Origin Convergence Formation?
Standing on the wall of the residence, Zhang Xuan frowned. A grade-7 formation?
This wasn't the largest residence within the entire royal palace, but it had the most formidable formation of all—a grade-7 formation.
A formation of that grade had already surpassed Hongyuan Empire's level.
It seems like that is the most important place in the royal palace. The Bodhi Saint Tree must be inside! A glint flashed through Zhang Xuan's eyes.
According to what Zhong Dingchun said, the Bodhi Saint Tree was the foundation to the royal family's power, so it must be very tightly-guarded. This residence met that requirement perfectly.
Whether it would be able to save Wei Ruyan or not, he would just have to enter and take a look for himself.
Zhang Xuan began studying the grade-7 formation with his Eye of Insight, but a moment later, he shook his head.
With my current cultivation, it will take quite some time to decipher a grade-7 formation…
It was possible for him to find the Life Gate and slip in discreetly without alarming anyone, but based on his estimations, he would need at least two hours to work it out.
Considering the dangers lurking within the royal palace and that the banquet would be starting in an hour's time, he couldn't afford to take that much time.
I have no choice then!
With a thought, Zhang Xuan used his soul energy to pick up a tree branch and toss it into the residence.
Weng!
Like a rock tossed into calm water, the formation immediately whirred into action, and a series of crisp sounds echoed throughout the area.
Countless swords flashed across the air, and in an instant, the tree branch was reduced to shreds.
It was a powerful Slaughter Formation!
In the moment that the formation activated, Zhang Xuan immediately muttered softly, "Flaws!"
The Library of Heaven's Path wasn't able to compile books on formations when they were in their dormant stage. Thus, he had to activate it before he could see the problems with it.
A book materialized in the Library of Heaven's Path, and Zhang Xuan swiftly flipped through it.
After gaining an understanding of the formation, he immediately headed to the center of the formation and kicked it forcefully.
Hu!
The formation came to an immediate halt.
Heaving a sigh of relief, Zhang Xuan hurriedly made his way into the residence.
Other than the Slaughter Formation set up outside, it didn't seem like there was anything special about the residence. Perhaps due to the banquet, there was not a person in sight. Zhang Xuan swiftly scanned the entire premises, but the Bodhi Saint Tree was nowhere to be seen. Instead, he found several ancient tombstones.
Was I mistaken? Zhang Xuan frowned.
According to the information he had received from Zhong Dingchun, the Bodhi Saint Tree was likely to be of the utmost importance to the royal family. However, there was nothing resembling a tree to be found in the courtyard… Perhaps, the safest place wasn't the most tightly-guarded place?
But assuming that was the case, why would a grade-7 formation be set up there?
In order to protect those tombstones?
Or could it be that… those tombstones were more valuable than the Bodhi Saint Tree?
Perplexed, Zhang Xuan headed to the closest tombstone to take a closer look.
Judging from the severe wear and tear, the tombstone was extremely old, possibly having existed for thousands of years. There were several large characters inscribed on it.
These words were unlike those of a painter; there wasn't any form of unique intent that could be felt from it. In fact, the handwriting was only an inch away from being classified as hideous. However, for some reason, just by looking at it, Zhang Xuan felt his soul being drawn in by some kind of inexplicable force.
Thousand Tempering Soul Refinement Art!
These large words were inscribed on the top of the first tombstone.
Is this a soul cultivation technique? Zhang Xuan's eyes lit up in excitement.
It was well-known that the soul was the hardest to cultivate, and this was especially so after the soul oracles went extinct. It was significantly easier and more effective to cultivate one's zhenqi, so there were very few soul cultivators in the world. As such, there weren't many soul cultivation technique manuals existent in the world.
This was also the reason his soul had reached a bottleneck at Perfect Harmonization realm pinnacle, unable to advance any further.
He had come to this residence thinking that he would find the Bodhi Saint Tree, but who could have known that he would stumble upon a soul cultivation technique instead!
That might not have been much to others since cultivating one's soul was an arduous process with disproportionate returns, but this was definitely a treasure to him.
He had received the Transcendent 1-dan to 9-dan cultivation techniques of the soul oracle from Mo Hunsheng, but there were many flaws in the later portions, making them unsuitable to be cultivated. Perhaps, with this Thousand Tempering Soul Refinement Art, he might be able to resolve those flaws.
"Flaws!" Zhang Xuan turned his sight to the tombstone, and a book materialized in the Library of Heaven's Path.
After the previous experience at the Saint Ascension Platform, he knew that he could replicate written content into the Library of Heaven's Path through his sight even if it wasn't a book.
He quickly did the same for the other tombstones before heaving a sigh of relief.
As he was still within the royal palace, and danger was lurking around him, this wasn't the place for him to process his newfound knowledge.
For the time being, he had to get out of the area as soon as possible.
However, just as he was about to leave the residence to continue his search for the Bodhi Saint Tree, a bellow suddenly reverberated across the room. "Who's there?"
Following which, an immense might came crushing toward his soul.
"This is bad!" Alarmed, Zhang Xuan hurriedly moved away, dodging the attack by a hair's breadth.
After which, he turned around and saw a middle-aged man staring at him intently.
The middle-aged man seemed to be in his mid-forties, and he was dressed in posh clothes. He harnessed a powerful aura, which commanded subservience from others.
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In his eyes, Zhang Xuan could see vortices that seemed to reflect his existence.
An expert specializing in souls… Zhang Xuan's eyes narrowed in alarm.
With a swift glance, he could tell that the other party, rather than really seeing him, was able to sense his presence, similar to Wei Ranxue back then.
It seemed like it wasn't for no reason that the royal family was able to maintain a tight grasp of power over a country as powerful as Hongyuan Empire. It was filled with experts who could fend off even the elusive soul oracles.
"Which brazen vermin dares to barge into the royal palace?" The middle-aged man harrumphed coldly as he sent a punch over.
An overwhelming might of a Saint 1-dan pinnacle swiftly tore through space to strike its target.
An expert of that caliber was indubitably ranked amid the top power tier in Hongyuan Empire.
"Flee!" Zhang Xuan immediately dove out of the residence decisively, knowing that he wouldn't be a match for the middle-aged man.
"Trying to flee? Do you think that the royal palace is a place where you can come and go as you please?" Sensing the presence hiding within the room attempting to flee, the middle-aged man's eyebrows shot up, and he swiftly raised his hand and grabbed firmly.
Hong long!
A huge palm print fell from the heaven, sealing all of Zhang Xuan's paths of escape.
He might not be able to see me, but having cultivated his soul, he is able to sense my presence… If this goes on, I might just lose my life here… Trapped, Zhang Xuan's soul tensed anxiously.
He was in far greater danger currently than when he had encountered Wei Ranxue previously.
At the very least, Wei Ranxue seemed to be trying to apprehend him for investigation back then, so she had held back in her attacks. However, this middle-aged man had gone all out from the start, seemingly determined to vanquish him from the face of the world.
Considering that he was an 'unidentified intruder' in a seemingly important area of the royal palace at the current moment, it was natural that the other party would be uneasy.
Zhang Xuan swiftly moved to dodge the palm strike, but he was still nicked at the edge of his soul, inducing fiery pain upon him.
No, this won't do. I won't last long like this. But despite his anxiety, Zhang Xuan didn't allow panic to cloud his rationality. Instead, he swiftly analyzed his current circumstances.
His soul cultivation was only at Perfect Harmonization realm pinnacle, and against a Saint 1-dan pinnacle opponent, he couldn't possibly hope to stand his ground.
But if all he did was evasive maneuvers, he would only be gradually worn thin and die.
A glint flashed across Zhang Xuan's eyes as an idea surfaced in his head. The Slaughter Formation!
With his current strength, it would be impossible for him to defeat the other party. His only hope lay in the Origin Convergence Formation set up around the residence.
Having compiled a book on it in the Library of Heaven's Path, he had gained a clear grasp of the formation's layout and flaws. To escape, he would have to borrow the strength of the formation.
Having made up his mind, he immediately darted to the core of the formation. At the same time, the middle-aged man also sent another palm strike at him.
With his life on the line, Zhang Xuan dared not hesitate. He immediately kicked the core of the formation forcefully. "Activate!"
Hong long!
The halted formation immediately came to life, and an abrupt burst of mist shrouded the middle-aged man in an instant.
This is my chance! Zhang Xuan thought as he quickly darted out of the residence.
Considering that the middle-aged man was able to enter the residence as well, it was likely that he was able to control the formation. In other words, it was only a matter of time before he disabled the formation and came after him.
Knowing that he had to get as much distance between him and the middle-aged man as possible, Zhang Xuan fled as fast as he could.
"Damn it!"
On the other hand, the middle-aged man didn't expect that the intruder would be able to control the formation as well, and he bellowed in frustration. By the time he stepped out of the formation, he was unable to detect the other party's presence anymore.
"Just what could it be?" Standing in the air above the residence, the middle-aged man pondered with a livid expression.
The content inscribed on the tombstones was profound, and without proper guidance, it was impossible to comprehend it. As such, he didn't fear the soul cultivation technique being leaked out. However, to be able to enter the royal palace freely and even control their grade-7 formation… this was way too exaggerated!
Had he not sensed the formation in the residence being halted and come to investigate the matter, it was unlikely that the intruder would have been found at all.
"It seems like it's about time to step up the security of the royal palace…" the middle-aged man muttered.
Regardless of whether the intruder was a saint beast or a human, the only thing he could do now was augment the defenses of the royal palace and eliminate the intruder the next time he struck.
…
That was a close shave!
After fleeing some distance away from the residence, Zhang Xuan dove into a nearby building to conceal himself and decide on his next move.
He could easily see through the flaws of the formation in the building, so he was able to slip through them easily.
Having escaped so far, he should already be out of the other party's detection range by now, and he heaved a sigh of relief.
The royal palace of Hongyuan Empire sure was impressive. To think that there would be soul experts in the palace as well!
But giving the matter some thought, considering that the Bodhi Saint Tree had the ability to nourish souls, the members of the royal family should possess extraordinarily powerful souls. Paired with some soul techniques, even if they were still far from matching up to the soul oracles, they would still be an incredible force to reckon with.
It seemed like the search for the Bodhi Saint Tree wouldn't go smoothly after all.
Forget it, the banquet should be starting soon. It's about time for me to make my way back now.
With his presence exposed, it was likely that the royal palace would tighten its guard on the Bodhi Saint Tree. His safety would be compromised if he were to continue searching for it. Thus, after a moment of hesitation, he decided to return to the banquet for the time being.
In any case, Wei Ruyan's condition had been stabilized, so she wouldn't be in danger in the short term. There was no need for him to take such a huge risk at the moment.
Thus, he discreetly made his way up to the roof, stared at the countless resplendent buildings and residences that stretched all the way to the horizon, and scratched his head blankly.
So… where is the main hall again?