"Grand Formation of Origin?"
Looking at the courtyard, Zhang Xuan's eyebrows shot up. "It's actually a grade-7 formation?"
This courtyard wasn't the most spacious among the many courtyards in the royal palace, but it had the most formidable formation, reaching grade-7.
A formation of this level was beyond the scope of Hongyuan Empire, reaching the level of a Conferred Empire.
"It seems like this is the most important location in the royal palace. The Bodhi Saint Tree should be in there!"
A glint flashed across Zhang Xuan's eyes.
Based on what Chung Ting-chun had said, the Bodhi Saint Tree was the foundation of the Hongyuan royal family. Since that was the case, it should be heavily guarded, and this courtyard just so happened to fit the criteria.
Whether he could save Wei Ruyan or not, he would have to enter it to take a look.
"Given my current strength, it will take me a lot of effort to decipher a grade-7 formation!"
Activating his Eye of Insight, Zhang Xuan shook his head.
With his current strength, it was still possible for him to decipher the formation and find the Life Gate without anyone noticing. However, even with the Eye of Insight, it would still take him at least four hours to decipher the formation.
He was currently in danger in the royal palace, so there was no way he could make it in time.
"There's no other way!"
With a thought, Zhang Xuan snapped off a tree branch and threw it into the courtyard.
Weng!
As if a stone had been thrown into the surface of a lake, the formation within abruptly activated, and a series of buzzing sounds echoed in the air.
Countless sword qi flashed, and the tree branch was reduced to dust in an instant.
It was actually a powerful Slaughter Formation!
Paying no heed to the fate of the tree branch, Zhang Xuan's eyes sharpened as he looked at the activation of the formation.
"Flaws!"
When the formation wasn't activated, it would be impossible to use the Library of Heaven's Path. As long as he activated the formation, he would be able to find the crux of the problem.
A book materialized in his mind, and he swiftly finished browsing through it. In an instant, he had a thorough understanding of the formation.
With a slight leap, he entered the formation, found the core, and kicked it.
Hu!
The formation immediately came to a halt.
Even though his soul was formless, it was capable of manipulating objects with his will. If he wanted to stop the formation, he would have to resort to his trump card — Shattering the Formation with a Kick!
Zhang Xuan heaved a sigh of relief and flew towards the courtyard.
The courtyard was spacious, not much different from other courtyards. However, there was not a single person in sight, nor was there the so-called Bodhi Tree. There were only a few ancient stone tablets standing in the same place.
"Did I go the wrong way?"
After looking around, Zhang Xuan frowned.
According to Chung Ting-chun's words, this Bodhi Saint Tree should be extremely huge. Apart from a few ordinary gardens in the courtyard, there weren't any other plants around. Could it be that … the most important item of the Yu Family wasn't hidden in the most heavily guarded area?
Without it, what was the point of setting up a level-7 array formation?
To envelop these stone steles?
Could it be that these stone tablets … were even more precious than the Bodhi Tree?
Perplexed, Zhang Xuan turned his gaze over.
The stone tablet was ancient, unknown how many years it had been there. It even looked a bit damaged. Lines of large words were carved on it.
These words weren't inscribed by a painter, so they didn't possess any special artistic conception. In fact, the words weren't even fair. Yet, for some reason, a single glance at them would cause one's soul to be drawn into them, unable to extricate themselves. It was as if they possessed some kind of unique power.
"Thousand Tempering Soul Condensation Formula!"
Zhang Xuan's eyes fell on the first stone tablet, and a line of words appeared before his eyes.
"It's a soul cultivation technique?" Zhang Xuan's eyes lit up.
He had been wondering what it was, but it turned out to be a soul cultivation technique.
Soul cultivation had always been the most difficult aspect of cultivation. This was especially so after the extinction of the soul oracles. Most cultivators had focused on zhenqi, putting soul cultivators in a disadvantageous position. As such, not many soul cultivation techniques had been passed down.
This was also the reason why his soul cultivation had been stagnating at Perfect Harmonization realm pinnacle.
In fact, he wasn't even able to suppress the Innate Fetal Poison.
He thought that there would be a Bodhi Saint Tree in the courtyard, but who could have thought that it would be a soul cultivation technique?
This might be nothing much to others, but to Zhang Xuan, it was an invaluable treasure.
He had obtained the Transcendent Mortal 1-dan to 9-dan soul cultivation technique from Mo Hunsheng, but he hadn't been able to find a suitable soul cultivation technique. Perhaps, this Thousand Tempering Soul Condensation Formula might work.
"Flaws!"
Zhang Xuan glanced at the stone tablet, and a book appeared on the bookshelf.
He was currently in the royal palace, and he didn't have any time to cultivate or read through it. Thus, he decided to record it down first.
With his previous experience of copying the words on the stone tablets on the Saint Ascension Platform, he was able to imprint the contents of the stone tablets into his mind, forming a book.
Soon, after recording down all of the words on the stone tablets, Zhang Xuan heaved a sigh of relief.
Regardless of whether it was useful or not, he would just take it away first.
Once he was free, he would slowly study it.
"Who is it?"
Just as Zhang Xuan was about to leave the courtyard to continue his search, a loud bellow suddenly sounded. Following which, a powerful might assaulted his soul.
"This is bad!"
Zhang Xuan's face darkened, and he swiftly dodged the attack with his soul. Turning around, he saw a middle-aged man staring at him with glowing eyes.
The middle-aged man seemed to be in his forties, and he was dressed in a luxurious robe. He exuded a powerful aura that exerted immense pressure on Zhang Xuan. His eyes were reminiscent of vortexes, and it felt as if he could see through Zhang Xuan's existence.
"An expert specializing in soul cultivation …"
Zhang Xuan narrowed his eyes.
Upon seeing the other party's appearance, Zhang Xuan immediately realized that the other party was able to sense his presence through his soul cultivation.
Just like Wei Ranxue back then.
It seemed like the royal palace of the Hongyuan Empire wasn't as simple as he thought it to be. Even a soul oracle wouldn't be able to enter and leave as he pleased.
"How dare you barge into the royal palace!"
Sensing that Zhang Xuan was observing him, the middle-aged man bellowed coldly and launched a punch at him.
A powerful might immediately surged toward Zhang Xuan, reaching Saint 1-dan pinnacle.
An expert of such caliber could be considered as the strongest expert in Hongyuan Empire.
"Flee!"
Knowing that he wasn't a match for the middle-aged man, Zhang Xuan dared not hesitate. He immediately dashed out of the courtyard.
"Trying to flee? Do you think that the royal palace is a place where you can come and go as you please? "
Sensing that the intruder was trying to escape, the middle-aged man's eyebrows shot up in alarm as he raised his hand.
Hong long!
A massive palm print descended from the sky, sealing off all paths of escape.
"He might be unable to see me, but he specializes in soul cultivation, so he should be able to sense my presence … If I don't get away, I might really be killed …"
With a grim look on his face, Zhang Xuan's body tensed up.
The danger he was facing this time was far greater than the one he had faced with Wei Ranxue.
Wei Ranxue was a master teacher of the Hongyuan Master Teacher Academy, so no matter what, she would still leave him some leeway. On the other hand, the middle-aged man's attacks were relentless, seemingly determined to kill him.
Indeed, an unknown lifeform had barged into the royal palace. No matter who it was, they wouldn't be able to rest easy.
Zhang Xuan hurriedly dodged to the side, but the other party's palm strike was simply too powerful. He was still struck by it, and a searing pain assaulted him.
"This won't do. I won't be able to escape at this rate!"
Despite his anxiety, Zhang Xuan didn't panic. Instead, he carefully analyzed the situation before him.
His soul cultivation was only at Perfect Harmonization realm, a far cry from the other party's Saint 1-dan pinnacle cultivation. There was no way he could dodge the other party's attack.
If he were to continue dodging, only death awaited him.
"Make use of the formation …"
A glint flashed across Zhang Xuan's eyes as he made up his mind.
Given his current strength, it was impossible for him to defeat the other party. Thus, he could only rely on the Origin Convergence Unity Formation in the courtyard.
Through the Library of Heaven's Path, he had already learned of the flaws of the formation. If he wanted to escape, he could only make use of this formation.
With such thoughts in mind, Zhang Xuan immediately rushed to the node of the formation. At the same time, the other party's attack was already raining down on him.
"Activate!"
Not daring to hesitate, Zhang Xuan tapped his feet lightly.
Hong long!
The formation that he had stopped a moment ago was instantly activated, and a dense mist shrouded the middle-aged man in the blink of an eye.
"Let's go!"
Knowing that even if the other party was familiar with the formation, it would still take some time for him to escape, Zhang Xuan dashed out of the courtyard without any hesitation.
"Damn it …"
The middle-aged man didn't expect the other party to be able to control the formation, and he roared furiously. By the time he was out of the formation, the other party's figure had already vanished from sight.
"What in the world is that?"
Standing in the air above the courtyard, the middle-aged man stared at the disappearing figure of Zhang Xuan with a livid face.
The contents of the stone tablets were profound and profound, making it impossible for the other party to comprehend them with a single glance. However, to be able to enter and exit the royal palace as if there was no one around and even control a grade-7 formation, this was a little too exaggerated!
If not for the activation of the formation in the courtyard arousing his suspicions, he wouldn't have been able to notice the other party at all.
"It seems like I'll have to reinforce the security of the royal palace …"
A glint flashed across Zhang Xuan's eyes.
He had no idea whether the other party was a saint beast or a human, but the only solution he had was to reinforce the defenses of the royal palace and kill the other party when he appeared once more.
…
"That was close!"
After escaping from the courtyard, Zhang Xuan didn't dare to continue flying. Instead, he dived into a small courtyard not too far away.
He could see through the formations in the courtyards with his Eye of Insight, so he didn't have to worry about triggering them. After fleeing for several hundred meters, he finally managed to escape from the other party's Soul Perception and heaved a sigh of relief.
As expected of the royal palace of the Hongyuan Empire, there were still experts who specialized in soul attacks.
Since the Bodhi Saint Tree nourished souls, it shouldn't be too surprising for the members of the royal family to know some soul battle techniques as well.
With this, it wouldn't be easy for Zhang Xuan to search for the Bodhi Saint Tree in the royal palace.
"After such a long time, the banquet should be starting soon. I should find another opportunity to return!"
Knowing that he had alerted the other party, Zhang Xuan knew that the defenses around the Bodhi Saint Tree would be much tighter. Even if he were to find the Bodhi Saint Tree, there was a good chance that he would be captured. Thus, after a moment of hesitation, he decided to return first.
In any case, Wei Ruyan's condition wasn't too bad, and her life wouldn't be in danger for the time being. There was no need for him to take the risk.
With a thought, Zhang Xuan leaped onto the roof once more. Looking at the beautiful buildings around him, he couldn't help but scratch his head.
"That … where is the banquet hall?"
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