Seeing the words left on the wall, Zhang Xuan felt disappointed.
This was the first lady that had sent his heart beating, but they ended up parting so quickly. He didn't even manage to get the other party's name.
Zhang Xuan raised his hand and wiped away the words on the wall before walking out of the cave.
The vast sky appeared before him, but there wasn't a single person in sight.
It seemed like the other party had already left long ago.
After searching around the perimeter and realizing that the other party was gone, he began calculating the time based on his surroundings, and the result left his head shaking.
"I was actually out for three days?"
He didn't expect to have been out for three whole days.
"The Perfect Consonance of Soul and Body has raised my zhenqi cultivation to Consonant Spirit realm pinnacle…"
Previously, Zhang Xuan's breakthroughs were dependent on completing the corresponding Heaven's Path Divine Art. But this time, just by fainting once, not only did his soul and body merge together flawlessly, his zhenqi cultivation even made a huge leap.
From Clarifying Turbidity realm pinnacle, he advanced all the way to Consonant Spirit realm pinnacle!
That was an entire cultivation realm!
However, considering that the main goal of Consonant Spirit realm was to harmonize one's soul and body together, as well as to nourish one's soul, that was to be expected.
The very concept of his soul being flawlessly consonant with his body was aligned with that of the Heaven's Path Divine Art. As such, he naturally achieved a breakthrough with this.
Zhenqi gushed through his body at rapid speed, nourishing his entire body and revitalizing his spirit.
"A normal Consonant Spirit realm cultivator would wield a might of 3,200,000 ding, but my strength has reached… 4,000,000 ding!"
Closing his eyes, Zhang Xuan immersed his consciousness into his dantian.
With the Perfect Consonance of Soul and Body, he could look inwardly to clearly see how much might he wielded at the moment even without testing it out.
With a might of 4,000,000 ding in Consonant Spirit realm pinnacle, he could rival a Cosmos Bridge realm primary stage cultivator with just his zhenqi strength.
If the 2,000,000 ding from his physical body and 3,200,000 ding from his soul cultivation were to be added into the equation, that would total up to a staggering 9,200,000 ding. Even a Transcendent Mortal 7-dan Perfect Harmonization realm intermediate stage cultivator might be killed with a single punch from him.
(Perfect Harmonization realm primary stage 8,000,000 ding; intermediate stage 9,000,000 ding; advanced stage 10,000,000 ding; pinnacle 11,000,000 ding!)
But of course, Perfect Harmonization realm involves harmonizing everything into a singularity. One's zhenqi, soul, and physical body would be enhanced significantly. At the same time, one would also achieve astounding mastery over one's control over the environment, thus granting one sharp instincts against danger. It wouldn't be easy at all to injure an expert of this caliber.
Take for example Zhang Xuan's fight with Princess Fei-er, even though he wielded the advantage in terms of strength, he still had to make use of the Library of Heaven's Path to defeat her.
A difference in cultivation realm meant a significant difference in speed, reflexes, and preciseness in movements as well. All of these advantages couldn't be made up for with mere strength.
While Zhang Xuan's strength might be superior to even Perfect Harmonization realm intermediate stage cultivator, his actual fighting prowess would allow him to draw with a Perfect Harmonization realm primary stage cultivator only.
But beneath that, none would be a match for the current Zhang Xuan. Even if a bunch of Cosmos Bridge realm pinnacle cultivators were to come charging at him, he would still be able to eradicate them easily.
"After reaching Consonant Spirit realm, my master teacher rank can be considered to have reached half 5-star…"
Zhang Xuan's cultivation had always been the greatest impediment to his progress as a master teacher. Now that he had raised his cultivation, he could be considered as a half 5-star master teacher just like Luo Xuan and the others.
"Three days have already passed, I wonder if they're still here…"
Given that their schedule was tight, it was hard to tell whether Hong shi and the others were still in Huanyu Capital.
Under normal circumstances, as soon as the cultivation at the Cleansing Lake was over, they would have to head to Hongyuan Master Teacher Academy. However, given that the Cleansing Lake had broken down, there was no point remaining here. Thus, it was possible that they might have headed off first.
It was a long distance to Hongyuan Empire, if they didn't make haste, they might fail to make it in time for the start of the opening ceremony, and this could spell the disqualification of their candidature.
The Master Teacher Academy would accept a bunch of freshmen in the second month and eighth month of each year. Their group was rushing in order to join the second month's batch, and it was already the first month now. They didn't have much time left.
"I should return…"
Knowing that he didn't have much time left, Zhang Xuan took in a deep breath and prepared to fly back to Huanyu Capital to check if Hong shi and the others had left already or not. However, flurried footsteps sounded at that moment, and a few human silhouettes came into sight.
"Xing Yuan, Princess Fei-er, and the others? Why are they here?"
Zhang Xuan immediately leaped silently onto a huge tree, and gazing downward, he was taken aback.
The people he saw were none other than Yu Fei-er, Xing Yuan, Luo Qiqi, Wu Zhen, and Ye Qian.
Luo Qiqi stood at the very forefront, and she had a map in her hands. She seemed to be looking for something while others were following behind her with grim expressions.
The group of five was in a rather unkempt state. All of them had clear injuries over them which indicated that they had just undergone a bitter fight.
"Qiqi, how much further?"
Anxiety could be seen on Yu Fei-er's face.
Luo Qiqi confirmed the terrain in the surroundings and replied, "Based on the map, it should be somewhere here…"
"Good. We should quicken our pace. Even though I've stopped those fellows with my formation plate for the time being, given their strength, they could overcome it anytime and come rushing in…" Yu Fei-er said.
"Indeed!"
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Xing Yuan nodded as he subconsciously glanced behind warily. It seemed that the matter which had happened previously had left him fearful.
"It's truly weird. Spirit beasts usually operate alone, so why are the spirit beasts here cooperating with one another? They were all prowling the area frenziedly in groups, as though trying to find something."
Wu Zhen found the situation they were in unbelievable.
"I also find it weird as well. The two great land spirit beasts, Grandlion Spirit Beast and Armored Beartiger, are usually the nemeses of one another. Yet, they actually collaborated with one another and attacked in unison as though they were old buddies. And that Dracoeagle Beast as well… When did an aerial spirit beast become so intimate with land spirit beasts?" Xing Yuan added in bewilderment.
Since the Cleansing Lake couldn't be used anymore, they recuperated in the capital for nearly three days before entering the Verdant Mountain to complete the mission the academy had assigned to them. However, before they could even reach their destination, they stumbled upon a group of frenzied spirit beasts.
Possessing a might of Transcendent Mortal 5-dan, every single one of those beasts were incredibly powerful. To make things worse, they were even working with one another, hunting down every human that they saw. Under their frenzied onslaught, Luo Qiqi and the rest of the group nearly lost their lives.
If not for the many defensive artifacts that Yu Fei-er possessed, they surely wouldn't have been able to get away!
"Ye Qian, didn't you say that the Verdant Mountain is very safe? You call this safe?"
Recalling that huge bunch of spirit beasts pursuing them and the desperate situation they were in, Yu Fei-er found herself bubbling with rage.
Other than that darned Zhang Xuan, when had she suffered such injustice?
"I…" Cold sweat appeared on Ye Qian's forehead. With a tearful face, he replied, "The spirit beasts are usually tame and don't attack humans… I have no idea what's going on either!"
He also found himself incapable of comprehending the situation before him.
This wasn't the first time he had been in Verdant Mountain, and he knew a fair bit of the spirit beasts here. Under normal circumstances, these fellows rarely attacked humans. Yet, today, they were all collaborating with one another to strike down all of the humans they saw.
One must know that before coming here, he had reassured them confidently that the Verdant Mountain was completely safe!
Yet, for last few hours, they had been chased by the many spirit beasts around the entire mountain, and they felt so exhausted that they could spew blood. Just the thought of them left him stifled.
"Alright, you need not explain anymore. If those fellows come once more, you will block them by yourself…" Yu Fei-er waved her hands.
Ye Qian's lips twitched.
If he, a Consonant Spirit realm cultivator, were to stand against that rampaging horde singlehandedly, he would probably die in the very first wave of attacks. After a moment of hesitation, Ye Qian said, "Why don't I have my father dispatch some troops over to drive away the spirit beasts?"
Huanyu Capital wasn't too far away, and as long as they wanted to, they could have the army up here to save them. Dozens of Transcendent Mortal 5-dan spirit beasts might be fearsome, but they couldn't possibly stand against an entire army of cultivators.
"Don't you know that this is a mission from the academy? To dispatch troops here, are you that intent to see us fail and return in disgrace?" Yu Fei-er harrumphed coldly.
"This…"
Ye Qian scratched his head.
The other party was right. The mission they were on was confidential and couldn't be made known to anyone. If others were to learn of it, failure to accomplish the mission would be the least of their worries—they might even be expelled for failing to maintain confidentiality.
"Alright, let's stop talking about such useless stuff. Let's hurry up and find the entrance to the underground chamber. As long as we enter the underground chamber, we should be safe. Otherwise, I'll throw you to the horde of spirit beasts to let them have a taste for themselves what a crown prince tastes like!"
Frowning, Yu Fei-er waved her hands.
"Yes!" Ye Qian's lips twitched, but he didn't dare to argue back. Thus, he hurried over to Luo Qiqi's side to help her with the navigation.
He might be the crown prince of Huanyu Empire, but there was nothing he could do before this obstinate princess.
After looking around, he pointed forward and said, "It seems like our destination isn't too far away. The entrance should be behind that hill…"
"Good, let's hurry then!"
The group immediately rushed forward to the coordinates denoted on the map.
Right after they left, Zhang Xuan's figure appeared from his hiding spot.
"They must be trying to finish some kind of mission…"
He had heard that Yu Fei-er's group had come to Huanyu Empire to accomplish some kind of mission for the Master Teacher Academy, but to think that their destination would be Verdant Mountain.
"Judging from their words, they must have met with those spirit beasts!"
Zhang Xuan scratched his head.
To save that white-robed lady, he offended more than thirty spirit beasts at once. Perhaps out of anger, those spirit beasts attacked all of the humans that came into their territories, and Luo Qiqi and the others just became a victim of their wrath.
"If they are still in the surroundings, it would be best for me not to leave via flight. Otherwise, they might notice me…"
Perhaps it was due to the difficulty of finding the exact position of their destination through the lush crown of the trees, but it was fortunate that Luo Qiqi and the others didn't ride an aerial spirit beast over as well.
Of the thirty spirit beasts, there were some that specialized in aerial battle. Had they chosen to ride on an aerial spirit beast, they would have been noticed and surrounded immediately, thus putting them in a very vulnerable position.
If they were surrounded on the ground, they would at least be able to retaliate and possibly escape. But in the air, the only fate awaiting them would be descending to their graves.
"This will be troublesome…"
Similarly, Zhang Xuan wouldn't want to be surrounded by those spirit beasts in midair as well.
Even though his cultivation had soared by a fair bit and he no longer feared those spirit beasts, he would still like to avoid a fight if possible.