Chapter 1616: I’m Itching

The ninety-nine gates before him varied in danger and certainly in opportunity. Choosing correctly or incorrectly would make a significant difference. Otherwise, the attendant would not have specifically granted the time it takes for an incense stick to burn to make a choice.

The assessment left by the Ancient Sage limited one's cultivation, so the Eye of Insight wouldn't be very effective. But what about the Library?

Under the Path of Heaven, everything could be seen through. In that case, using it to choose which was correct and which was incorrect should be quite simple!

With that thought, Zhang Xuan wasted no time. With a flick of his wrist, he produced a blank sheet of paper and a writing brush. His hand moved like a dragon, and he began to draw. His comprehension of painting had long reached the realm of an 8-star Painter. His speed and quality in drawing were also at an extremely high level. In less than three minutes, he had sketched all the stone gates before him, making them appear lifelike, as if they could fly out at any moment.

After finishing the drawing, his brush continued to dance, writing the word "Correct" on each door. With so many doors, for an assessment, there could only be one truly correct path. The Library could identify errors and flaws, so any path without flaws would be the one to enter.

As he wrote, the stone statue attendant beside him was utterly bewildered. He had expected the fellow to simply pick a stone gate and enter. Instead, he took out a brush and paper and started writing and drawing. *I told you to choose, not to draw from life…* he thought. What was he doing?

“Time is almost up. If you don’t enter soon, you’ll be disqualified and won’t be able to participate in the assessment again…” Unable to hold back any longer, he reminded Zhang Xuan.

“Alright, I’ll make my choice now…” Nodding, Zhang Xuan finished writing 'Correct' on the last stone gate. Then, he touched the paper with his finger. An identical image appeared in his mind.

In the blink of an eye, he found the gate without any flaws. Zhang Xuan finally let out a sigh of relief.

“I’ve made my choice…” Opening his eyes, Zhang Xuan smiled faintly and strode forward. He approached the stone statue attendant, who looked utterly bewildered, and chuckled. “Actually, I’m a Painter. I like to copy good things I see… When I saw so many stone gates just now, I simply couldn’t resist the urge to sketch them. Please forgive me!”

“A Painter? An urge to sketch?” The stone statue attendant was speechless. *He gets an urge from looking at stone gates… Is there anything that doesn't give him an urge? Why didn't he just itch to death!*

“You’re a stone statue; it’s normal for you not to understand such feelings!” Laughing heartily, Zhang Xuan patted the attendant’s shoulder casually and, with a look of sympathy, walked towards one of the stone gates.

“You…” The stone statue attendant gritted his teeth in anger, unable to believe he had been mocked. Ancient Sage Qiu Wu, a man so upright his entire life, how could he have taken on such an irritating student, one you’d just want to punch? *Honestly, he was such an idiot… He asked you to choose a stone gate, and you got an itch… Hmm, wait!*

Still gritting his teeth inwardly, he looked in the direction the young man had walked. Suddenly, he froze, his eyes filled with disbelief.

Creak!

As the young man stepped through a stone gate, he vanished from sight.

“He chose *that* one? But that’s… How did he do it?” The stone statue blinked, remaining motionless, utterly unable to comprehend. He had thought this fellow knew nothing and, among ninety-nine gates, would never find *this* particular one no matter what he chose. Yet, with a casual pick, he had entered…

“Even with good luck, you need strength. The fellow inside is far more volatile than I am, and he never shows mercy. Choosing correctly might not even help; you might still die in there!” Filled with shock, the stone statue attendant ultimately snorted.

The stone gate closed with a creak. After taking a few steps down the passage, Zhang Xuan was about to survey his surroundings when he immediately felt a tremendous pressure assault him, causing his body to involuntarily sway. This pressure rushed straight to his soul, carrying a tearing force, as if he would be crushed into dust if he made the slightest mistake.

“It’s a soul attack…” His expression darkened.

He had experienced many soul attacks before, but this was the first time he encountered one so violent. It penetrated directly through his physical body, making him feel as if he had plunged into a raging torrent, unable to resist.

“Witchcraft Soul Art, activate!” Knowing that continued invasion could lead to severe injuries, Zhang Xuan took a deep breath. With a thought, his witchcraft soul immediately began to circulate within his body. Although his witchcraft soul was only at the peak of Saint 9-dan, it had undergone lightning tempering, and its soul body was enormous. The opponent's attack was fierce, but with the circulation of his power, he barely managed to withstand it.

He breathed a sigh of relief and hastened forward. He wanted to see what kind of entity could generate such a powerful soul attack.

The further he advanced, the greater the pressure and the stronger the impact on his soul became. After walking for more than ten steps, he stopped. His cultivation was still too weak. The deeper he went, the greater the pressure emanating from ahead became, and he was already finding it difficult to bear.

“If this doesn’t work… I’ll have to use Master Kong’s blood!” His gaze became solemn. While the power ahead had a significant offensive impact on his soul, using Master Kong’s blood would undoubtedly perfectly counteract it. However… he only had three drops in total, and one had already been used. If he used another now, he might be at a disadvantage if he encountered the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe members pursuing Zhao Ya. He had to conserve it if possible. After all, it was his strongest protective talisman at the moment. Once it was used up, encountering further danger would be troublesome.

“The first time I encountered lightning, I was helpless and felt I could be electrocuted at any moment… Later, I was able to absorb its power! This pressure has a tremendous impact on the soul. Why not take this opportunity to temper my soul, make my soul body purer, and perhaps even perform Witchcraft Soul Transference like Zheng Yang?”

When he last met Lu Chong, he had unreservedly given him the secret art of Witchcraft Soul Transference. He had studied it once before and found some flaws, making him hesitant to practice it, coupled with his own lack of strength… Now, with this unavoidable pressure, it was a perfect opportunity to try it out. Perhaps he could gain an unexpected benefit.

“Begin…” The cultivation technique for Witchcraft Soul Transference immediately appeared in his mind.

“Witchcraft Soul Transference involves moving through the gaps between spatial particles… Previously, I couldn’t understand spatial particles, which made me feel it had many flaws. Now that the Heavenly Art of Empty Space has reached the fourth stage, if the two were to merge, would it form a Heaven’s Path cultivation technique?”

After reviewing the cultivation technique, Zhang Xuan suddenly froze. Witchcraft Soul Transference, while called a secret art of the witchcraft soul, was essentially a utilization of space! Now that he had assimilated so many spatial books, and the Heavenly Art of Empty Space had reached the fourth stage, if he were to merge these spatial books with this technique, could it compensate for its flaws and make it perfect?

“Correct!” With a thought, the Witchcraft Soul Transference immediately merged with numerous spatial cultivation techniques, and a new book appeared before him.