Zhang Xuan could see a tall figure reflected within the sphere. Dressed in a tall coronet and a long robe, the figure commanded a divine aura that seemed to harmonize with his. Instinctively, he realized that the figure within the orb was a person who had been recognized by the heavens as well, a Celestial Saint and a Celestial Master Teacher.
There was only a single person in history who had achieved such a feat—Kong shi.
Hu!
As soon as the thought emerged in his mind, Zhang Xuan suddenly felt a powerful suction force coming from within the sphere. His consciousness was forcefully dragged out of his body and into the sphere.
Swiftly scanning his surroundings, he found that he had entered yet another folded space. It was not too large, around several dozen meters in diameter. Perhaps due to being coarsely made, the folded space was devoid of anything. All that could be seen was white space.
Except for a figure standing in front of him.
Assessing the figure before him carefully, Zhang Xuan could not help but frown in intrigue. “Kong shi, why are you…”
The previous time he met Kong shi at the Saint Ascension Platform, the latter was young and dashing, exuding a refreshing aura of youth. But the figure standing before him at this moment… his face was slightly bruised, and the long robe he donned was a little dirty. Summarizing it with a single word, unkempt. It was as if… someone had beat him up?
But… beat Kong shi up?
How could that be?
He probably left behind his will shortly after he successfully became a Celestial Saint, Zhang Xuan deduced.
Having just undergone the Saint Ascension Ordeal himself, while Zhang Xuan had already made a full recovery with the nourishment of the sacred energy, his body and clothes were still stained with dirt and blood. In that sense, he was in an even more unkempt state than Kong shi.
That was probably what had happened to Kong shi as well. It might only have been a lingering will, but it had assumed the same untidy look that he had back then.
Perhaps it was to serve as a reminder to the later generations about the callousness of the Saint Ascension Ordeal?
Waving his hand, Kong shi said with a grim expression, “I don’t have much time here.”
Zhang Xuan nodded in response.
“If I’m not mistaken, you are also plagued with the Innate Fetal Poison, right?” Kong shi asked with a keen look in his eyes.
“Y-yes, that’s right!” Hearing Kong shi raise the matter, Zhang Xuan’s eyes lit up in agitation. Staring at Kong shi intently, he asked, “How can I resolve the Innate Fetal Poison? I beseech you to point a way out for me…”
He had intended to pose this question to Kong shi the previous time he met him, but the other party only left him with a “I am not alone in my path” and a hearty laugh before disappearing. Since Kong shi himself was raising the topic this time around, he would finally be able to resolve the issue once and for all.
As long as he could free himself of the Innate Fetal Poison, he would not have to charge forward so anxiously anymore. The nervousness that he was constantly plagued with could finally be put to rest as well.
“We’ll talk about that later. I have more important matters to entrust to you at the moment.” Kong shi shook his head before continuing. “The fact that you were able to ascend to become a Celestial Saint means that you are following the same path as me. Since that’s the case, you are bound to find yourself faced with great trouble in the future. Thus, I want to offer you some advice here. In order to free yourself from destiny and reach a greater height, you will have to forge your own path. Walking down a path paved by the wisdom of your predecessors can allow you to grow swiftly, but it will also limit your scope and potential!”
“Forge my own path?” Not expecting Kong shi to say such words out of nowhere instead of telling him the cure for the Innate Fetal Poison, Zhang Xuan was slightly bewildered.
“Indeed.” Kong shi nodded. “You should have heard that I am in possession of a certain artifact known as the Great Codex of Spring and Autumn, right?”
Zhang Xuan nodded in response.
The Great Codex of Spring and Autumn was an unparalleled artifact that Kong shi wielded. Back then, it was using this artifact that he had been able to suppress the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe and drive them out of the Master Teacher Continent. However, that artifact had vanished along with Kong shi, and its whereabouts were a complete mystery to everyone.
“The Great Codex of Spring and Autumn concerns the future of mankind. Since you are in the same plight as me, there’s a very good chance that you will be able to drive it as well. By no means should you allow it to fall into the hands of others; this is very important, so remember this! Also, you have to make sure to be wary of…” Kong shi spoke with an extremely urgent tone, as if there was something that Zhang Xuan had to accomplish urgently.
As Kong shi spoke, he slowly raised his palm. However, before he could finish what he was about to say or do, Zhang Xuan suddenly heard a worried voice. ” Zhang Xuan, are you alright?”
Zhang Xuan’s body jolted as his consciousness returned to his body. Opening his eyes, he saw Luo Ruoxin standing before him with worry in her eyes.
Most likely, she must have noticed that his consciousness had been drawn out from his body, and worrying that something bad might have happened, she rushed over to check on him.
Zhang Xuan reached forward to squeeze the young lady’s hand as he replied with a smile, “I am fine.”
He had already heard about how Luo Ruoxin had protected him from the Skyleaf King in the midst of his breakthrough. Even if her cultivation was far greater than his, even if her identity was a complete enigma to him, even if the path ahead was going to be tough, he had no intention of giving her up at all.
“It’s good that you’re fine.” The young lady heaved a sigh of relief before flashing him a smile.
“Give me a moment, I need to check on the sphere first,” Zhang Xuan said before turning his attention back to the sphere. A moment later, a helpless expression surfaced on his face.
Within the short span of time while he was conversing with Luo Ruoxin, Kong shi’s will had already disappeared without a trace. It was as if his previous encounter with Kong shi had been a fleeting dream.
Zhang Xuan scratched his head frenziedly. Considering how Kong shi founded the Master Teacher Pavilion and is a figure who is deeply respected by countless master teachers, I thought that he would at least be more reliable than that. To disappear in the middle of his words, he is just as unreliable as my clone…
All he wanted to do was learn the cure to the Innate Fetal Poison, and yet, despite encountering Kong shi’s will twice, the other party had ended up speaking about completely useless matters instead. Just the thought of it left him deeply stifled.
You told me to seek out the Great Codex of Spring and Autumn, but I don’t even have the slightest clue where it will be. How can I possibly find it and prevent it from falling into the hands of the others? Furthermore, who or what are you asking me to be wary of?
Look at Ancient Sage Qiu Wu! Despite being traumatized by me, he was at least able to finish most of what he wanted to say before dissipating. As the World’s Teacher, aren’t you a little too weak?
Zhang Xuan shook his head helplessly. It seems like Kong shi left behind his will shortly after he became a Celestial Saint, so his strength was nowhere on par with Ancient Sage Qiu Wu. But still, for his will to be unable to sustain itself long enough to finish his words…
It had not been easy for him to have an opportunity to meet Kong shi, and he had intended to uncover the secret to resolving the Innate Fetal Poison from the latter. Yet, due to Kong shi’s limited time, he ended up missing this chance as well.
Forget it… Knowing that there was no point brooding over the matter, Zhang Xuan decided not to think too much about it.
Ultimately, Kong shi had only been a Saint 1-dan cultivator when he left behind his will. The very fact that he could sustain himself for more than several dozen millenniums and speak with him was already an incredible accomplishment in itself.
Even if Kong shi was the World’s Teacher, he was asking a little too much of the other party here.
It seems I only have myself to rely on for the Innate Fetal Poison, Zhang Xuan thought as he rubbed his glabella.
Sighing deeply, he turned his gaze to the sphere and thought, For the time being, I should cultivate this sphere first!
At this point, the sphere had already fused perfectly with the map, forming something similar to a globe. The various trials that they had encountered on the journey through the ancient domain could be seen on the globe.
Extending his consciousness into it, Zhang Xuan could feel the entire folded space being right at his fingertips. He could tell that as long as he cultivated the sphere, he would be able to gain control of the entire Qiu Wu Palace and obtain astounding strength.
Carefully placing his hand on the sphere, he began to infuse zhenqi into it.
Geji! Geji!
The following moment, Zhang Xuan could feel his will gradually spreading across the sky of the Qiu Wu Palace.
Be it the Unbounded World, the Black Sand of Oblivion, or the floating celestial palace, everywhere that he had been to appeared before him more vividly than ever.
In fact, he found that with just a single thought, he could easily alter the formations throughout the entire folded space, be it to intensify them or to calm them.
As expected! Cultivating the sphere grants me control over the Qiu Wu Palace, Zhang Xuan thought in agitation.
At the same time, he also found that he could store the entire folded space within the sphere at his whim.
In other words, one who had claimed possession of the sphere would be able to take the Qiu Wu Palace anywhere they went and enter it whenever they wanted.
Upon realizing this, Zhang Xuan’s heart began leaping in excitement.
As the fragmented souls of Ancient Sage Qiu Wu had already dissipated, there was no way for him to claim the other party’s heritage anymore. However, if he could take the Qiu Wu Palace away with him and examine it carefully, he would definitely be able to advance his understanding of space significantly!
This could prove vital to him in advancing his cultivation in the future.
Zhang Xuan continued infusing his zhenqi into the sphere, cultivating every single portion of it.
After an unknown period of time, he opened his eyes once more. He had finally completed cultivating the key to controlling the Qiu Wu Palace.
Hu!
With a flick of his hand, he stowed the sphere into his storage ring.
Huala!
Shortly after stowing the sphere, he found the sacred energy that had augmented his fighting prowess earlier vanishing altogether, and his strength reverted back to Saint 1-dan pinnacle.
Kacha!
As if being drained of its energy, the Saint Ascension Platform split in two down the middle, and the divine aura that had shrouded it earlier dissipated without a trace.
Seeing how the divine platform a moment ago had been reduced into an ordinary stone platform, Zhang Xuan shook his head. Even if I tossed this thing out into public, I doubt anyone would believe that Kong shi and I ascended to Celestial Saint on top of it.
Having accomplished its raison d’être, the Saint Ascension Platform no longer had any reason to continue existing.
Tossing aside the miscellaneous thoughts in his mind, Zhang Xuan turned around to face the others.
Wu shi was still in the midst of forging the Grand Intermittence Pill. There were quite a few errors in his forging technique, but through his sharpened senses as a Half-Leaving Aperture realm expert, it would not be too difficult for him to successfully forge a Grand Intermittence Pill.
Meanwhile, Guild Leader Han and the others were in the midst of recuperating from the battle and reinforcing their cultivation.
Seeing that they did not require his help, Zhang Xuan turned to the idle Luo Ruoxin and said, “I just met Kong shi.”
Hearing those words, Luo Ruoxin nodded with a smile and said, “This is the place where he truly ascended to Celestial Saint, so it’s perfectly normal for him to have left his will here!”
“Indeed. He advised me to forge my own path forward instead of blindly treading down the path paved by the wisdom of my predecessors.”
After musing over the advice Kong shi had given him, Zhang Xuan found that there was some sense to what the other party had said.
Ever since he started cultivating, he had been relying on the Library of Heaven’s Path to compile the Heaven’s Path Divine Art for him. He had never tried to think deeper into the Heaven’s Path Divine Art, and he had never attempted to innovate either. In a sense, he was indeed blindly treading down the path paved by his predecessors.
Luo Ruoxin nodded. “Kong shi is right. In cultivation, it is of the utmost importance that one finds a path that belongs solely to oneself.”
“It seems like I can’t cultivate as I did before…” As the World’s Teacher and the founder of the Master Teacher Pavilion, Kong shi must have noticed something peculiar for him to say such words. Thus, Zhang Xuan knew that he could not take the other party’s words lightly.
“I know that it’ll be difficult, but to become a true expert, it won’t do for you to not have something of your own!” Luo Ruoxin said. “However, there’s no need for you to rush into it at the moment. As long as you continue searching, you will surely be able to find your own path eventually!”
“You’re right!” Zhang Xuan nodded.
In cultivation, one could only take a step at a time. At the very least, he had overcome one of the greatest hurdles ahead of him and successfully taken the first step into Sainthood.
No matter how difficult the path in the future would be, he was confident that he would eventually stand at the very peak of the Master Teacher Continent!
Holding the young lady’s hand tightly within his, Zhang Xuan declared with unwavering determination, “Ruoxin, rest assured. No matter what kind of difficulties we face in the future, I will surely stand by your side until the very end!”
Author’s Note: Finally, the end of the eighth arc, [Kong shi’s Warning]. This arc serves as an important turning point in the book, and there is a lot of foreshadowing hidden within it. The foreshadowing will affect the future development of the book, but of course, you won’t be able to notice it now hahaha. If you reread it after the book concludes, you should be able to notice it.
Moving on, the ninth arc shall be [Your Teacher Shall Redress Your Grievances for You].
Translator Note: Whew, finally finished the eighth arc. It has been quite a long arc, and LoHP has taken quite a serious tone in the ancient domain arc. Well, our Zhang Xuan is still young and weak, so he has to resort to ploys to maneuver around the Qingtian Ten Great Kings at the moment, but with him becoming a Celestial Saint, it should be around time for him to show his true prowess hehehe. Anyway, thanks for walking with Zhang Xuan, Millie, and me for this 1000+ chapters, and I look forward to walking a little further with all of you.
