"It's still not as big as Lu Chong's soul. It seems like I'm still far from it!"
Recalling Lu Chong's mountain-like soul, Zhang Xuan shook his head.
Five to six meters might be a massive existence to ordinary soul oracles, but it was still far from matching up to Lu Chong.
"Continue absorbing!"
Zhang Xuan's eyebrows shot up as he continued to absorb the spiritual energy frenziedly.
While Zhang Xuan was accelerating, his clone also began to accelerate as well.
Another four hours passed, and the spiritual energy in the Cleansing Lake began to wane at a visible rate. It was no longer as ferocious and turbulent as before.
"The spiritual energy has weakened. I'm just a little bit away from reaching ten meters..."
Seeing that the spiritual energy was on the verge of being sucked dry, Zhang Xuan immediately hastened his absorption.
His soul was just a little bit away from reaching ten meters. Once he broke through this bottleneck, he would surely grow stronger. Even if he still couldn't match up to Lu Chong, he wouldn't be too far off.
After all, he was a soul formed through the Heaven's Path Divine Art. Regardless of whether it was in terms of spiritual energy or purity, he far surpassed the other party.
Hong long!
Just as Zhang Xuan was in the midst of absorbing the spiritual energy, his clone suddenly blurred and broke through the bottleneck of ten meters.
To think that his clone was absorbing the spiritual energy even faster than his main body.
Perplexed, Zhang Xuan lowered his head to take a look. What he saw left him speechless.
The body formed by the Nine Heavens Lotus Embryo was also continuously absorbing the energy.
As a God artifact, the Nine Hearts Lotus didn't fear the violent nature of the lake water. Even though it wasn't too big and its absorption rate was slower than that of a soul, it was still much faster than the main body.
After reaching ten meters, his clone's soul had grown significantly stronger, exerting immense pressure on him. At the same time, the rate at which he was absorbing spiritual energy had also increased.
"I'll speed up as well!"
Knowing that time waits for no one, Zhang Xuan didn't dare to hesitate and began to absorb the spiritual energy even more frenziedly.
However, no matter how hard he cultivated, his rate of absorption was still much slower than before. Lifting his head, he saw a massive vortex forming around his clone. The spiritual energy around him had been sucked dry by the other party. It was no wonder his improvement wasn't obvious.
There was a huge difference between reaching ten meters and below. The other party's rate of absorption was at least three times faster than his.
Seeing how his clone was absorbing the spiritual energy at an increasing rate, as though he would be sucking dry all of the spiritual energy in the Cleansing Lake at any moment, Zhang Xuan felt more and more furious. He slapped his head and said, "What's the hurry? Leave some for me! "
What the hell?
Get this straight, you're my avatar!
It's one thing for you to beat me up with a single punch, but you're even snatching the spiritual energy that I'm absorbing!
How shameless!
How could an upright master teacher like me have such a shameless clone?
"I …" After being slapped, the clone stopped with an aggrieved look on his face.
Zhang Xuan had him return to his physical body and put him back into his storage ring. Only then did he heave a sigh of relief.
"Hehe, without competition, I should be able to break through the shackles of ten meters!"
With a faint smile, the acupoints of Zhang Xuan's soul suddenly opened.
Previously, his doppelganger had been competing with him. Now that this fellow was no longer around, he could show off his fastest speed of absorption.
"Begin!"
With a low cry, his acupoints absorbed the energy in a frenzy.
Rumble!
As soon as the spiritual energy entered Zhang Xuan's soul and was converted into energy, a deafening explosion sounded. The Cleansing Lake beneath him shook violently before exploding.
Hualala!
The pond water flowed in all directions, like a river that had burst its banks.
"What's wrong?"
Halting his absorption, Zhang Xuan hurriedly scanned the surroundings, only to see that all of the cultivators had been jolted awake, and their eyes were wide open.
All of them were bewildered, not knowing what was going on.
"This is bad. Once the pond water runs dry, given my huge body, I will surely be discovered. I need to hurry back!"
Even though his soul was hidden in the pond, it was impossible for others to notice it due to the spiritual energy surrounding it. However, once the pond water ran dry, it would be impossible for him to conceal his traces anymore. He had to make use of this opportunity to return to his physical body.
Besides, with his soul here, his physical body was just an empty shell. Everyone had opened their eyes, but he was the only one who was' cultivating '. No matter how foolish one was, they would surely be able to tell that something was amiss.
…
Outside the Cleansing Lake …
Emperor Ye Wentian and Pavilion Master Wei Jiang were standing not too far away, gazing at the massive lake before them.
"The Cleansing Lake faces the Verdant Mountain to the east and the Dragon-scaled River to the west. It gathers the spiritual energy of the mountains and rivers and condenses the energy of the earth veins. If one can cultivate in it for three days, their soul will surely be raised by a tier, making it even more resilient."
Ye Wentian stroked his beard with a smile.
Naturally, the guardian artifact of the Miryu Empire wasn't just for tempering one's soul. More importantly, the spiritual energy that had been tempered by the earth veins could make one's soul more resilient. This would be of great help to one's cultivation in the future!
This was especially so for reaching Transcendent Mortal 8-dan, Ethereal Treading realm.
Ethereal Treading was the ability to step through the void. Using the void as a flight of stairs, one's soul could borrow the surrounding energy to float in the air for a short period of time.
If one's soul wasn't strong enough, it would be impossible for one to achieve Perfect Harmonization, needless to say, float.
Even though the spiritual energy in the Cleansing Lake's eye had calmed down significantly, it was still extremely resilient after going through the agitation of the lake water. Absorbing this spiritual energy could strengthen one's soul, and it was many times better than absorbing spiritual energy from spirit stones.
This was also the reason why the Cleansing Lake was so famous.
"Indeed!" Wei shi nodded. "Beneath the Cleansing Lake is a massive volcano that gathers the spiritual energy of the world. After being tempered by the volcano, the quality of the spiritual energy will naturally be different! After absorbing it, not only will one's soul become resilient, it will also be filled with the attribute of yang fire, making one immune to the energies of yin and yang! "
"Un!" Ye Wentian chuckled. "Look at how intense the spiritual energy is. It's like boiling water. Only through repeated tempering can one obtain true gold. If one doesn't go through such tempering, how can one improve the quality of the spiritual energy … Eh? Th-this … What is going on? "
Just as Ye shi was in awe of the might of the Cleansing Lake, he suddenly froze, and his voice trembled.
Hearing the abnormal tone, Wei shi hurriedly turned his gaze over, and he couldn't help but be stunned as well.
As if someone had poured a huge ladle of cold water over the previously boiling lake, it had regained its tranquility.
Swallowing a mouthful of saliva, Wei shi said, "Perhaps … it has been boiling for too long, and it wants to calm down?"
Having lived for more than a hundred years, he had experienced the opening of the Cleansing Lake many times. In fact, he had even cultivated in the Cleansing Lake back then … Going by the previous circumstances, the lake should have been boiling under the assault of spiritual energy and earth flames. Why … did it suddenly become as calm as a well?
"Impossible!" Ye Wentian's face paled. "The founder has set up a formation around the lake. If the lake calms down, it would mean that the spiritual energy in the lake is insufficient, and the formation could collapse at any moment …"
Hong long!
Before Ye Wentian could finish his words, the ground suddenly trembled. Following which, a massive crack appeared on the surface of the Cleansing Lake, and water gushed out frenziedly.
"It's really collapsing …"
Wei shi also felt his vision darken.
This was the treasure of the Miryu Empire! If it were to collapse, the number of experts in the empire would plummet, and the entire empire would be thrown into a state of panic!
How could this be?
But if it were to be opened normally … cultivators would only be cultivating in the Lake Eye. Why would the spiritual energy in the Cleansing Lake deteriorate and cause the formation to collapse?
"I'll get the Sixth Princess and the others to come out. Once the lake water dries up … we won't be able to suppress the volcano beneath. Wei shi, hurry up and invite Guild Leader Wu and the others from the Formation Master Guild over to help repair the formation! "
Seeing the lake water gushing furiously, Emperor Ye Wentian hurriedly instructed.
The Cleansing Lake was controlled by a massive formation, and it maintained a balance with the Verdant Mountain, Dragon-scaled River, and the earth vein. Now that it was on the verge of collapsing, the earth vein beneath could easily cause the volcano to erupt.
If it were to explode, putting aside him, everyone present would be reduced to ashes.
Under the searing heat of the volcano, as long as one couldn't fly, it would be impossible for them to escape. Even a Half-Saint wouldn't be able to survive if they were devoured by it!
The might of the heavens was invincible. Before the true nature, only by becoming a true Saint would one be able to survive. Everything else meant nothing.
It was one thing for him to be in danger if the volcano were to explode, but if something were to happen to the Sixth Princess and the others … the entire Miryu Empire would be destroyed!
He thought that by inviting the Sixth Princess over to cultivate, he would be able to curry favor with her and raise the standing of the Miryu Empire. Never in his dreams did he expect the stable Cleansing Lake to suddenly explode!
What in the world was this!
Why did the Cleansing Lake suddenly explode?
If he knew that Zhang Shi was the one who came earlier, the Cleansing Lake would have long exploded. He would surely feel so stifled that he wouldn't be able to say a single word.
"Alright! I'll go invite them over now! "
Knowing the severity of the situation, Wei shi roared furiously, and an aerial savage beast immediately flew over. Leaping onto the back of the savage beast, the duo rushed back to the capital.
He had to restore the formation to its original state and control the situation. Otherwise, the earth vein and the eruption of the volcano could flatten everything within a radius of several hundred kilometers, and countless lives would be lost!
"Un!"
Seeing that Wei shi had left, Emperor Ye Wentian immediately rushed to the Lake Eye where the Sixth Princess was.
…
At this moment, Princess Fei-er had already awoken from her cultivation. Together with Luo Qiqi, she was staring at the young man before her in dismay.
Despite the huge commotion, the entire Cleansing Lake was on the verge of exploding. Yet, this Zhang Shi was still cultivating with his eyes closed … How in the world did he manage to calm himself down?
It was one thing if he was cultivating … but the Spirit Cleansing Incense floating in front of him was still as long as before. In other words … it had already been eight hours, but that fellow hadn't absorbed any spiritual energy at all!
If he wasn't absorbing spiritual energy, what was he cultivating for?
"Miss Zhang …"
Unable to watch on any longer, Luo Qiqi shouted.
There was no response from the other party.
"Given that the Cleansing Lake has suddenly exploded, I won't be able to catch up to you. Even if you win …"
Princess Fei-er harrumphed.
The other party had already used more than five incense sticks, and she hadn't dared to rest at all in the past eight hours. Yet, she had only used less than a single incense stick. That was a huge gap, and she had lost the bet.
Since I've already lost, stop acting. Hurry up and get up!
After saying those words, the other party's eyes remained closed, not moving at all.
"What's wrong with him?"
No matter how foolish they were, they could tell that something was amiss.
"Let me take a look!"
Anxious, Luo Qiqi leaped into Zhang Xuan's Lake Eye and tugged on it. Realizing that there was no movement, she couldn't help but touch her nose and body, and what she saw left her shocked.
The young man's body stiffened, and his breathing stopped.
"He … he … is dead!"
Luo Qiqi's lips quivered, and her face paled.
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