Chapter 721: Complete Version of the Red Dust Heaven-Walking Step

"One book for two eighth-stage Mortal Transformation inner cores?"

"If this truly works, we'll be rich..."

"Exactly! He only needs to look at them once; whether they're rare originals or not isn't important. Tomorrow, I'll copy some cultivation techniques from our sect's Bridge Heaven realm!"

"I'll go too!"

Hearing Zhang Xuan's promise, everyone became enthusiastic again. Many even swarmed around the two lucky individuals, eager to see what kind of cultivation techniques had caught Master Zhang's eye.

"Let's go!"

Ignoring the lively and excited crowd, he nodded to Master Hong, then leaped onto the beast's back once more and flew straight back.

Watching him depart on a beast while they were relegated to taking a ferry, everyone was filled with envy. There truly was a gap between people!

Senior Brother Feng and the young man, in particular, were on the verge of tears. They had originally come to sell their goods, but everyone was so captivated by Master Zhang that their items sat displayed all day, completely ignored—not a single person inquired or even glanced at them. They were so dejected they felt like spitting blood.

There was nothing they could do. Seeing Zhang Xuan and the others leave, they dejectedly took the ferry back to Scholar Sea, no longer daring to return. They were utterly crushed. After three consecutive disheartening experiences, they truly wondered if continuing would lead them to collapse and die there.

Back at his residence, he re-cultivated the Heaven's Path cultivation technique for the Spirit Unification realm, making his zhenqi purer and more stable. After that, he organized the technique and passed it on to his students.

Wang Ying also awoke from her breakthrough at this time, her body's turbid and clear energies having separated, leaving her full of vigor.

Seeing her take another step ahead, Zheng Yang, Liu Yang, and the others were all anxious to catch up.

The teacher had a total of six direct disciples. Zhao Ya and Lu Chong had already left, and now Yuan Tao had gone to a prominent family to receive his inheritance. If they didn't hurry up, they would truly be left behind and end up last!

Understanding their feelings, Zhang Xuan then provided detailed explanations, addressing each person's specific weaknesses.

By the time he finished all this, it was already past midnight.

After a night's sleep, Zhang Xuan went to the trade fair again the next day. This time, everyone had prepared many Bridge Heaven realm cultivation techniques, waiting to exchange them.

Just like yesterday, he casually selected one book to encourage their participation, while claiming the others were unsuitable, all the while secretly compiling them in his mind.

In less than two days, he had collected over seven hundred books. Although he still couldn't form a complete Heaven's Path cultivation technique, hope was already within reach.

After a full day of transactions, he again agreed to exchange three eighth-stage Mortal Transformation inner cores for a single book, which stirred another wave of excitement among the crowd.

Although the incentives he offered were significant, the number of Bridge Heaven realm cultivation techniques available was rapidly diminishing.

After all, most of these individuals were geniuses from second-tier empires. While the Bridge Heaven realm wasn't considered very high in first-tier empires, it was already nearing the peak in their own countries. Even if they possessed secret manuals, they wouldn't have many.

Consequently, after another full day of transactions on the third day, he only managed to collect fewer than two hundred books. With these two hundred plus the previous seven hundred, he was not far from a thousand.

A thousand books was merely a target range for success; if the techniques were sufficiently advanced, a few hundred could also combine to form a Heaven's Path cultivation technique. Just as he was about to gather these techniques and attempt to form one, he heard a slightly hopeful voice.

"I don't have a cultivation technique, but I do have a martial technique... Would that work?"

He looked up to see a young man gazing at him with an expectant expression. "I'm in urgent need of an eighth-stage Mortal Transformation spirit beast's inner core..."

"A martial technique?" Zhang Xuan was momentarily surprised. "What kind? Let me see it!"

"Alright!"

The young man flipped his wrist, and an ancient text, bound with bamboo slips, appeared in his palm. It looked incredibly old, its ancient appearance indicating countless years had passed.

"This is a movement technique, but... it's somewhat incomplete..." The young man sounded a bit embarrassed. He had accidentally obtained the book during a trial, initially believing it to be very valuable. However, the technique was incomplete, rendering it useless for cultivation. He urgently needed eighth-stage Mortal Transformation inner cores to refine medicine, so he hoped the exchange would work out. If not, there was nothing he could do.

"A movement technique?"

Hearing it was such a technique, and an incomplete one at that, Zhang Xuan hesitated for a moment before extending his finger. A secret manual then appeared in his mind.

He casually flipped it open, seeing four large characters: *Sky-Treading Movement Technique!* After quickly scanning the contents, Zhang Xuan couldn't help but shake his head.

This technique was very high-level and valuable, but unfortunately, as the young man said, it was incomplete. Even the Library of Heaven's Path couldn't restore it to its original state, making it unusable for cultivation. It was, simply put, an utter waste product! And he wanted to exchange this for his eighth-stage Mortal Transformation inner core? He was being overly optimistic!

Shaking his head, just as he was about to refuse, an idea suddenly popped into his mind.

"Wait, this Sky-Treading Movement Technique has many similarities with the Mortal Dust Stepping Heaven Art. Can they be merged?"

The Mortal Dust Stepping Heaven Art was a secret manual he had accidentally obtained earlier. After collecting and organizing many movement techniques, it allowed him to fly even before reaching the Saint realm. However, it also had significant flaws: it consumed an enormous amount of zhenqi, and could only be sustained by Heaven's Path zhenqi, not other types.

Up until now, he hadn't found a suitable movement technique manual to supplement those three flaws. Could this incomplete manual be the solution? The more he considered it, the more logical it seemed. With a thought, the two secret manuals were placed together.

"Correct!"

With a low exclamation, a flash of light, and a new book appeared. He hastily opened it; indeed, the two books had combined to form a new Mortal Dust Stepping Heaven Art.

"No more flaws?" After quickly scanning the contents of the book, Zhang Xuan's eyes lit up.

The Mortal Dust Stepping Heaven Art, now integrated with the incomplete Sky-Treading Movement Technique, was completely perfected, and its previous three flaws had vanished.

Cultivating according to the new technique, he could hover and fly for several hours without falling! This meant the flying ability of this secret manual was now comparable to that of a Saint, and he would no longer face the danger of falling from the sky at any moment as he had before!

"Excellent!" His eyes shone, and his fists involuntarily clenched. This was a great asset, significantly increasing his life-preserving ability.

"Other people's useless incomplete scrolls can actually help me fill in gaps and correct deficiencies. It seems that whenever I have the chance in the future, I should collect more of these..."

Suppressing the excitement in his heart, Zhang Xuan smiled slightly. This incomplete scroll would be useless in anyone else's hands, but for him, it could fill in missing parts and supplement the deficiencies of other cultivation techniques.

"Although this book is useless to me, since you so urgently need an eighth-stage Mortal Transformation inner core, and we are both master teachers, it's only right to support each other. Giving you one is perfectly fine!" In a great mood, he put the book into his storage ring and handed over an eighth-stage Mortal Transformation spirit beast's inner core. Just for allowing him to complete the Mortal Dust Stepping Heaven Art's Heaven-Reaching Scroll and eliminate its flaws, this incomplete scroll alone was worth an inner core.

"Thank you so much..." Having held no hope, the young man's face flushed with excitement when he realized the item was indeed accepted.

"Incomplete scrolls are also acceptable? I have two here..."

"I also have an incomplete cultivation technique..."

Seeing Master Zhang accept even incomplete scrolls and offer such a high price, the onlookers erupted in an uproar.

As time passed and traditions were handed down through generations, which sect didn't have dozens of incomplete scrolls? These items were considered waste in everyone's eyes, yet they could actually be exchanged for money... This fellow was truly too foolish!

In an instant, incomplete scrolls piled up on the ground again. Zhang Xuan's finger swiped, collecting them one by one. After a while, he couldn't help but shake his head. Incomplete scrolls could indeed supplement content, but there had to be a primary technique. Without the main cultivation technique, collecting more was useless.

After collecting for a while and obtaining many more techniques, he found them of little use, so Zhang Xuan stopped.

Returning to his residence, he instructed others not to disturb him, then, after a brief hesitation, began his seclusion.

"Let's see if I can form the Bridge Heaven realm cultivation technique!"

Sitting cross-legged in the room, Zhang Xuan's gaze sharpened. In the past few days, he had collected nearly a thousand Bridge Heaven realm cultivation techniques, and just now he had acquired many incomplete fragments. Perhaps he could successfully form the Heaven's Path cultivation technique.

Concentrating his mind, he made a mental murmur, and a book "whoosh!" appeared before him.

"Heaven's Path cultivation technique for the Bridge Heaven realm... no flaws!"

After flipping through it, Zhang Xuan laughed aloud.

He had thought he would only be able to collect a complete Bridge Heaven realm cultivation technique by going to the academy and spending academic credits. He hadn't expected to complete it ahead of time.

With the technique, he could smoothly cultivate to the Bridge Heaven realm, becoming a sixth-stage Mortal Transformation expert, and thus greatly increasing his strength!

"First, I'll practice the Mortal Dust Stepping Heaven Art!"

Setting the books aside, Zhang Xuan was not in a hurry. Instead, his eyes fell upon the now-flawless Mortal Dust Stepping Heaven Art.

He had already practiced this martial technique once, so cultivating it again would be much simpler.

As zhenqi circulated in his meridians, Zhang Xuan's entire aura became light and fluid, and his gaze grew deeper and more distant.

*Boom!*

After an unknown period, a bottleneck within his body suddenly shattered. He immediately felt as light as a swallow, like a mere feather. Zhang Xuan, who had been sitting cross-legged on the floor, floated up and drifted around the room.

"As expected of the flawless Mortal Dust Stepping Heaven Art, the zhenqi consumption is remarkably low..." Feeling the consumption of zhenqi in his body, Zhang Xuan's eyes lit up.

Previously, with this martial technique, zhenqi would drain like a flood whenever he flew, making him feel a sense of dread even with his recent diligent cultivation. But now, the zhenqi in his body flowed slowly, like a gentle countryside stream, with minimal consumption, easily sustainable for several hours of continuous flight.

Not only that, but his speed was also significantly faster than before. Although still far from the Purple-Winged Sky-Fiend Beast, it was in no way inferior to some fifth or sixth-stage Mortal Transformation flying spirit beasts! Moreover, as his cultivation increased, his flying speed would become even faster!

"Wait... can I integrate the Heaven's Path Movement Technique?" After flying for a while, just as he was about to land and rest, an idea emerged.

The Mortal Dust Stepping Heaven Art is a type of movement technique, and the Heaven's Path Movement Technique is also one. Although the latter is for running on the ground and the former is for flying in the sky, they both fall under movement techniques. Can they be integrated? Once integrated, what kind of power would they produce? Let's try!

Immersing his consciousness, he placed the two books together.

"Correct!"

A new book appeared.

"This..."

He casually flipped it open, and with a single glance, Zhang Xuan's eyes widened instantly.