Chapter 1193: Are You Looking for Me?
Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97
“Is that soul oracle trying to possess Zhang s.h.i.+?”
“Quick, stop him!”
Sensing the soul oracle swiftly making its way toward Zhang Xuan, Wu s.h.i.+ and the others narrowed their eyes in astonishment. They swiftly moved to intercept the soul oracle.
Even though the Qingtian Emperor’s soul had been tempered by the Leaving Aperture Ordeal, the cold yin aura that shrouded around it was still very apparent. It was easily discernible through one’s Spiritual Perception.
Hualala!
Many surges of energy burst forth toward the Qingtian Emperor, wanting to strike him down.
“Humph!”
Under the barrage of attacks, even the Qingtian Emperor was unable to get off completely unscathed. Nevertheless, his eyes still narrowed in tenacity and callousness.
The reason he had been completely helpless before Zhang Xuan previously was because the latter had possessed his body, so he had not dared execute his strongest moves for fear that he would injure his own body. On the other hand, while the master teachers before him were not too powerful, they were still insufficient to stop him.
“Seal!” the Qingtian Emperor bellowed as he raised his finger.
Huala!
A ripple swept through the surroundings, and all of a sudden, it was as if the air in the underground chamber had been frozen by some compelling might. In the blink of an eye, it was as if everyone was standing in a marshland, severely limiting their movements and attacks.
“He’s a True Leaving Aperture realm expert!” Zhang Jiuxiao exclaimed anxiously.
One who wielded enough strength to seal all of their attacks simultaneously… there was no doubt about it; the soul oracle had already undergone the lightning ordeal and successfully reached True Leaving Aperture realm!
Against an expert of the other party’s caliber, their numerical advantage did not mean much.
Wu s.h.i.+ also swiftly came to the same conclusion. Knowing that the soul oracle before them was not a weak foe, he quickly bellowed, “Soaring Dragon Formation!”
The Soaring Dragon Formation was a formation that every master teacher in the Qingyuan Empire Master Teacher Pavilion would practice in case of emergency situations.
Huala!
A moment after Wu s.h.i.+ issued the command, the disciplined master teachers had already formed the formation. The combined strength of over twenty master teachers quickly overwhelmed the seal that the Qingtian Emperor had cast over the surroundings, causing the seal to shatter as if a glacier breaking into ice shards.
A Leaving Aperture realm cultivator still was not qualified to come into contact with spatial laws yet. As such, the seal that they set up was not, in the truest sense, a sealing of s.p.a.ce but a forceful impediment measure set up through their overwhelming strength. If there was another might that had exceeded the strength of the seal they had put up, the seal would shatter in an instant.
On the other hand, the Qingtian Emperor did not expect the master teachers to react so swiftly to his attack and break his seal in an instant. Not daring to hesitate in the least, he used the temporary lapse in the master teacher’s defenses as they were dealing with the seal to dash right toward Zhang Xuan before diving into the latter’s glabella.
“HAHAHA!”
Having successfully entered Zhang Xuan’s body, an inexplicable feeling of joy spread across the Qingtian Emperor’s entirety, and he could not help but burst into hearty laughter.
Trying to kill me?
Now that I am in that b.a.s.t.a.r.d’s body, let’s see what you can do about me!
“Princ.i.p.al Zhang!” Watching as the soul oracle successfully bypa.s.s their defenses and possess Zhang Xuan, the eyes of Wu s.h.i.+ and the others reddened in panic.
Even with their limited understanding of soul oracles, they knew that once a soul successfully possessed another individual’s body, the individual’s soul would be utterly destroyed!
They had specially been deployed there in order to protect Zhang s.h.i.+ while the latter was cultivating, and yet, such a matter had still occurred right in front of their eyes!
Huala!
Their initial fl.u.s.ter swiftly turned into rage as they surrounded Zhang Xuan’s body with sharp killing intent in their eyes.
“What? You want to make a move against me? Come on then! If you aren’t scared of killing this talented master teacher of yours, give it your best shot…” The Qingtian Emperor howled maniacally as he watched the angry faces around him in joy. However, before he could finish his words, his eyes suddenly narrowed in disbelief, as if something inconceivable had just happened. “Ah? W-what is this? N-no, this can’t be! NOOOOOO!”
Putong! Amid the crescendoing scream of agony, Zhang Xuan’s body suddenly collapsed to the ground, convulsing endlessly.
“Ah?” Wu s.h.i.+ and the others were already prepared to make their move to avenge Zhang Xuan when such a sight suddenly appeared before their eyes. They could not help but glance at one another in confusion, not knowing what they should make of the situation before them.
Why would the person who was arrogantly boasting before their faces a moment ago suddenly be reduced to such a state?
“P-please! F-forgive me. I won’t possess your body anymore. Let me leave… Let me leave!” A desperate scream echoed as the Qingtian Emperor’s soul frenziedly tried to break out of Zhang Xuan’s body, only to realize that his pores had been completely sealed. There was no way for him to escape.
“Please, I’m begging you! Don’t kill me! I won’t do anything anymore, I promise you! So, please… Nooo!”
Tzzzzzz
The screaming grew louder and louder, as if reflecting the Qingtian Emperor’s deep fear of what he was seeing.
A while later, the voice finally began to soften, and it gradually quietened into silence.
Hu!
A flicker of light burst from the altar, and Zhang Xuan finally returned to the underground chamber as well.
Knowing the immense strength that the Qingtian Emperor wielded, he immediately rushed back as soon as he could. He had only managed to keep the latter in check but holding the latter’s body as hostage, but if the latter were to go on a rampage in Qingyuan City, it could very well spell a calamity!
Thus, as soon as he appeared, he immediately scanned the surroundings to find the Qingtian Emperor, only to see a room full of master teachers instead.
“Another one? Get him!” someone amid the crowd exclaimed.
Before Zhang Xuan could even process what was going on, a barrage of attacks suddenly fell upon him.
Having cultivated the Heaven’s Path Soul Art, Zhang Xuan’s soul was devoid of the usual yin attribute that soul oracles had. As such, it was not easily discernible to cultivators; only when a cultivator had their Spiritual Perception on would they stand a chance in perceiving the presence of Zhang Xuan’s soul.
However, activating one’s Spiritual Perception was extremely exhausting for a cultivator, so they could not afford to have it activated for extended periods of time. It was due to this that Zhang Xuan had been able to slip past most cultivators in his soul form easily.
But as luck would have it, the Qingtian Emperor’s sudden appearance had alarmed the surrounding master teachers, compelling them to activate their Spiritual Perception. On top of that, the flash of light from the altar had also caught their attention, allowing them to instantaneously notice Zhang Xuan’s presence.
Pilipala!
The seemingly omnipresent barrage of attacks heading toward him caused gooseb.u.mps to rise all over Zhang Xuan in alarm.
What the heck is going on?
I was only gone for a short moment; why are there so many master teachers in the area all of a sudden?
And why are they attacking me so furiously at that?
Have they… gone mad?
And where is the Qingtian Emperor?
To make things worse, there was no way Zhang Xuan could explain the situation. Otherwise, he would expose his ident.i.ty as a soul oracle, and that would surely raise quite a huge storm within the Master Teacher Pavilion, bringing him endless trouble in the future.
Self-righteous individuals would impeach him for learning the depraved arts of the soul oracles whereas greedy individuals would possibly seek him out in the hope of obtaining the heritage of the soul oracles from him.
It would be foolish to raise another problem just to solve one.
Feeling so indignant within that he could have vomited blood, Zhang Xuan swiftly compressed his soul together through his Heavenly Art of Dimension Unravel, allowing him to avoid the barrage of attacks by a hair’s breadth.
After which, making use of the brief opening in the crowd’s attacks, he immediately dashed toward his body as fast as he could.
“Another one that’s trying to harm Zhang s.h.i.+? You’re courting death!”
“Kill that b.a.s.t.a.r.d!”
Everyone’s eyes reddened in rage upon seeing the ‘enemy’s’ movements.
Their previous mistake had allowed the soul before to possess Zhang s.h.i.+’s body, nearly costing Zhang s.h.i.+ his life. There was no way they were going to allow themselves to make the same mistake again!
Hualala!
Drawing all their strength, they immediately sent another frenzied barrage of attacks toward Zhang Xuan, preventing him from moving a single step further.
“…” Zhang Xuan would have torn all his hair out at that moment if he could.
Instead of dealing with the Qingtian Emperor, why was this group of master teachers so obsessed with stopping him?
“Ding Ding, come over here!” Zhang Xuan immediately called for the Golden Origin Cauldron through the telepathic connection from their soul contract.
“Master!” Hearing Zhang Xuan’s voice, the Golden Origin Cauldron immediately leaped up.
“Quick, bring my body over to the altar!” Zhang Xuan instructed.
Before the endless barrage of attacks in his path, there was no way Zhang Xuan could afford to forcefully push through. As such, he could only engage the Golden Origin Cauldron’s a.s.sistance.
“Very well!” Nodding, the Golden Origin Cauldron immediately leaped up toward Zhang Xuan’s body with a resounding ‘hu!’.
“Everyone, make way…” the Golden Origin Cauldron shouted as it rammed its way forward.
It slammed into Zhang Xuan’s body forcefully, sending it flying straight toward the altar.
Pilipala!
The crisp sound of bone cracking.
“…” Zhang Xuan slapped his forehead.
Can’t you treat my body more carefully?
He knew that the Golden Origin Cauldron was not a reliable individual, and this matter only served to further his belief…
As stifled as he felt, he knew that this was not the moment to be concerned about this matter. Watching as his body flew in his direction, his soul swiftly dived into his body.
As soon as he regained control over his body, he immediately drove his zhenqi to heal his injuries before opening his eyes once more.
Standing before the group of master teachers, he asked, “The Qingtian Emperor should have come by earlier. Did any of you see him…”
But before Zhang Xuan could finish his words, he suddenly noticed that the atmosphere was not right. Somehow, he felt as if everyone’s killing intent was directed toward him.
Thus, he narrowed his eyes and asked, “What are you all trying to do?”
“Who are you? Even if you possess Princ.i.p.al Zhang’s body, do you think that we will allow you to get out of here alive?” Wu s.h.i.+ bellowed furiously.
Through their Spiritual Perception, they had personally witnessed the soul that had just arrived earlier diving into Zhang Xuan’s body, possessing it. That sight had nearly made them erupt on the spot.
It was one thing for them to fail to stop the earlier soul from possessing Zhang Xuan’s body, but for the second soul to succeed as well…
Do you honestly think that our Master Teacher Pavilion is full of pushovers? Do you think that Zhang s.h.i.+’s body is your playground?
Seeing that the crowd was only showing such a response out of worry for him, Zhang Xuan shook his head and patiently explained, “I am Zhang Xuan. I’ve just awoken from my earlier cultivation…”
“Do you think that we’ll believe your words?” Wu s.h.i.+ roared angrily.
The rage of the other master teachers did not alleviate at all either. If anything, the hostility in their eyes seemed to have further deepened.
You opened your eyes right after the soul entered Zhang s.h.i.+’s body, and you still dare to claim that you are Zhang s.h.i.+… Do you really take us for fools?
“You don’t believe me?” Zhang Xuan frowned. “Wu s.h.i.+, the attack you used on me earlier was the seventh move of the Six Harmony Swords. Your execution has eight flaws in total, namely inept swordsmans.h.i.+p, lack of control in your breathing, unrefined execution of strength, incomplete conception in the technique…”
Knowing that there was no way he could explain his way out of this, Zhang Xuan decided to resort to another method to convince them of his ident.i.ty instead.
Flaw identification was a capability that master teachers were the most adept at. Naturally, it was also the best way for him to verify his ident.i.ty.
“This…” Hearing how the young man sharply pointed out all the flaws in his technique with ease, Wu s.h.i.+ could not help but widen his eyes in astonishment.
“Last but not least, your soul has sustained some degree of damage from the demonic tunes back at the Qiu Wu Palace, and it has not recovered since then. As such, it has affected your execution of techniques to some degree. May I know if what I have said is correct?”
Wu s.h.i.+ was stunned for a moment before hurriedly nodding. “Y-you’re right…”
“Then… am I Zhang Xuan?” Zhang Xuan’s eyebrows shot up.
“Y-yes, you are…” Wu s.h.i.+ quickly nodded affirmatively.
To be able to point out all his flaws while being aware of the happenings back at the Qiu Wu Palace, who else could the young man before him be if not Zhang Xuan?
After seeing that he had successfully convinced the crowd of his ident.i.ty, Zhang Xuan heaved a sigh of relief. Then, with a confused frown, he asked, “What happened earlier? Why are all of you attacking me?”
Knowing that there could very well be master teachers on the other side, he had made sure to proceed very carefully. And yet, he still ended up being exposed in an instant and even nearly lost his life as a result of it. Furthermore, even if he was an unidentified intruder in their eyes, their rage seemed to be a little too excessive. Without a doubt, something must have happened before he arrived.
“It’s like this…” Wu s.h.i.+ quickly filled Zhang Xuan in on the earlier happenings.
“You are saying that… a soul dived into my body, and shortly after, he began screaming in agony?” Hearing those words, Zhang Xuan could not help but shake his head.
Was that Qingtian Emperor a fool? His body was filled with Heaven’s Path zhenqi, the very nemesis of soul oracles. And yet, he brazenly dared to possess his body… That was no different from leaping into a pool of toxic for him!
He had been feeling a little vexed about the Qingtian Emperor’s escape earlier, but who would have thought that the latter would be so dumb as to end his own life?
Or maybe, he felt too indignant from seeing me possessing his body, and blinded by rage, he wanted to possess mine to return the favor… Zhang Xuan rubbed his glabella.
Who would have thought that the Emperor of the Qingtian Lineage, a Leaving Aperture realm cultivator, would meet his end in such an unintelligent manner? Judging by Wu s.h.i.+’s account, the Qingtian Emperor should have been reduced to ash from being burned by his Heaven’s Path zhenqi, thus dissipating from the face of the world.
Zhang Xuan waved his hand and said, “Don’t worry, I’m fine. I was cultivating a unique cultivation technique earlier, which temporarily deprived me of my awareness of my surroundings. If I’m not mistaken, those two soul oracles should have died from the pa.s.sive ability of one of the secret arts I cultivate.”
“I see, that’s a relief.”
Hearing that the matter concerned Zhang Xuan’s secret art, the crowd decided not to ask any further.
On the other hand, Wu s.h.i.+ knew very well what was going on.
Zhang Xuan was a Celestial Master Teacher, and how could the body of a Celestial Master Teacher be taken away by a soul oracle so easily?
“Thank you for protecting me earlier.” Knowing that the crowd was doing it all for him, Zhang Xuan clasped his fist and thanked them.
The crowd quickly clasped their fists back and replied, “There’s no need to stand on ceremony, Zhang s.h.i.+.”
After trading some pleasantries, Zhang Xuan took his leave before curiously a.s.sessing the internal state of his body.
Even if the Qingtian Emperor had been killed by the Heaven’s Path zhenqi, there should still have been some traces of the other party within his body.
At this moment, a bone-chilling voice suddenly sounded in his mind, as if a specter.
“Hehe, are you looking for me?”