Library of Heaven’s Path

“If you wish to purchase any, you can head over to any of the Zhang Xuan’s Pills stores around Royal City in three days. I have prepared a hundred tablets, so whoever is interested in testing its effects can come onto the stage to test one for free. However, your cultivation mustn’t be too high, preferably a low-tier God,” Zhang Xuan said.

Hulala!

As soon as he finished speaking, several hundred people immediately charged up, and they were all low-tier Gods.

Zhang Xuan was not stingy. He had Qi Ling-er take out a few more bottles so that all of them could get a tablet.

After consuming the Spirit Channeling Tablet, the cultivators felt their focus sharpening more than ever before. Ten of them were even able to make use of this heightened condition to make a breakthrough to middle-tier God.

With that, another wave of excitement swept across the crowd.

Even the effects of the cheapest Spirit Channeling Tablet had exceeded their imagination. It turned out to be an incredible medicine for making a breakthrough as well.

Furthermore, the price was not even ten Divine Coins. It was a sum that most cultivators could afford.

In an instant, all 500,000 people in the crowd made sure to jot down the name ‘Zhang Xuan’s Pills’ into their minds. Naturally, the image of the young man behind all these pills was also imprinted deeply in their heads.

Looking at the thrilled crowd below, Zhang Xuan smiled in satisfaction. It seemed like the event was a huge success.

Just as he was about to start concluding the event, his eyes suddenly widened slightly before glowing in excitement.

The main reason he had chosen to push out these three pills was to receive more Anima of Yearning and raise his soul cultivation. He had thought that he would only be able to overcome the hurdle to high-tier Celestial God realm that night, but who could have known that he would be able to make a breakthrough on the spot!

He casually swallowed a high-tier God Essence Pills that he had in his storage ring, and two breaths later, his zhenqi cultivation swiftly surged as well.

High-tier Celestial God realm, reached!

Delighted with the results, Zhang Xuan gazed down at the crowd with a bright smile and said, “In the future, regardless of whether you need Breakthrough Pills, Beauty Pills, or Spirit Channeling Tablets, you can get them at Zhang Xuan’s Pills!”

Since he had already achieved his aim, he threw the crowd back to Qi Ling-er to handle. Without any hesitation, he leaped onto the aerial celestial beast that he had arrived on and returned to his residence.

Even though he had gone all out, he only did so because the situation necessitated it. On the inside, he was a humble and low-profile person. Since he had already achieved his goal, it was only natural for him to get out of the spotlight as soon as possible.

Barely after Zhang Xuan returned to his room and took a seat, Sun Qiang suddenly came over and reported, “Young Master, a person named Fu Jiangchen is at the entrance, and he has requested to meet you.”

“Invite him in!”

Zhang Xuan got to his feet and walked to the main hall to meet his guest.

He had been able to learn of Fu Jiangchen’s identity from the discussions of the crowd earlier. Considering how the latter had helped him, it was only natural for him to welcome him warmly.

Without his intervention, there was no way the Breakthrough Pill would have been able to win widespread recognition so quickly.

“Apothecary Zhang!”

Fu Jiangchen greeted Zhang Xuan before settling on a seat. He began observing the young man in front of him curiously.

The young man had concealed his cultivation well. While others might not be able to discern it clearly, he could tell that the young man was already a high-tier Celestial God. Furthermore, the energy flowing through his body was truly terrifying. In terms of strength, the young man might be comparable to him, a God King!

Be it in terms of fighting prowess, ability as an apothecary, or business sense, there was no doubt that the young man sitting in front of him was an outstanding individual.

“I’m honored by your visit, Apothecary Fu,” Zhang Xuan said politely.

“We are both apothecaries, so there’s no need for you to be so polite with me. I have dropped by in hopes that we could share insights regarding pill forging with one another,” Fu Jiangchen said.

“I’m more than delighted to chat with you,” Zhang Xuan replied with a smile.

The art of pill forging was vast and profound.

However, Zhang Xuan had already reached the peak of the field back when he was still on Master Teacher Continent. While pill forging in the Firmament was slightly different from that of the Master Teacher Continent, the fundamental principles were mostly the same. As such, he was able to converse with Fu Jiangchen about pills without any difficulties.

It did not take long for Fu Jiangchen to be colored impressed. There was a brief moment that he was deeply tempted to acknowledge the young man before him as his teacher.

He had the reputation of the number one apothecary in the Firmament, but in truth, he knew that he was still far from the peak.

He had the honor of meeting the Heaven Subjugation Monarch once, and the two of them had briefly chatted about their insights regarding pill forging. From that conversation, he had realized that the Heaven Subjugation Monarch was actually a true master in pill forging, such that it was no exaggeration to say that his skills were unrivaled.

And right now, after having a deep discourse regarding the profoundness of pill forging, he realized that the young man before him did not pale in comparison to the Heaven Subjugation Monarch at all!

To think that a young man in his twenties would actually possess skills rivaling those of the Heaven Subjugation Monarch…

Just how in the world did he manage to acquire his capabilities?

After chatting for a while, Fu Jiangchen awkwardly raised a request. “Apothecary Zhang, if you don’t mind, do you have some Breakthrough Pills here that you could sell to me? I’m willing to buy them at the original price!”

In truth, this was his main aim.

Considering that only a hundred Breakthrough Pills were being sold out there, it did not seem appropriate for a reputable apothecary like him to fight with the crowd over the Breakthrough Pill. With this consideration in mind, he had decided to pay a visit to Zhang Xuan personally, hoping that he could buy some from the person in question.

Of course, his goal was not to use the Breakthrough Pills to raise his cultivation but to study them.

“That’s no trouble at all!” Zhang Xuan replied heartily.

With a wave of his hand, he gestured for Sun Qiang to bring a jade bottle over.

Fu Jiangchen uncorked the lid and saw ten Breakthrough Pills inside.

His face immediately reddened in agitation. He quickly took out a card and passed it over. “Here, 150,000 Divine Coins…”

“Ah, it’s fine. There’s no need for you to pay me. However… Apothecary Fu, do you have any pinnacle God Essence Pills with you? I would be really grateful if you could sell some of them to me,” Zhang Xuan said.

He could feel that the effectiveness of a high-tier God Essence Pill on him had reduced significantly, such that it was likely that he would need pinnacle God Essence Pills in order to push for a breakthrough to God King.

The only problem was that pinnacle God Essence Pills were incredibly valuable and were effective even on Conferred God Kings. Putting aside the exorbitant price tag on them, it was extremely difficult to source them.

Considering that Fu Jiangchen was renowned as the number one apothecary in the Firmament, he should be able to forge the hard-to-acquire pinnacle God Essence Pills.

If he could buy more from the other party, he would be spared a great deal of trouble in the future. As long as he could successfully raise his cultivation to the God King realm, he would have sufficient strength to squeeze into the top echelon of the Firmament.

“Pinnacle God Essence Pills? Sure, I do have some…” Fu Jiangchen was stunned for a moment before nodding in agreement.

One could count on one’s fingers the number of apothecaries in the Firmament who were capable of forging pinnacle God Essence Pills, but he happened to be one of them. Not only so, he was ranked among the top few.

With a flick of his wrist, he passed a jade bottle over as he said, “The Pinnacle God Essence Pill is a very high tier pill, and the medicinal herbs that are required for its forging are extremely difficult to source. Even I must spend a great deal of time and effort in order to forge one. Currently, I only have three pinnacle God Essence Pills in my possession.”

“That’s enough…”

Zhang Xuan could hardly hide his disappointment when he heard that Fu Jiangchen only had three of them, but he quickly concealed it with a smile. He accepted the jade bottle before beckoning Sun Qiang over.

“Here, 2,900,000 Divine Coins. Please accept it!” Sun Qiang humbly passed a card over to Fu Jiangchen.

The price of God Essence Pills went up a hundredfold for each difference in tier. A Divine Coin for a low-tier God Essence Pill, one hundred Divine Coins for a middle-tier God Essence Pill, ten thousand Divine Coins for a high-tier God Essence Pill… Naturally, a pinnacle God Essence Pill was worth 1,000,000 Divine Coins, and that was assuming that one had the connections to procure one!

In comparison, the Breakthrough Pill that he was selling really was not expensive at all.

Fu Jiangchen had Zhou Feng accept the card before rising to his feet. He had already accomplished his business there, so it was time for him to bid farewell and leave.

“Apothecary Fu, please hold on a moment,” Zhang Xuan said as he stood up as well.

Perplexed, Fu Jiangchen turned around and asked, “Do you need anything from me, Apothecary Zhang?”

“I’m not really sure how to put it…” Zhang Xuan said hesitantly as he quickly prepared his words. “Apothecary Fu, you are a God King expert, as well as a renowned apothecary. I believe that you must have visited many different places in the Firmament and know many things. There’s something that I would like to ask you about…”

He was hoping that the old man before him might happen to know something about Luo Ruoxin.

An apothecary who was able to forge pinnacle God Essence Pills that Conferred God Kings needed was bound to be respected and treated like a VIP no matter where he went.

Given so, it was likely that he might know of secrets that others were unaware of.

“Apothecary Zhang, feel free to ask me anything. I’ll answer your question as long as it’s something that I know of,” Fu Jiangchen said with a smile.

He had traveled around the Firmament over the past thousands of years, and he prided himself as a person who was very knowledgeable about the affairs concerning the Firmament.

“I would like to inquire about the status of a person that I know. If I’m not mistaken, she should be a God King at the very least. Her name is Luo Ruoxin!” Zhang Xuan said expectantly.

“Luo Ruoxin?” Fu Jiangchen frowned slightly. “I have heard of all of the God Kings in the Nine Skies, but I don’t know anyone who goes by that name…”

There were only a hundred or so God Kings in the Firmament, so it was not difficult to remember every single one of them. He was certain that none of them went by the name ‘Luo Ruoxin’.

This, in turn, caused Zhang Xuan to frown.

Was he mistaken? Was Luo Ruoxin not a God King?

Was she actually a high-tier Celestial God just like him?

As for Conferred God King and God Monarch…

To be honest, he dared not even think about that!

Seeing the bewildered look on Zhang Xuan’s face, Fu Jiangchen added, “Could you have made a mistake? If she’s truly a God King, I would have heard of her. Do you remember anything else about her?”

Zhang Xuan pondered for a moment before adding, “She has once told me that she’s the Spirit God.”

He had once guessed that Luo Ruoxin was just a pseudonym, and it seemed like he was right about that.

“Spirit God?” Fu Jiangchen’s eyes narrowed in disbelief upon hearing those words. He anxiously asked, “Are you certain about that? Did she tell you that personally, or did you hear it from someone else?”

Zhang Xuan was slightly taken aback by how Fu Jiangchen was reacting. He quickly replied, “She told me that personally.”

He had asked Luo Ruoxin about her identity as the Spirit God before, and she had also admitted it. In that sense, it was indeed true that she had told him about it personally.

“When did it happen?” Fu Jiangchen pressed on. He seemed to be extremely agitated, such that his breathing had hastened a little.

“When did it happen?” Zhang Xuan quickly calculated the timing in terms of the Firmament’s flow of time and replied, “It was around a month ago…”

All in all, the time he had spent on the Master Teacher Continent and the Azure equated to barely more than a single day in terms of time on the Firmament.

“A month ago? H-how… How is that possible!”

Fu Jiangchen widened his eyes in shock. His body was trembling, and his voice had become a little hoarse.

“What is wrong?” Zhang Xuan asked carefully.

He had not expected Fu Jiangchen to react in such a manner to his question.

Fu Jiangchen’s voice was trembling so much that even his disciples were staring at him in shock. It was very unlike his usual composed self.

“That’s because… forty years ago, the Spirit God…

“…passed away!”

Author’s Note:

With this, we conclude our 16th Arc, [The Death of the Spirit God], and usher in our next arc [The Demise of a Monarch]!

In this arc, Zhang Xuan finally settled into the Firmament and became an existence second only to the God Kings. His students also found their own places. In the next arc, we’ll be drawing the curtains on the real arc shrouding the Firmament. Kong shi and Luo Ruoxin will finally appear in this arc and make their stands. At the same time, Zhang Xuan will become stronger and become a God King and beyond.

Please look forward to it!