That force was powerful and ferocious. Reminiscent of a rampaging tsunami, before Zhang Xuan could do anything, it was already right before him.
He hurriedly turned around to flee, but right when he was about to do so, the ferocious energy tore a line right through the lava, and at the very end, rows after rows of buildings came into sight. In that moment, Zhang Xuan felt as if he was seeing a mirage.
It is indeed below the lava. Barely after this thought surfaced in Zhang Xuan's mind, he felt an overwhelming force crushing down on him. Unable to withstand it, he ended up tumbling his way up.
Hong long!
Following which, he saw the Golden Origin Cauldron, swept by the immense force, blasting forcefully out of the lava, striking heavily onto the seal. A resounding chime reverberated in the air.
It was fortunate that the fellow had advanced to Saint intermediate-tier earlier, and he had released the accumulated energies beforehand. Otherwise, this single strike could have killed both the Golden Origin Cauldron and his body within.
"Principal Zhang!"
"Zhang shi!"
"Senior Uncle!"
Seeing the Golden Origin Cauldron being knocked out by the violent spurt of lava, the crowd that had been waiting outside for Zhang Xuan leaped in shock. They hurriedly rushed toward the Golden Origin Cauldron to check on their condition.
This is bad! Zhang Xuan's eyes narrowed in alarm.
Only his physical body was in the cauldron at the moment. If he attempted to return under such conditions, the master teachers, with their superior eyes of discernment, would surely notice that he was a soul oracle. Once that happened, he would be in deep trouble!
If it was discovered that the esteemed principal of the Hongyuan Master Teacher Academy practiced the arts of the heinous soul oracles, how would others view him?
But if his soul didn't return to his body, his body would remain cold and lifeless, no different from a corpse. If those fellows thought that he had died and attempt to cremate him… it would be too late for tears then!
To make matters worse, his body possessed the ability of Mind of Void. It would react instinctively before danger, so if any of them tried to cremate him, his body would immediately move to stop them. If his body were to end up killing a couple of them in that state…
Zhang Xuan's head was already hurting just from thinking of it.
Anxious, he was considering if he should just try his luck and charge out of the lava. Perhaps, he might be able to return to his body before anyone noticed him. However, in the end, he changed his mind and sent a telepathic message to the Golden Origin Cauldron instead.
Wu shi and Guild Leader Han were Saint 4-dan Primordial Spirit realm experts. With a sweep of their Spiritual Perception, they would immediately notice the peculiar nature of his soul. Given so, the best and safest solution at hand was to have the Golden Origin Cauldron return to the lava.
"Ding Ding, come back!"
"No way, it's too dangerous down there…" The Golden Origin Cauldron shivered in fear.
You must be joking! Just staying down there for a few minutes nearly made my magnificent body shatter into bits. There is no way I am going to be so foolish as to go down once more to commit suicide.
On the other hand, seeing how a weapon cauldron was actually so fearful of death, Zhang Xuan felt so enraged that his lungs could burst from sheer fury.
What the heck is this? There are so many humans here who don't fear death, and yet, a Saint artifact like you ended up being the one who treats your life most precious.
Zhang Xuan was rendered speechless.
"As long as you come here, I will find a way to raise your cultivation to Leaving Aperture realm!" Left with no choice, Zhang Xuan could only attempt to lure it in with benefits.
While the Golden Origin Cauldron was fearful of death, it did have unquestionable loyalty to him. At times like this, if he could blind its fear with greed, it would be willing to do as he said.
"Leaving Aperture realm? Really?" The Golden Origin Cauldron leaped up in excitement.
There was a significant difference between the Leaving Aperture realm of Saint-tier artifacts and that of humans. While humans gained the ability to draw out their Primordial Spirit and exert overwhelming might, Saint-tier artifacts would have their spirits refined to a level comparable to Primordial Spirits. While its spirit would still be unable to leave its body and travel freely, it would gain the ability to control its form and sprout arms and legs.
Well, the sight of it was indeed rather bizarre and hideous, but nevertheless, it was a huge evolution for Saint-tier artifacts, a step toward them becoming independent beings.
"Don't worry, I always mean what I say!" Zhang Xuan said.
Raising the cultivation of a Saint-tier artifact wasn't easy, but it wasn't entirely impossible. He still had the Black Goldcrystal Ore that he had obtained from the treasure left behind by Wu Yangzi. As long as he could fuse it into the Golden Origin Cauldron's body, he should be able to raise its cultivation further.
However, there were great difficulties in doing so as well. He would have to melt the Black Goldcrystal Ore entirely in order to fuse it perfectly with the Golden Origin Cauldron, but ordinary earth flames weren't capable of doing so. It was unknown if even the lava deeper beneath would be sufficient to do the job.
"Alright then!" Receiving Zhang Xuan's word, the Golden Origin Cauldron dived back into the lava with a piercing shrill before the other master teachers could surround it.
"This…" Seeing how the Golden Origin Cauldron was moving around boisterously, charging back into the lava right after being blasted out of it a moment ago, they couldn't help but fall into a daze.
Putong!
After the Golden Origin Cauldron entered the lava, Zhang Xuan hurriedly slipped back into his body before flying out of the cauldron to appear before everyone else.
"Zhang shi, are you fine?" the crowd asked worriedly.
"I'm alright!" Zhang Xuan shook his head. "When venturing below earlier, I saw quite a few buildings below. If I am not mistaken, the ancient domain is really right beneath there!"
"How deep is it?" Wu shi asked.
"This…" After a moment of thought, Zhang Xuan replied, "I am not too sure, but I estimate it to be around a hundred meters deep!"
Even though he had only caught a glimpse of it, it wasn't too difficult for him to estimate a distance with his sharp eye of discernment.
"A hundred meters?" The faces of the crowd warped in horror.
Wu shi had nearly died from trying to dive forty meters deep; a hundred meters was clearly an impossible mission for them!
If that was where the ancient domain truly was, then it made no difference to them at all, since there was no way they were going to be able to access it.
"Do you have any idea how we can reach it?" Wu shi asked Guild Leader Han, only to see the latter shaking his head with a bitter smile.
Even he had no way of venturing a hundred meters deep into the ancient domain.
At this moment, Zhang Xuan spoke hesitantly. "I do have an idea in mind…"
"Oh?" Many pairs of eyes immediately gathered on him.
"That lava spurt earlier is extremely powerful. At its full force, it is capable of parting the lava, creating a temporary passageway that we can pass through. That was also how I managed to see the buildings below as well. We could make use of this passageway to slip into the ancient domain!" Zhang Xuan said.
The passageway only opened up for a brief moment, but as long as they made ample preparations beforehand and charged in swiftly, it was entirely possible for them to pass through it!
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"It is not a bad idea, but… I fear that it might be unfeasible!"
"Indeed! Just think of how powerful the lava spurt was; even the Golden Origin Cauldron was knocked out of it. To attempt to travel against that overwhelming force… that is an impossible feat!"
Guild Leader Han and Wu shi glanced at one another and shook their heads.
The idea was not bad, possibly the best one they had so far, but it was a pity that it couldn't possibly be executed.
In the face of the powerful surge of energies from beneath, they would already be considered lucky if they weren't torn to shreds from facing it head on. To attempt to travel a distance of a hundred meters against it… that was clearly an impossible feat.
Taking a step back, even if it was possible, it was likely to take up considerable time. If the lava were to cave in on them while they were in the midst of traveling downwards, they would, without the slightest doubt, die there and then.
"You are right in saying that traveling against that burst of energies is nearly impossible… However, what if we were to follow the burst of energies instead?" Zhang Xuan asked.
"Follow the burst of energies?" The crowd couldn't comprehend what Zhang Xuan was driving at.
That burst of energies originated from the depths of the lava, and it was headed up toward the seal. How were they supposed to follow the burst of energies down when they were traveling in the opposite direction?
Abruptly coming to a realization, Guild Leader Han asked, "Does Principal Zhang mean to gather the energy from the burst of energies through a unique formation and rebound it downward?"
"Indeed." Zhang Xuan nodded.
Guild Leader Han frowned. "But… that poses its dangers as well. Given how powerful that burst of energies is, if we fail to gather it well, it could very well result in a devastating explosion."
"Gather the energy from the burst of powers through a unique formation?"
"Rebound it downward?"
Hearing the conversation between the two, the crowd finally understood what was going on, and grim expressions surfaced on their faces.
They had witnessed the might of the burst of energies from the lava with their own eyes; it was overwhelmingly powerful. To gather it together and redirect it downward into the lava… it would be fine if they succeeded, but if they failed, considering the volatility of the energies contained within the burst, it could very well lead to a devastating explosion that would kill them on the spot.
"Do you have any other ideas then?" Zhang Xuan asked.
"I…" Guild Leader Han froze.
Considering that the lava was at least a hundred meters deep, there was indeed no easy way they could bypass it. The idea proposed by Principal Zhang could very well be the best one they had.
"The seal has already closed, so we can't back out anymore. If we fail to enter the ancient domain, death is the only possible outcome. Since we are already cornered as it is, why don't we take a gamble?" Zhang Xuan said.
The crowd nodded in agreement.
There were no other alternatives; they could only give it a try. They wouldn't last long if they didn't do anything.
"What do we do then?"
Having joined the expedition knowing that they might very well face death, it didn't take long for the group to make up their minds after some discussion. They hurriedly turned their gazes toward Zhang Xuan for instructions.
"Simple. Firstly, I need all of the grade-7 formation flags that you have. After that, pay close attention to my commands and move when I tell you to. We will be entering the Golden Origin Cauldron and charging through the lava pool in it," Zhang Xuan said.
As a Saint-tier artifact, the Golden Origin Cauldron was capable of expanding its size to a certain limit. At its largest, it could easily house thirty men without its insides getting too cramped.
Considering how there was a significant disparity in the flying speed of the expedition members, it would be best for all of them to advance together within the Golden Origin Cauldron instead. Firstly, it would be safer. Secondly, they would be able to travel faster this way as well.
"Alright!" Hearing the arrangements, everyone nodded in agreement.
There were quite a few grade-7 formation flags among the expedition members, especially with Guild Leader Han. All in all, Zhang Xuan gathered roughly five hundred formation flags, and he couldn't help but nod in satisfaction.
It would probably be enough with so many of them.
The most important matter at hand was to find out how he could set up a formation that was capable of gathering and harnessing rampaging energies within it.
Considering the strength of the rampaging energies, the grade of the formation could not be too low. To be safe, the minimum requirement for it was grade-7 pinnacle.
"Guild Leader Han, you are the head of the Qingyuan Conferred Empire Formation Master Guild. Do you happen to have any formation books and blueprints on you?" Zhang Xuan asked.
"Formation books and blueprints? I do have quite a few of them." Guild Leader Han couldn't help but be taken aback by Zhang Xuan's request.
They were already going to set up the formation, so why was the other party suddenly asking him for books at this moment?
"I need to borrow them for a moment." Then, Zhang Xuan turned to the crowd and said, "If anyone else has any books regarding formation, pass them over to me as well. The formation that I am going to set up later will determine our life and death, so I dare not take it lightly. Thus, I hope to do some last-minute reading in hopes of heightening the chances of success!"
"Alright!" Knowing the importance of the matter, the other master teachers hurriedly took out all of the books regarding formations that they had on them and passed them over.
As expected of the head of a Formation Master Guild, Han Xu did have a lot of books on him. Just the number of 7-star formation master books that he alone possessed was more than several thousand. Paired with those from the others, there were around ten thousand of them in total.
Zhang Xuan swiftly scanned through the books with his eyes, collecting them into the Library of Heaven's Path and compiling them to form a Heaven's Path Formation Art.
While his consciousness was immersed within the Library of Heaven's Path, trying to take in the vast knowledge contained in the 7-star Heaven's Path Formation Art, his body was flipping through those books one after another, acting as if he was studying them carefully.
Two hours later, he had finally succeeded in internalizing the 7-star Heaven's Path Formation Art.
"Alright, I am done studying. You can take back your books now!" Zhang Xuan said.
After which, he closed his eyes and began making calculations. Very soon, a formation surfaced in his mind.
Having studied the 7-star Heaven's Path Formation Art, it went without saying that his comprehension of formations had reached the level of 7-star pinnacle, perhaps even being on par with some 8-star primary stage formation masters.
With his current proficiency in formations, it wasn't too difficult for him to identify a fitting formation for the geographical terrain he was in.
The best formation to use in this situation is the grade-7 pinnacle Great Heaven Reversal Formation. However… Zhang Xuan frowned. The formation is highly demanding on one's soul. I am unable to set it up with my current strength.
Based on his calculations, the current problem that they were facing could be perfectly resolved by setting up a Great Heaven Reversal Formation. However, there was an issue with that. Due to the complexity of the formation, the soul of the formation master had to have reached a certain level before they could set it up. However, his soul cultivation was only at Transcendent Mortal 9-dan at the moment, a long way off from being able to set up the formation.
I won't be able to set up the formation, unless… I can advance my soul cultivation further.