Chapter 1617: The Power of the Zhang Family Bloodline

He quickly reached out, grabbed it, and flipped it open. The content immediately flowed into his mind, transforming into memories. "It truly is a Heaven's Path level technique, haha..." Zhang Xuan burst out laughing, nearly jumping for joy.

He had long been searching for soul-related cultivation techniques to supplement the Soul Oracle's secret art. To his surprise, this secret art was related to space. Space-type books were truly what he needed!

"First, temper my soul, then cultivate this!" With the Heaven's Path cultivation technique formed, Zhang Xuan no longer felt rushed. He sat down cross-legged, and with a thought, his Soul Oracle leaped out from between his eyebrows. *Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle!* Without the protection of his physical body, his soul felt immense pressure. In an instant, Zhang Xuan felt as if he had fallen into an endless hurricane, as if he could be torn apart at any moment.

"My heart is a rock, my Soul Oracle is a mountain!" Knowing that the more unstable he became, the easier it would be for him to be torn to shreds, Zhang Xuan focused intently. The image of a massive mountain appeared in his mind – precisely the Bai River Mountain.

Among the cultivation techniques for the Soul Oracle, there was a visualization art. Long-term visualization would make one's power purer. For example, visualizing flames would make soul power intensely hot; visualizing ice would make soul power chillingly cold like snow. Zhang Xuan had used such secret arts when he first began cultivating, but as his strength grew, cultivation became less troublesome, and he didn't bother with it as much. Now, feeling his soul nearing collapse, he activated it once more.

As soon as he visualized the mountain peak, his previously trembling soul instantly stabilized, like a towering peak standing firm amidst a hurricane, unmoving despite strong winds and heavy rain. Steadying himself, Zhang Xuan took a deep breath, drawing the pervasive pressure in the air into his body, continuously refining his somewhat bloated soul. *Creak! Creak!* Under the tempering force, his large soul became increasingly pure.

"The pressure is too weak, I need to go further!" A few minutes later, feeling he had adapted to the pressure and that it no longer significantly affected him, he walked a few more steps forward, sat down again, and continued to temper his soul.

Outside the stone door, the stone statue boy, who had been standing motionless, opened his eyes again. "Let's see how that fellow is doing! The one inside, even without personally intervening, can stop him from advancing, or even collapse his soul, just by the power emanating from their body!" He snorted lightly, then pointed a finger. A wall of light immediately appeared in the air, clearly displaying Zhang Xuan's situation inside the passage.

"That guy should be... Huh? What's going on?" The stone statue boy suddenly froze, his eyes wide and round, as if they might pop out of the stone. In the wall of light, the young man stood in the passage, hands on his hips, a furious and indignant expression on his face: "Where's the pressure? If you've got the guts, come out! I haven't absorbed enough yet, haven't refined myself fully! So weak, and you dare show off? If you don't come out, believe it or not, I'll tear this passage down!"

"He's provoking?" The stone statue boy swayed, nearly fainting. He had assumed that the person inside the passage would merely need to release their aura to knock him unconscious, or even crush him to death... He never dreamed that not only was this guy fine, but he also found the pressure too weak... Where did this freak come from? This is absurd!

"Fine, since there's no more pressure, I'll just go in..." After shouting for a long time and seeing that the pressure had completely vanished, the young man walked forward, full of helplessness. To be honest, Zhang Xuan wasn't putting on an act; the pressure was genuinely frustrating. He had just started happily cultivating, feeling his soul body shrinking significantly, when the pressure suddenly disappeared... Anyone would feel angry in that situation. After all, a little more cultivation might have allowed him to perform Soul Oracle Shuttle, thereby greatly increasing his combat power.

"I need to see what's emitting this pressure. If it's not enough, I'll find it and make it release its full power..." He quickly recovered his composure, and Zhang Xuan continued forward.

*Whoosh!* He had only taken a few steps and turned a corner when he suddenly felt a chill and a blast of air shot straight at him. He quickly recoiled, pressing himself tightly against the wall. A small hole instantly appeared in the rock wall.

"So powerful..." Zhang Xuan's eyebrows rose with a glance. What had just shot over wasn't a hidden weapon or sword qi, but an ordinary water droplet! A single water droplet had pierced his protective *gang* qi and then the rock wall. The strength of the person who attacked him must be at least at the Great Sage level!

"First, I'll see what it is, then decide whether or not to use Master Kong's blood..." His finger hovered above the blood droplet in his palm, ready to activate it at any moment. After a moment of hesitation, Zhang Xuan stopped himself and stepped forward. Master Kong's blood was precious, and each drop used meant one less; it absolutely could not be wasted.

*Splash!* As soon as he stepped around the corner, he saw dozens of small water droplets rapidly shooting towards him again, moving at extreme speed and blocking all escape routes. Although these droplets didn't contain particularly powerful *zhenqi*, their speed was simply too great. With his current strength, encountering them would still lead to severe injury, or even death.

"Bloodline activation..." Knowing there was no escape at this moment, he willed it, and a drop of the Zhang Clan bloodline, previously given by Xing Jiansheng, immediately burned away. Time before his eyes seemed to slow instantly. The water droplets that had been shooting rapidly now flew slowly, clearly visible to the naked eye.

He extended a finger and lightly tapped one of the approaching water droplets. The droplet immediately burst open, turning into a stream that moistened his fingertip. He continued tapping, and the dozens of water droplets suspended before him all disappeared. Only then did Zhang Xuan breathe a sigh of relief, his eyes gleaming.

It was indeed worthy of being the Zhang Clan's bloodline, even more powerful than the Luo Clan's. Upon activation, it immediately displayed extraordinary capabilities. Without this power, he would surely have been wounded by the water droplets. But now, such extreme speed was no different from a snail in front of him, posing no threat.

"However, the consumption of vital blood is too great..." Although excited, Zhang Xuan shook his head helplessly at the rate of vital blood consumption. Just to break a few water droplets, he had instantly used nearly half a drop of vital blood... This meant that the three drops of blood, which the Zhang Clan had spent countless efforts to condense, would be completely gone after only six uses in a similar battle. Having experienced it firsthand, he felt it was far too wasteful.

With a thought, he recovered from the time-accelerated state, and the scene before his eyes returned to normal. Only then did he realize he was standing in a spacious hall. In the center of the hall was a massive pool of water, hundreds of meters in diameter, with water churning and boiling as if it were being cooked. He was just wondering how this pool could shoot out such rapid water droplets when he heard a violent roar from beneath the water. A strange object shot out from within, flying straight upwards. *Splash!* Water droplets splattered, scattering in all directions.