and hear the reason from her own mouth, or else it felt like he would lose his mind. He had been forcing himself to remain calm so far, but he did not know how long he could continue doing that.

As such, no matter what the risks were, as long as an opportunity surfaced for him to climb to a greater height, he would grasp it even if the chances were that it would end in his death!

Hong long long!

Lightning bolts and heavenly flames continued assaulting fervently. Zhang Xuan felt as if he was being roasted alive inside a pill cauldron. His body was withering, and his zhenqi was dissipating. He was nearing his limits.

Ancient Sage blood!

Zhang Xuan flicked his wrist to take out a jade bottle before devouring its contents.

Huala!

Gulping down Ancient Sage blood as if it was plain water, Zhang Xuan was able to replenish his depleted energy and sustain himself for the time being.

I need to push on!

The image of the Infernal Blacksaber, Yuan Tao, and the Dragonbone Divine Spear achieving a breakthrough to Ancient Sage came into Zhang Xuan’s mind, and he gritted his teeth in determination.

Since they were able to clear their cultivation ordeals so easily, I can’t lose!

With such a thought in mind, he dashed right into the dark clouds.

“This is insane! This is really downright insane!” Ancient Sage Allfire exclaimed as his body shuddered uncontrollably.

Despite being blessed with superior physical prowess, he had not dared dive into the midst of the dark clouds back when he had been facing his Ancient Sage Ordeal.

Given that his master’s cultivation was only at Great Sage, was making such a move not as good as committing suicide?

No matter how much power one could gain from achieving a breakthrough to Ancient Sage, it would be meaningless if one lost one’s life in the process of doing so!

Si la!

Provoked by Zhang Xuan’s actions, the dark clouds in the sky flew into a rage. A massive bolt of lightning flashed across the sky, tearing open a pitch-black crack in space. Following which, the surrounding lightning bolts and flames began to gather around the pitch-black crack, causing the devastating force to slowly assume a corporeal form.

From afar, it looked as if a gigantic saber of mass destruction was floating in the air.

“What is… this? Wait a moment! Could this be… the Ordeal of Lightning Armament? But that can’t possibly be! The Ordeal of Lightning Armament is said to be a calamity that only appears when a person attempts a breakthrough to Ancient Sage 4-dan Dimension Shatterer realm!” Sovereign Chen Yong’s face turned pale as his heart nearly leaped out of his throat.

As the number one expert of the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe and the grandson of Vicious, he had access to books regarding Ancient Sage 4-dan Dimension Shatterer realm.

It was detailed in those books that in order to reach the Dimension Shatterer realm, one had to undergo the Ordeal of Lightning Armament. It was an ordeal where heavenly flames and lightning bolts were compressed into a corporeal state, assuming the form of divine weapons.

Each of those weapons harnessed sufficient power to shatter the world, such that even he would easily have been sliced in two even if he had encountered it at his peak.

His young master was only attempting a breakthrough to Ancient Sage… so why would such a formidable ordeal be summoned? It did not make sense!

“It’s over…”

Ancient Sage Mo Ling and Ancient Sage Allfire were so terrified that they found themselves completely speechless.

Even though they were unaware of what the Ordeal of Lightning Armament was, they were well aware that the massive saber formed out of lightning bolts and heavenly flames in the sky was not something that they could face given their current strength. In fact, just by looking at the saber itself, they felt their minds falling into disarray from the terrifying power that it harnessed.

Floating above the pedestal of the altar, Sovereign Chen Ling had fearfully halted the absorption of the energy bestowed onto him. At the same time, the dimension rift that had opened as a result of the summoning ritual had closed slightly.

It seemed like there was no one who did not hold some deference toward the devastating force of nature.

An ordinary breakthrough to Ancient Sage wouldn’t have brought about such a powerful cultivation ordeal, even for me. However, I attempted to face the Ancient Sage Ordeal with my soul, body, and zhenqi, and I even provoked it earlier by attempting to charge into it…

Even Zhang Xuan was unable to remain calm while standing in the face of such a terrifying force. He felt goosebumps rising all over his body.

Zhang Hongtian and Ancient Sage Yan Qing had told him that the more times one attempted a breakthrough to Ancient Sage, the greater one’s accomplishments would eventually be. Back then, Kong shi had challenged the Ancient Sage Ordeal a total of three times before eventually choosing to push for a breakthrough on the fourth time.

Yuan Tao had also challenged the Ancient Sage Ordeal once, but he had chosen to suppress his cultivation and hold himself back from achieving a breakthrough right away.

Considering that Zhang Xuan had summoned the cultivation ordeal through the breakthrough in his soul cultivation, he should have been facing a single Ancient Sage Ordeal at the moment. However, he had brought his physical body and zhenqi into the cultivation ordeal as well, and that had changed the nature of things.

In short, he was facing the might of three Ancient Sage Ordeals simultaneously. That was also why the Ordeal of Lightning Armaments had been summoned.

If he could overcome it, it would be equivalent to overcoming three Ancient Sage Ordeals simultaneously. It would temper his physical body, zhenqi, and soul, creating an incredibly firm foundation for future breakthroughs. However, if he failed, the curtains would be drawn on him. It would really be the end.

He was really walking on a tightrope. He was, in the truest sense, going all in.

“You might be formidable, but I am a person who has overcome many adversities to come this far. If you think that you are able to can get me with just this, you are about to be proven wrong!” Zhang Xuan roared furiously as he charged toward the massive saber in the air.

Huala!

The moment that Zhang Xuan’s fist was about to reach its target, the massive saber also swung down from the sky as well. The immense pressure from just the downward motion of the saber immediately caused Zhang Xuan’s hand to crack, causing fresh blood to flow down his arms. His flesh was stripped away, revealing his bare white bones.