Chapter 1214: Transmitted Heavenly Talisman

"I've called you here privately because you need to understand that this matter must not be leaked. Otherwise, widespread panic will ensue, and the implications will be enormous!"

Knowing that the other party had grasped the gravity of the situation, Zhang Xuan instructed, "However, the human traitors must be uncovered, or the consequences will be severe. Therefore, you must secretly investigate, aiming to completely dismantle Emperor Qingtian's remaining influence and prevent any future calamities!"

"Understood!" Master Wu nodded.

Master Zhang was right; this matter truly affected the very foundation of the Master Teacher Pavilion and could not be taken lightly.

Otherwise, the Qingyuan Empire Master Teacher Pavilion would be utterly destroyed.

"I'm leaving this corpse with you. Figure out how to handle it, and when the headquarters personnel return, use it as evidence to report the full details of the incident!" Zhang Xuan waved his hand.

While Emperor Qingtian's corpse possessed immense combat power, it held no significance for Zhang Xuan; his own body offered far greater agility.

Crucially, it also implicated the identity of a Vice Pavilion Master. Leaving it with Master Wu would save Zhang Xuan a great deal of trouble.

"Thank you..."

Master Wu cupped his fists, stored the corpse in his spatial ring, and then looked at the young man again, his gaze filled with gratitude.

Honestly, if it weren't for Zhang Xuan, he never would have believed that Vice Pavilion Master Tian Qing, renowned for his meritorious service in battles against the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe, was actually an emperor from the Qingtian lineage!

"You should head back first. After all this commotion, I need some rest as well!"

Zhang Xuan said nothing further.

Master Wu turned and departed.

Once Master Wu was gone, Zhang Xuan stored the altar into his spatial ring and simultaneously retrieved Emperor Qingtian's storage ring.

As an emperor of the Qingtian lineage, he was bound to possess numerous treasures.

His spiritual sense extended into the ring.

A painting appeared in his palm—the Rank-8 artwork he had appraised earlier.

He put it away and continued his examination of the ring's contents.

Moments later, a delighted expression on his face, he took out several jade boxes.

As he gently opened them, a surge of pure spiritual energy immediately enveloped his mind, invigorating him.

High-tier Essence Spirit Stones!

"Six jade boxes, five stones per box... that's thirty High-tier Essence Spirit Stones!"

Zhang Xuan was filled with excitement.

He had only obtained eighteen spirit stones from Emperor Qingyuan, yet Emperor Qingtian possessed thirty!

One could say he was wealthier than even the Qingtian imperial family.

"With these thirty, I should be able to easily break through to the Embryonic Soul realm!"

Zhang Xuan breathed a sigh of relief.

The primary purpose of taking the 7-star Master Teacher examination had been to acquire more High-tier Essence Spirit Stones. Now that he had them, it was time to enhance his strength.

Regardless of the task, strength was always paramount.

Only with this level of strength could he qualify for a place in the Saint Son Hall, rapidly advance, and quickly gain the leverage needed to negotiate with the Zhang Clan!

Time was of the essence.

He certainly didn't want to stand by and watch his beloved marry into the so-called Saint Zhang Clan!

Especially not to some damned genius who had been flaunting his talent since childhood but had never actually appeared!

Having found the spirit stones, Zhang Xuan ceased his inspection. With a flicker, his body entered the Myriad Ant Nest.

It was quiet there, ensuring no disturbances and saving him a good deal of trouble.

Settling into a cross-legged position, Zhang Xuan made a grasping motion, and the thirty High-tier Essence Spirit Stones appeared before him, radiating dense spiritual energy.

"Let's begin..."

With a mental command, his soul once again approached the Primordial Embryo. Devoid of any previous constraints, it swiftly plunged inside.

Concurrently, the spiritual energy from the High-tier Essence Spirit Stones surged into his meridians, rapidly rushing towards the Primordial Embryo.

The Embryonic Soul realm signified the convergence of the soul and the Primordial Embryo, where the embryo shattered to form an infant. While his cultivation techniques were long prepared, he had only lacked spirit stones. With the stones now in hand, he circulated the dense spiritual energy with great speed, directing it towards the Primordial Embryo.

Boom!

A violent rumble echoed as the spiritual energy from the High-tier Essence Spirit Stones formed a vortex above his head. Under the intense impact, the Primordial Embryo suddenly split open, and then a palm slowly emerged.

"Break!"

Aware that this was the critical moment, Zhang Xuan didn't hesitate. With raised eyebrows, he continued to channel the spiritual energy.

Rip!

The Primordial Embryo burst open, and as the hand extended, an infant slowly crawled out.

"This is... my Embryonic Soul?"

Upon seeing his Embryonic Soul, Zhang Xuan's mouth twitched.

While others' Embryonic Souls typically resembled normal infants, his, though still baby-like in form, stood a staggering ten meters tall!

A ten-meter-tall infant... that was simply terrifying!

"This... how much energy will it require?"

His eyebrows twitched as an ominous premonition arose in Zhang Xuan's heart.

An Embryonic Soul of such immense size would undoubtedly demand vast amounts of energy... Others could cultivate through the entire Embryonic Soul realm, and even the Primordial Spirit realm, with just a single High-tier Essence Spirit Stone. How many would he need?

He hastily began absorbing the spiritual energy from the High-tier Essence Spirit Stones to boost his strength.

He didn't know how much time had elapsed, but when the last spirit stone shattered, Zhang Xuan slowly opened his eyes, a look of helplessness on his face.

"I've only just reached the intermediate stage of the Embryonic Soul realm..."

He shook his head.

He had believed that thirty spirit stones would be more than enough to propel him to the peak. He never would have dreamed that they would be completely consumed just to reach the intermediate stage of the Embryonic Soul realm.

"It seems... to reach the peak, I'll need at least fifty more..."

Rubbing his temples, Zhang Xuan felt utterly exhausted.

Finding even one High-tier Essence Spirit Stone required immense effort, and now he needed fifty more just to reach the peak of the Embryonic Soul realm? Where would he possibly find so many?

He doubted he'd find that many even if he turned Qingyuan City inside out!

"While the consumption of spirit stones is indeed enormous, the increase in combat power is terrifyingly significant!"

Despite the rapid depletion of the thirty High-tier Essence Spirit Stones, Zhang Xuan was undeniably pleased with the significant increase in his strength.

Previously, he was no match for Pavilion Master Gou and could only win by relying on formations and other techniques. But now, even against Emperor Qingtian, who had genuinely reached the Primordial Spirit realm, he could hold his own in a fight!

In other words, by reaching the intermediate stage of the Embryonic Soul realm, his strength was already comparable to that of an early-stage Primordial Spirit realm expert!

This level of power was likely at the very peak within the entire Qingyuan City!

When he first arrived in Qingyuan City, he was merely a novice at the peak of Saint 1-dan, capable of fighting at most against Saint 3-dan cultivators and forced to evade those at Saint 4-dan. Now, even Pavilion Master Xing was no match for him... Time had truly flown by.

The thought alone brought a sense of wonder.

"It's already been eight full days since I arrived in Qingyuan City..."

He sighed with emotion.

A total of eight days had passed since his arrival in Qingyuan City.

In eight days, he had only advanced by less than two major realms, and that was even with the Heaven's Path cultivation technique... The thought made Zhang Xuan so utterly ashamed and embarrassed.

"Let's see what that fellow has to say..."

Shaking off his gloomy mood, he pointed forward, and a Witchcraft Soul appeared before him.

At this moment, Emperor Qingtian, having been eroded by Heaven's Path zhenqi, possessed at most half of his original strength. He looked sickly and appeared to be on the verge of death.

However, upon seeing Zhang Xuan, he immediately displayed intense hatred.

"I'll kill you..."

With a roar, he immediately charged forward, but before he could reach Zhang Xuan, a finger pressed down on him.

Thud!

He was pinned tightly to the ground, utterly unable to move. No matter how much he struggled, it was futile.

"You... how are you so powerful?"

His pupils contracted, and Emperor Qingtian was utterly incredulous.

Just an hour ago, this man was no match for him and could have been easily dealt with. How had he become so incredibly powerful in the blink of an eye?

To be unable to resist a single finger... what kind of strength was this?

"As a member of the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe, how did you get here? How did you come to know the 'Ruthless One' and become a Witchcraft Soul Master? And how many of your people are there within the Master Teacher Pavilion? Tell me everything in detail, and I can grant you a swift death. Otherwise, you should already be aware of my methods..."

Too lazy to waste words, Zhang Xuan simply raised an eyelid and said indifferently.

He had spared his life and prevented the 'Ruthless One' from devouring him precisely because he wanted these answers.

"Trying to extract information from me? Dream on... I, an emperor of the Qingtian lineage, am certainly not one to fear death..."

Emperor Qingtian raised his head and gritted his teeth, but before he could finish speaking, a foot came crashing down, pinning his head into the ground.

Immediately afterward, he heard Zhang Xuan muttering to himself, "'Ruthless One', you only require Primordial Spirit replenishment, so it shouldn't matter if Emperor Qingtian is dead, right?"

"Excellent. In that case, I won't hold back..."

As he finished speaking, Zhang Xuan's hand made a grasping motion, and a ball of soul-scorching zhenqi appeared in his palm, pressing down on the Emperor's soul.

"You... Argh!"

A tearing pain seared through his form, and Emperor Qingtian immediately let out a thunderous scream.

He was about to grit his teeth and endure, preferring death to submission, when he saw Zhang Xuan flick a finger, pulling a fine thread from his soul body.

"Soul Search..."

Emperor Qingtian's pupils contracted, and his expression changed drastically.

As a Witchcraft Soul Master himself, he naturally recognized this technique as Soul Search. Not only was the process excruciatingly painful, but more importantly, if completed, even if his soul wasn't completely scattered, he would likely be reduced to an imbecile.

"I'll tell you..."

Emperor Qingtian immediately cried out.

"My apologies, but it's too late..."

Too lazy to bother with further conversation, Zhang Xuan exerted force with his finger and promptly extracted the fine thread.

If the other party had been willing to speak earlier, he wouldn't have bothered with this. But since he had begun, he saw no point in stopping now. Soul Search was quicker and provided more comprehensive information anyway.

Zzzzz!

He extracted the memories from Emperor Qingtian's soul and began a meticulous examination.

An hour later.

Exhaling, Zhang Xuan rubbed his temples.

Through the Soul Search, the full sequence of events, from beginning to end, was now completely clear to him.

Over two millennia ago, this emperor from the Qingtian lineage performed a sacrifice and unintentionally established contact with the consciousness of the 'Ruthless One'.

The 'Ruthless One' used a secret art, harnessing the power of the sacrifice, to transport him here and impart the cultivation method of a Witchcraft Soul Master.

Knowing that humans of the present era were no longer the ignorant fools who could be easily bullied, he dared not act rashly. To truly gain control, he meticulously planned to possess an infant and undergo rebirth.

This secret art was incredibly complex and inflicted severe harm upon its practitioners.

It could only be used once every ten years, and he had experimented over 120 times, succeeding only with Tian Qing.

Zhang Xuan finally understood the purpose behind such an arduous scheme through Emperor Qingtian's memories.

"It's Master Kong's Legacy Heavenly Talisman!"

Zhang Xuan's expression turned solemn.