“Indeed, that’s it!” Zhang Xuan’s eyes lit up in excitement.
The wooden branch in the other party’s hand wasn’t too large, but reminiscent of charcoal, it emanated intense heat.
There was no doubt about it; it was a Cinque Sun Branch!
He had casually asked for it, but who knew that Guild Leader Han would really have one in his possession, and such a large one at that? It was definitely enough for him to cultivate the Fifth Incandescence!
“How much does it cost? I will buy it from you!” Zhang Xuan asked as he took it.
When he took the formation flags from the others earlier to help everyone pass through the lava, it could be considered to have been a public matter with everyone’s interests at stake, so it was fine for him to not pay for it.
This time around, however, he was intending to use the Cinque Sun Branch to cultivate the Fifth Incandescence of the Quintuple Incandescence Golden Body and raise the prowess of his physical body. This was a private matter, and thus, it was only right for him to pay for it.
“This… We are venturing into the dangerous ancient domain together, and it is only right for us to help one another. How can I charge you for this?” Guild Leader Han shook his head.
As valuable as the Cinque Sun Branch was, it was only a material possession. Other than to sell it for a couple of spirit stones, it was of no use to him.
If the other party could use it to break the seal on the door and bring them into the real ancient domain, he could consider the item to have been put to good use.
“Those are two different matters and should be kept separate. If you don’t accept my payment, I won’t be able to accept the Cinque Sun Branch in good conscience.” Zhang Xuan shook his head.
“This…” Knowing that master teachers were obstinate about their own values, Guild Leader Han knew that it would be improper for him to insist on the matter. Thus, he could only shake his head with a bitter smile and say, “I bought the branch at two hundred high-tier spirit stones, so I will sell it to you at the same price as well.”
“Alright.” Zhang Xuan nodded and passed two hundred high-tier spirit stones over.
With the profits from the sales of the Cloudmist Flowers and the fortune he had procured from emptying out the storage rings of the Otherworldly Demon Kings that he had subdued thus far, he had more than ten thousand high-tier spirit stones with him at the moment. This bit of money was nothing to him.
Guild Leader Han accepted the spirit stones with a helpless expression on his face, but his admiration for the young man couldn’t help but deepen.
Putting aside Zhang Xuan’s incredible knowledge on formations despite his young age, his self-discipline was truly admirable. He had a clear idea of what should be done and what should not be done, and he didn’t allow greed to blind him.
A principled person like him was a true blessing to mankind, and there was no doubt that he would eventually go on to achieve great things in the world.
The other master teachers nodded in approval at that sight.
The young man before them was truly the embodiment of the word ‘upright’.
It was no wonder he had become the principal of the Hongyuan Master Teacher Academy at such a young age whereas they had still been humble nobodies at his age. Just the thought of it left them reddening in embarrassment.
This was especially so for Liu Mo1. If only there was a hole in the ground, he would have dived in without the slightest hesitation.
Back when he first met the young man, he had thought that the other party was too arrogant, and he had even berated the other party for it. Yet, not only did the other party manage to resolve the problem with the seal, the other party was even the one who led them through the lava.
His capability was truly something that Liu Mo could never hope to match up with.
If the other party was the brilliant moon in the sky, Liu Mo was the humble dirt on the ground; that was the vast, unbridgeable distance between them.
“I am going to cultivate using the Cinque Sun Branch now, so please do make use of this time to rest and recuperate. The seal could very well be the path to the ancient domain, and it is unknown what kind of peril we will face there. To heighten our chances of survival, we should ensure that we are in our peak state so that we are ready to face any dangers that come our way,” Zhang Xuan said.
The crowd nodded.
After which, Zhang Xuan headed to a quiet corner of the rubble and sat down. Holding the freshly obtained Cinque Sun Branch in his hands, he drove his zhenqi and began cultivating.
Boom!
The energy within the branch flowed through his meridians and nourished every single cell, inducing a qualitative evolution in his body.
The Quintuple Incandescence Golden Body served to strengthen the vitals of one’s body and, through doing so, enhance the strength that one was able to exert.
Having patched up the flaws of the Quintuple Incandescence Body, it had become a Heaven’s Path cultivation technique. Naturally, he was able to cultivate the Fifth Incandescence swiftly without any problems.
The immense energy flowing through his meridians stimulated his entire body, such that even his blood began to metamorphose as well.
Two hours later…
A resounding echo sounded from his body as the five incandescences in his heart, lungs, spleen, liver, and kidneys came together to form a smooth cyclical flow. A brilliant light shone from Zhang Xuan’s body, and in that instant, it felt as if his body had become indestructible.
At the same time, Zhang Xuan’s physical appearance changed slightly as well. His height grew slightly taller, his shoulders became slightly broader, and his waist grew slightly slimmer, forming a perfect streamline figure.
Feeling the power flowing through his body, Zhang Xuan opened his eyes and clenched his fists tightly together. Wonderful!
With the sheer might of his physical body in itself, the current him could kill Saint 2-dan experts easily. In terms of resilience, his body was already comparable to a Saint artifact!
A Saint low-tier artifact to be exact, but nevertheless, it was still extremely fearsome.
Should someone attempt to hack the Glacier Rain Sword down on him right now, there was no doubt that it was the Glacier Rain Sword that would shatter.
In fact, even if he were to go head-to-head with the Golden Origin Cauldron, he wouldn’t lose by much.
It could be said that the current him was no different from a human-shaped weapon. Even without a weapon in hand, he was still capable of causing devastating damage.
Hu!
Exhaling deeply, Zhang Xuan swiftly concealed the changes in his body and stood up.
It was inconceivable for one’s body to grow so much stronger with just a short moment of cultivation. There was no such thing as being too careful. In order to avoid any unnecessary trouble, it was still best for him to maintain a low profile.
Lowering his gaze to take a look, he noted that the energy contained within the Cinque Sun Branch was nearly completely depleted.
Stowing it in his storage ring, he stood up and returned to the door.
Before he could even reach the door, he saw the crowd sitting in a straight line before the door, creating a rather bizarre sight.
Upon seeing Zhang Xuan, the combat master at the very back stood up and greeted him. “Principal Zhang, you have returned.”
“What are you doing?” Zhang Xuan asked doubtfully.
If you want to cultivate, so be it. But to be sitting in such a neat line as if you are queuing up at the cafeteria for food… What the heck?
“Ah, it’s like this. Earlier, Wu shi realized that it is possible to use the heat released by the door to refine one’s zhenqi and make it even purer. Thus, we began cultivating using it. However, due to our differing tolerance to heat, we can only select positions that are suited to us,” the combat master explained.
“Differing tolerance to heat?” Zhang Xuan nodded contemplatively.
The fact that the sheer heat emanated from the door could melt the rocks within a hundred meters into lava clearly showed how fearsome it was. The extreme conditions produced by the door were indeed very suitable to refine one’s zhenqi.
However, just as the other party said, everyone had a differing tolerance to heat. It was just like how his soul could only advance fifty meters at the start, but after cultivating for a bit, he was able to advance further and eventually reach the hundred-meter mark.
“Indeed. The few of us can only cultivate at a distance of forty meters away from the door, or else our cultivation could very well go berserk. Speaking of which, Wu shi and the others sure are fearsome. They are actually able to stand the heat at fifteen meters away,” said the combat master as he shot a glance at the few figures in front with admiration gleaming in his eyes.
Zhang Xuan nodded. “To be able to withstand the heat at fifteen meters away, it seems like their physical bodies, souls, and zhenqi are pretty strong.”
Zhang Xuan had only been able to reach twenty meters away from the door himself when he tried earlier. The fact that Wu shi and the others were able to reach fifteen meters away was indeed incredible.
The combat master suddenly recalled a matter and asked, “Right, Principal Zhang, didn’t you leave to cultivate? Are you already done?”
“Un.” Zhang Xuan nodded. “Alright, I’ll leave you to cultivate here.”
After saying those words, Zhang Xuan began walking forward. In the blink of an eye, he was twenty meters away from the door.
At this moment, only Wu shi, Guild Leader Han, Feng Xun, and a couple of others were in front of him. Even Wo Tianqiong and the other principals were behind him at the moment.
“Principal Zhang… walked over there just like that? Wasn’t he unable to hold on earlier?”
Seeing how the young principal casually proceeded toward the twenty meters mark as he nodded at the other master teachers and combat masters while passing by them, gesturing for them to remain seated and continue with their cultivation, the lower jaws of the combat master nearly fell to the ground.
At the same time, Feng Xun, who was seated at the nineteen-meter mark, saw Zhang Xuan walk past him with a smile on his face, and his eyes nearly popped out of his head.
He was a Saint 3-dan pinnacle cultivator, a Thousand Men Commander of the Combat Master Hall, and coming to the nineteen-meter mark had nearly cost him his life. He had needed to sit down immediately to cultivate so that he could neutralize the fire poison in his body. Yet, that fellow was walking past him casually with a bright smile on his face, as if he was just wandering the streets, not pressured by the heat in the least. Did he have to be so exaggerated?
Wondering how far the other party would be able to proceed, Feng Xun’s gaze followed Zhang Xuan, and before long, he saw the latter walk up to Wu shi and begin chatting with him.
“Wu shi, there is no need to get up. I am just heading over there to take a look, so do continue with your cultivation. There’s no need to stand on ceremony.”
Following which, the other party continued proceeding forward with a smile on his lips. Fourteen meters, thirteen meters, twelve meters… In the blink of an eye, he was already within ten meters of the door.
The searing heat induced a sizzling sound from his clothes, which were seemingly ready to break apart at any moment. Yet, Zhang Xuan continued walking forward with the same bright smile from before, as if he was completely impervious to the heat.
“This…”
This time, Feng Xun wasn’t the only one who was shocked silly. Even Wu shi and Guild Leader Han ended up trading shocked glances with one another, and their mouths began twitching from the sheer ridiculousness of the sight before them.
Fifteen meters already left them feeling as if their bodies were going to rip apart, and that fellow had actually managed to walk within ten meters. On top of that, his face even had a smile plastered on, as if it was nothing at all. That monster…
Eight meters, seven meters, six meters…
As the other party slowly proceeded closer to the door, his eyebrows inadvertently shot up, seemingly starting to feel the pressure.
Hong long!
Zhenqi abruptly burst forth from the acupoints of the other party, wrapping his body.
Upon seeing this sight, Wu shi gulped. “He is only using his zhenqi when he is five meters away from the door? Just how powerful is his physical body?”
When Zhang Xuan walked leisurely past him, seemingly unfazed by the heat, he had thought that the other party was just putting on an act. However, seeing that the other party was only driving his zhenqi when he was five meters away from the door, he realized that he had been sorely mistaken.
The other party was truly unfazed by the heat!
But still, to only have to drive his zhenqi when he was within a five meters radius of the door… wasn’t his physical body a little too strong?
Could the other party have gone away to cultivate his physical body?
But… it was common knowledge that the physical body was the most difficult of all to cultivate! How did he manage to make such a huge breakthrough in his physical body cultivation within just two hours?
Amid his shock, he saw Principal Zhang walk all the way up to the door, raise his hand, and place it on the seal. After that, he abruptly retreated eight steps before coming to a halt.
He closed his eyes, seemingly musing over something.
A moment later, he opened his eyes once more, and with a deep frown, he stared at the door ahead of him with a peculiar expression on his face.
“This… how is it possible?”
