Soon, Zhang Xuan arrived at the area filled with white bones. Even though there were many pieces of armor scattered on the ground, upon closer inspection, he noticed that there were some fine inscriptions on the bones, likely left behind by the predecessors in the Teacher Acknowledgement Hall.
In other words, they were all master teachers.
Every single master teacher was a treasure of mankind. Mingshi Tang had paid a huge price to groom them, and yet, so many of them had been killed here. Just the thought of it was frightening.
Just from this, it could be seen that the Black Beartiger Beast was guilty of too many crimes. Even if it were to die a hundred times over, it wouldn't be an exaggeration.
"You are the heroes of mankind who sacrificed yourselves for the sake of justice. I can't allow your corpses to be exposed here!" Zhang Xuan's face darkened.
Zhang Xuan placed his palm on the ground not too far away, and a huge depression immediately appeared. Driving his zhenqi furiously, he gathered the corpses together and placed them into the depression.
Since the corpses had already been destroyed, it was impossible to tell who they belonged to. Since they had fought together in life, they would be buried together in death. This way, they would have no more regrets.
After burying the corpses, Zhang Xuan activated his Eye of Insight and continued scanning the area.
The traces left behind by the 'emperor' had vanished beneath the area where the corpses had been.
"Could it be below?"
Beneath the corpses was a flat area. Zhang Xuan reached out to touch it, but there was no mechanism.
If there was nothing at all, where could it have gone?
The traces that he had seen with his Eye of Insight had disappeared from here. There was no doubt about it.
"Could it be …" Suddenly, a thought flashed across Zhang Xuan's mind.
Zhang Xuan flicked his wrist, and a spirit beast fell to the ground.
"Myriad Anthive Queen, check if there's a folded space below!"
Folded space involved the laws of space, so Zhang Xuan was unable to check it with his current strength. The Myriad Anthive Queen was sensitive to spatial laws, so it could easily discern the presence of folded space.
Nodding, the Myriad Anthive Queen stuck its nose to the ground and sniffed. It circled around the area before standing up.
"Master, there is indeed a folded space here, but it isn't too big. Shall we head in to take a look?"
"As I thought!" Zhang Xuan's eyes lit up.
Initially, he had only guessed that it was likely to be a folded space since there wasn't any underground palace or any similar structures. Who could have thought that it was so?
"Of course I want to see it!" Without the slightest hesitation.
His purpose in coming here was to find the "emperor" that the Tiger Bear Beast had mentioned. How could he not enter the folded space after discovering it?
However, if the other party was inside, given his means and abilities, he would definitely be in great danger. After pondering for a moment, Zhang Xuan raised his head and said, "You don't have to enter. Just tell me the way in."
There was a good chance that a Saint realm 5-dan expert resided within the folded space. The Myriad Anthive Queen was only at Transcendent Mortal 9-dan, so it was likely that it would be in grave danger if it were to enter the folded space recklessly.
There was a way to enter this kind of space. If one didn't grasp spatial abilities, they wouldn't be able to discover it. Even if they knew, they wouldn't be able to enter.
It was just like the one Kong Shi had left behind on the Saint Ascension Platform back then. It was impossible to open it without finding the flaws in his insights.
The Myriad Anthive Queen was bound to be the same as well, but... since the Myriad Anthive Queen was able to notice it, there was bound to be a way for it to enter.
"Alright, I'll open the entrance for Master, and you can go in directly!"
The Myriad Anthive Queen had no idea what was in these spaces, but seeing that its master wasn't allowing it to enter, it nodded in agreement.
Zhang Xuan replied.
After sniffing the ground for a while longer, the Queen Bee suddenly clawed at the ground.
Si la!
As if something had been torn apart, a human-sized hole appeared before Zhang Xuan's eyes.
Taking a deep breath, Zhang Xuan flicked his wrist, and a book materialized in front of him. Instructing Vicious to guard him, he walked in.
Entering the hole, Zhang Xuan immediately got a clear look at the situation within. It was indeed a small space, only around eight meters in diameter, much smaller than the one Kong Shi had left behind.
The Bluehorn Dragon Beast that Zhang Xuan had seen previously was nowhere to be seen. Instead, there was a circular pedestal that was around the height of a human and half a meter in diameter. However, contrary to what he had expected, there was nothing on it.
After circling around the area, Zhang Xuan was unable to find anything at all. Thus, he frowned.
There was no way his Eye of Insight would go wrong. The 'emperor' had already entered the folded space, so why was there nothing at all?
Even a soul oracle wouldn't be able to hide from the Eye of Insight, let alone a soul oracle like Zhang Xuan. If there was really such a thing, there was no way it could hide from him.
Just as Zhang Xuan was about to take a closer look, a sharp sound suddenly pierced his eardrums, as if something was striking him from above.
Before Zhang Xuan could even process what was going on, he suddenly felt a powerful force assaulting his back.
Weng!
A barrier of light appeared on the surface of his body. It was the Aerial Strike Amulet he had obtained from Yu Cheng back then.
This Aerial Strike Amulet was capable of withstanding a full-powered attack from a Saint 1-dan expert. For safety's sake, Zhang Xuan had always kept it close to his body, never placing it in his storage ring.
Kacha!
The Aerial Strike Amulet, which was capable of withstanding the full might of a Saint 1-dan cultivator, did not even last for half a breath before it shattered into pieces. The violent might of the Aerial Strike Amulet struck Zhang Xuan squarely on his back, and as if he had been rammed by a train, he was sent flying backward.
Peng!
He crashed heavily into the wall before him, creating a huge depression.
Pu!
Zhang Xuan spurted a mouthful of blood.
Even with the protection of the Aerial Strike Amulet, he still sustained severe injuries.
After driving his Heaven's Path zhenqi to recover from his injuries, Zhang Xuan finally turned around.
There was no one before him, and the soul of the Bluehorn Dragon Beast was nowhere to be seen. All he saw was a shriveled finger.
Most likely, the attack he had suffered earlier was from this finger.
"A single finger was able to shatter the Aerial Strike Amulet and injure me?"
Zhang Xuan narrowed his eyes in astonishment.
He was unable to tell whether the finger harnessed any power, but the fact that it was able to injure him so easily was truly fearsome.
Stabilizing his breathing, Zhang Xuan noticed that the other party had stopped his attack and asked, "Are you the 'emperor' that the Golden Beartiger Beast spoke of?"
"Hehe, you sure are capable to be able to find your way here!"
A sliver of will was transmitted from the finger, speaking in the Ancient Beast Language.
Judging from the voice, it was the soul of the Bluehorn Dragon Beast from before.
"It seems like that's the case. To think that the soul of the Bluehorn Dragon Beast would be able to survive by hiding in a finger!"
Zhang Xuan frowned.
It was impossible for a soul to exist on its own. He had been perplexed as to what was going on, but after seeing this, he realized that the other party must have been hiding in the finger to survive for so long.
It was just like how Mo Hunsheng was residing in the Nine Hearts Lotus.
As long as there was a suitable vessel, it should be able to survive for a very long time.
However, the finger wasn't a living body. In order to maintain its vitality, it had to absorb flesh and blood. Perhaps … this was the reason why the Golden Beartiger Beast used a master teacher as a sacrifice.
Master teachers possessed pure zhenqi, and the strength of their flesh and blood far surpassed that of ordinary cultivators. As such, they were extremely nourishing to an inanimate object.
"Your eye of discernment isn't too bad. To possess such knowledge at such a young age, it seems like you aren't an ordinary student or the student of the elder outside!"
Seeing that Zhang Xuan was able to point out his background, the finger harrumphed coldly.
"Indeed, I am not Elder Mi's student …"
Zhang Xuan shook his head.
"To be able to tame the Nine Kings of the Cloudmist Ridge, you are indeed extraordinary. However … I love to devour talented master teachers like you. As long as I devour you, I will be able to replenish the flesh and blood of my finger and extend my lifespan by another fifty years!"
The finger chuckled gleefully, as if a pair of greedy eyes were about to devour Zhang Xuan.
"Extend your lifespan by another fifty years?" Zhang Xuan glanced at the finger. "You extend your lifespan by devouring the flesh and blood of master teachers? What is that finger of yours for it to be able to allow you to avoid Senescent Decline? "
Of the Five Soul Declines, one of them was Senescent Decline. As time passed, even with the nourishment of flesh and blood, one's soul energy would gradually weaken.
Even soul oracles were unable to survive for long.
Mo Hunsheng had been isolated from the world while he was trapped in the Nine Hearts Lotus. Even so, his strength had still been greatly weakened. His Transcendent Mortal 9-dan pinnacle cultivation was reduced to less than a tenth of his original strength.
Yet, this fellow was able to survive with just a finger. Could there be something strange about him?
"You know of Senescent Decline?" The finger asked doubtfully.
Most people knew of the existence of soul oracles, but not many knew of the Five Soul Declines. After all, it was a secret of the occupation. Yet, this fellow knew of it so well. Could he be a soul oracle as well?
"Of course I do! Not only so, I also know that you haven't inherited the heritage of the soul oracles. Even though you managed to survive in the form of a soul oracle, you are in a symbiotic relationship with the other party! "
Zhang Xuan continued.
If the other party hadn't attacked him, he wouldn't have been able to access the Library of Heaven's Path. However, the other party had already compiled a book in the Library of Heaven's Path, and in just a short moment, he had already flipped through it and converted it into his knowledge.
He had thought that the other party had only managed to survive for so long because he had inherited the heritage of the soul oracles, but from the looks of it, that wasn't the case at all.
It was just that the other party had used a unique method to bind its soul to the finger and devour the blood essence of master teachers to sustain its life. In truth, it had nothing to do with the heritage of the soul oracles.
To be able to sustain its soul for so long, the finger was bound to be extraordinary.
However, it was a pity that the soul of the Bluehorn Dragon Beast was only in a symbiotic relationship with the finger. The one who had attacked him previously was the soul, and the Library of Heaven's Path didn't record the origin of the finger.
Otherwise, he would have just smacked the other party to death with a single strike.
"To be able to tell my background so easily, it seems like you have learned a lot despite your young age. However... the more you are like this, the more I have to kill you! It's one thing if you didn't come to my folded space, but since you are here, don't even think about leaving today... "
After a moment of shock, the finger sneered coldly.
Weng!
Following which, a powerful surge of energy burst forth, and the illusory image of the Bluehorn Dragon Beast that Zhang Xuan had seen in the cavern surfaced once more. It emanated an intense killing intent, and it seemed as if it was going to devour him whole.
"I was just talking to you nicely, so why did you insist on eating me? Are you sure that you will succeed? "
Seeing that the other party was about to make a move, Zhang Xuan was just about to toss the golden page over when Vicious' voice suddenly sounded in his ears.
"Leave this fellow to me..."
"Leave him to you?"
Vicious had never taken the initiative to do anything without his orders, so why would he suddenly make a move?
Zhang Xuan didn't think for too long before the other party's voice sounded once more.
"Yes... That finger is my finger bone!"
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