Chapter 2176: Undying Heaven

An hour later, Zhang Xuan walked out of the library.

As expected of the Imperial City Master Teacher Hall. Although it seemed unassuming and its profession was far less glamorous than that of the Master Teacher Continent, resembling more of a second-hand training center, the books within were genuinely extensive.

It contained cultivation techniques and martial arts ranging from low-grade Gods to high-grade Heavenly Gods, and their sheer volume allowed him to naturally generate a complete Heaven's Path cultivation technique after reviewing them all.

Unfortunately, there were no cultivation methods for God Kings.

It was understandable; every God King possessed extremely high status, ranking among the strongest in the God Realm. Their cultivation techniques were often closely tied to their bloodline, passed down within families or major powers, making it nearly impossible for outsiders to acquire them.

"Breaking through to God King is still a long way off, likely taking several days. I won't worry about that for now. First, I need to thoroughly consolidate my current cultivation and then find a way to reach the peak of high-grade Heavenly God."

Knowing that cultivation required a steady, step-by-step approach and could not be rushed, Zhang Xuan stopped dwelling on it. Although his cultivation was slow now, he was persistently working at it. As long as he remained determined, he was confident he could go far, without self-doubt or confusion.

"First, I need to get some mid-grade Divine Yuan Pills, or even better, high-grade ones!" Everything else was secondary; improving his cultivation was paramount.

After breaking through to the Heavenly God realm, his mid-grade Divine Yuan Pills were depleted, and his cultivation wasn't thoroughly consolidated. Advancing solely by absorbing spiritual energy from the air would take an unknown amount of time, which was far too slow for him. Moreover, mid-grade pills were no longer as effective for him. After becoming a Heavenly God, their medicinal potency gradually diminished, and soon they would become useless, just like the low-grade ones. High-grade pills would be ideal, but he had no idea where to acquire them.

"Mingyuan Trading Post, not far from here, sells mid-grade Divine Yuan Pills. As for high-grade ones, they are contraband in the Imperial City, making them very difficult to purchase," Teacher Fan Zhe explained openly.

Phantom Imperial City was one of the largest cities within the Nine Heavens. Its capacity for trade naturally surpassed that of smaller places like Nightfall City. Mid-grade Divine Yuan Pills, which were unobtainable in Nightfall City, were readily available here in large quantities. Since mid-grade Divine Yuan Pills were effective for Heavenly God experts, and such experts were incredibly numerous in the Imperial City, prohibiting their sale would easily cause resentment. Acquiring high-grade Divine Yuan Pills, however, was not so easy. Still, the mid-grade pills hadn't reached their limit for him yet, so he decided to try them first.

Politically declining Teacher Fan Zhe's invitation to stay for a meal, Zhang Xuan and Sun Qiang headed towards the nearby trading post. With over forty thousand Divine Coins in hand, they should be able to purchase a significant amount.

Soon, Sun Qiang approached with a smile, handing over a storage ring. Zhang Xuan glanced inside and saw nearly four hundred pills. Normally, one mid-grade Divine Yuan Pill cost one hundred Divine Coins. However, because their quantity was not as abundant as low-grade pills and they were buying in bulk, the price was slightly inflated.

"Young Master, should we rent a quiet room so you can take the pills and cultivate in peace?" Sun Qiang asked as he handed over the medicine.

"A quiet room?" Zhang Xuan shook his head. "No need. We don't have much money left, so let's save it!"

"Then shall we return to our residence?" Sun Qiang asked, puzzled. The Young Master was so dedicated to cultivation that Sun Qiang had expected him to start immediately after getting the pills. He was surprised Zhang Xuan was thinking of saving money and returning, as cultivating there, while possible, would undoubtedly waste a lot of time.

"Of course not. Just a moment," Zhang Xuan said with a slight smile. He took out the newly purchased mid-grade Divine Yuan Pills and poured them into his mouth bottle by bottle.

In the blink of an eye, he had emptied over a dozen bottles, more than a hundred pills. Sun Qiang was still confused when he saw the Young Master's recently broken-through cultivation visibly increase: low-grade Heavenly God initial stage, low-grade Heavenly God mid-stage... In less than two breaths, he reached the peak of low-grade Heavenly God.

After swallowing another bottle of pills, Zhang Xuan stopped, shaking his head helplessly. "It seems faster than I imagined." He had thought that mid-grade Divine Yuan Pills could help him break through to at least mid-grade or high-grade Heavenly God, but it seemed he had overestimated them. He had only just accumulated enough cultivation to reach the peak of low-grade Heavenly God before it stopped having any effect.

It was no wonder. When he cultivated the Heaven's Path Divine Art, his internal energy was already pure, making ordinary spirit stones and immortal essence pills less effective. Now that he was cultivating the Heaven's Emotion Divine Art, which transcended the Heaven's Path, it naturally had even higher requirements for the purity and reserve of spiritual energy! Clearly, ordinary mid-grade Divine Yuan Pills had completely lost their effect. Perhaps only high-grade Divine Yuan Pills, which even God Kings could take, could provide the necessary stimulation to push him into a higher realm.

"However, just like with low-grade Gods, if I want to reach a higher cultivation level, my soul and physical body must not lag behind." In the Heavenly God realm, one could control a portion of the world's power, so the physical body and soul necessarily needed to be strengthened in sync. Otherwise, the pressure feedback from the heavens and earth during combat would be unbearable, leading to an immediate collapse.

The books in the Master Teacher Hall had recorded many cultivation techniques and martial arts for improving cultivation, but none for the soul or physical body. To advance, he would have to find other methods.

His cultivation and these thoughts combined took no more than three breaths. Recovering, he looked up and saw Sun Qiang staring with wide, disbelieving eyes.

"Young Master, have you already finished cultivating?" The Young Master cultivated quickly, at an enviable and even jealous pace, but why was he even faster after arriving in the God Realm? Previously, he still needed to seclude himself, even if only for an hour or two. Now, it seemed completely unnecessary. It felt as if his breakthrough speed was only limited by how quickly he could consume the pills; as long as he ate them fast enough, his breakthroughs could keep up! Could it be that the God Realm was different from the Lower Realms? Did one need to swallow pills rapidly to advance faster?

Resting his hand on his chin, Sun Qiang conceived a bold plan.

Zhang Xuan didn't explain. Instead, he asked, "While I was cultivating, did you inquire about any cultivation techniques or treasures for enhancing the physical body?"

Sun Qiang's eyebrow twitched; he felt like screaming. "You cultivated for a grand total of two or three breaths! What was I supposed to inquire about? If anyone heard that, they'd think I wasn't doing anything..."

"I'll go now," Sun Qiang said, looking depressed. Just as the words left his mouth, he suddenly remembered something: "Oh, Young Master, that Zhuo Feng has been following us, saying he wants to repay you. As a general of the Phantom Imperial City and a mid-grade Heavenly God expert, he should know a lot about body tempering!"

Zhuo Feng was the silver-armored general, a person of esteemed status, and certainly more reliable than an outsider like himself for gathering information. After all, the Young Master's strength had already broken through to the Heavenly God realm, and there would undoubtedly be fewer and fewer avenues to inquire about cultivation methods for such a high level.

"Let him in!" Zhang Xuan said.

A short while later, Zhuo Feng arrived. "Teacher Zhang!" The man before him had not only saved his son but also helped him achieve a breakthrough, giving him hope. The immense gratitude made it impossible for him to simply leave without repaying the favor.

"Yes, I want to ask you something," Zhang Xuan said.

"Please, Teacher Zhang!"

Zhang Xuan said, "I wish to train my physical body and temper my soul. Do you know of any methods or avenues for this? If you do, and they are reliable, then our debt of gratitude will be considered settled, and neither of us will owe the other anything!"

"This..." Zhuo Feng hesitated, not expecting such a simple request. "There are various methods for body tempering in the God Realm, and I know some, but they are mostly for Gods to cultivate. For the Heavenly God realm, I do know one place, but the other party may not agree!"

"Oh?"

"The best place for body tempering is the Undying Lava Pool! It not only has indestructible lava but also spiritual energy that allows for rapid recovery. It's the most suitable place for tempering the physical body. However, the Undying Lava Pool suddenly extinguished forty years ago. Undying Emperor, that senior, never bothered to repair it, so it has remained in its current state."

"Undying Emperor?" Zhang Xuan's heart skipped a beat. "One of the Nine Emperors?"

In the Sky's Trapped City, he had once seen the tombstone of this Undying Emperor. At the time, not understanding the ranks and divisions of Gods, he had thought it was just an ordinary deity and hadn't paid it much mind. Now, hearing the name from Zhuo Feng's mouth, he couldn't help but ask. The Nine Emperors of the Nine Heavens were the strongest in the God Realm, unmatched by anyone. Even if one saw their tombstone, it was hard to believe they were truly dead.

"Indeed!" Zhuo Feng nodded. "However, he's a low-key individual and hasn't appeared or been heard from in decades!"

"Decades?" Zhang Xuan frowned. "Didn't Emperor Tianzong once spar with him?"

"They did spar, but no one knows where the battle took place or if it truly happened. I heard a rumor that Emperor Tianzong went to challenge him, but Undying Emperor conceded without even meeting him. Forget it, it's best not to discuss matters involving Emperors!" Zhuo Feng lowered his voice and sent a private transmission. If not for the man before him being the benefactor who saved his son, he certainly wouldn't have said so much. Such information wasn't widely circulated among the public, but as a mid-grade Heavenly God in a high position, he had heard some rumors.

"'Conceded without even meeting'..." Zhang Xuan froze. He had initially thought the Undying Emperor's tombstone he saw in Trapped City might be fake, but hearing this, he found himself more than half convinced. Even an Emperor could die? And an Emperor renowned as "Undying"? Decades ago, the spiritual energy of the God Realm receded, leaving only the cities, and Undying Emperor vanished... What exactly happened?

"This Undying Emperor you speak of, which of the Nine Heavens does he control?" Zhang Xuan couldn't help but ask. He had heard detailed descriptions of the Nine Heavens and read related books, knowing about several Great Emperors, but wasn't sure which power this one belonged to.

"Undying Emperor controls Spirit Source Heaven, also known as Undying Heaven. It borders Phantom Heaven, located in the true south of the God Realm! It contains five rivers and three marshes, its scope unknown. I was once fortunate enough to visit Spirit Source Imperial City, but unfortunately, I only explored outside the main city. I heard the main city itself is very prosperous, but I don't know the specifics. It seems that decades ago, it was taken away by Undying Emperor."

Zhang Xuan was enlightened. He had known about Spirit Source Heaven before, but he hadn't realized it was the very power controlled by the Undying Emperor, or what was called Undying Heaven. If he had known it was called Undying Heaven earlier, he would have certainly connected it to the Undying Emperor long ago.