Chapter 873: Thousand Hammer Soul Concentration Technique

"Primordial Qi Grand Formation?" Standing on the wall, looking at the courtyard, Zhang Xuan raised an eyebrow. "It's actually a Level 7 formation?"

Among the many courtyards in the Imperial Palace, this one was not the most spacious or the largest, but its formation was the most powerful, having reached Level 7. A formation of this caliber surpassed the scope of the Hongyuan Empire and was on par with those found in Conferred Empires.

"It seems this must be the most important place in the Imperial Palace; the Sacred Bodhi Tree must be inside!" His eyes glinted. According to Zhong Dingchun, the Sacred Bodhi Tree was the foundation upon which the Hongyuan Imperial Family was established. If that was the case, it would be heavily guarded, and this courtyard perfectly fit the description. Whether he could save Wei Ruyan depended on him going inside to see for himself.

"With my current strength, deciphering a Level 7 formation would take a great deal of effort!" His Eye of Insight swirled as he surveyed the area, and he couldn't help but shake his head. With his current ability, he could indeed break this formation, find its 'life gate,' and slip in unnoticed. However, even with the meticulous analysis of his Eye of Insight, it would still take one or two hours. Being in the Imperial Palace, where dangers lurked everywhere, he certainly didn't have that kind of time.

"There's no other way!" With a flick of his Soul Spirit, he snapped off a branch, controlled its trajectory, and hurled it straight into the courtyard. Like a stone dropped into a lake, the grand formation inside sensed the external impact. It immediately activated, emitting a series of clear chimes. Countless sword lights flashed, and the branch was instantly shredded to pieces. It was actually a powerful killing formation!

Ignoring the fate of the branch, Zhang Xuan's eyes gleamed like lightning. Seeing the formation activate, he quietly called out in his mind, "Flaws!" A formation that wasn't running, much like a person not executing a martial technique, couldn't be analyzed. Activating it allowed him to smoothly identify its weaknesses. A book appeared in his consciousness, which he quickly absorbed, giving him complete mastery over the grand formation. With a slight flicker of his body, he entered it, located the core, and kicked it. The active formation immediately ceased. Although his Soul Spirit was formless and immaterial, it could control objects based on his will and manifest forms. To stop the formation, he had to use his signature move: kicking it to break it! Zhang Xuan breathed a sigh of relief and flew into the courtyard.

The courtyard was spacious, not much different from other courtyards, except there wasn't a single person in sight, nor could he find the so-called Bodhi Tree. Only a few ancient stone tablets stood there. "Did I come to the wrong place?" Zhang Xuan frowned after looking around. According to Zhong Dingchun, the Sacred Bodhi Tree should be quite large. Yet, apart from some ordinary gardens, he hadn't seen any vegetation in the courtyard. Could it be... that the Yu Clan's most important item wasn't in the most heavily guarded part of the formation? What would be the point of setting up a Level 7 formation if this item wasn't here? To encompass these few stone tablets? Could it be that these stone tablets... were even more precious than the Bodhi Tree? Filled with doubt, he couldn't help but look closer.

The stone tablets were ancient, their age unknown, and they appeared somewhat damaged. Lines of large characters were carved upon them. These characters were not carved by calligraphers; they lacked that special artistic essence, and the strokes weren't even perfectly balanced. Yet, for some reason, a single glance would draw one's soul in, making it impossible to extricate oneself, as if they possessed a unique power. "Thousand Hammer Soul Condensing Art!" His eyes landed on the first stone tablet, and a line of large characters caught his attention. "It's a soul cultivation method?" Zhang Xuan's eyes lit up.

He had expected something else, never thinking it would be a soul cultivation art. Soul cultivation had always been the most difficult aspect of cultivation, especially after the profession of Soul Oracles was lost. Cultivators primarily focused on true qi, putting soul cultivators at a clear disadvantage, with few cultivation arts passed down. This was precisely why his Soul Spirit had remained at the peak of the Unity Realm, unable to advance further. Even his congenital fetal poison, which he previously couldn't suppress, remained. He had originally thought this courtyard would contain the Sacred Bodhi Tree, but unexpectedly, it held a method for soul cultivation! While this might not mean much to others, as it was extremely difficult to cultivate, it was a treasure to him. He had obtained the Soul Oracle cultivation arts for Transcendent Mortal 1st to 9th Dantian from Mo Hunsheng, but he hadn't found a suitable complementary soul cultivation method. Perhaps this 'Thousand Hammer Soul Tempering Art' could be of use.

"Flaws!" His gaze swept over the stone tablets, and a book appeared on the bookshelf. Being in the Imperial Palace, a dangerous place, he had no time to cultivate or even examine it in detail. He decided to record it first. With his prior experience of copying stone tablet inscriptions at the Conferred Sage Platform, wherever his gaze landed, the content on the stone tablets was imprinted into his mind exactly as it was, forming a book. Soon, he had recorded all the text from the several stone tablets. Only then did Zhang Xuan breathe a sigh of relief. Regardless of its usefulness, he would take it first. He could slowly study it once he had time back at his residence.

"Who's there?" Just as he finished recording and was about to leave the courtyard to continue his search, he heard a loud shout, followed by a powerful force attacking his Soul Spirit directly. "Damn it!" His expression darkened. His Soul Spirit moved, dodging the attack, and he hastily turned to see a middle-aged man glaring at him intently. Around forty years old, dressed in luxurious clothes, his aura was incredibly powerful, exuding a strong sense of oppression. His eyes, in particular, were like vortices, seemingly able to perceive his very presence.

"A powerful expert specializing in souls..." His pupils contracted. Seeing the man's appearance, he immediately knew that the man couldn't see him, but rather specialized in soul arts and could sense his presence. It was just like Wei Ranxue back then. It seemed that for someone to command the Hongyuan Empire and deter countless other empires and kingdoms from making a move, this Imperial Palace was indeed not as simple as he had imagined. Even a Soul Spirit couldn't freely enter and exit.

"How dare you trespass into the Imperial Palace!" As if sensing his observation, the middle-aged man let out a cold shout and attacked with a punch. A powerful force instantly surged towards him, having already reached the peak of Saint 1-dan. Such an expert was considered the most powerful at the Hongyuan Empire's level.

"Escape!" Knowing he was definitely no match, Zhang Xuan didn't dare hesitate. His body flickered, and he shot straight out of the courtyard. "Trying to escape? Is the Imperial Palace a place you can just come and go as you please?" Sensing the intruder trying to flee, the middle-aged man raised his eyebrows and clutched with a large hand. Boom! A massive palm print descended from the sky, sealing off all surrounding escape routes.

"Although he can't see me, he specializes in soul arts and can sense my presence... I can't escape; I might really be killed..." Zhang Xuan abruptly stopped, his expression grave, his entire body tensed. The severity of this crisis might be even greater than when he encountered Wei Ranxue. Wei Ranxue was a renowned master teacher from the academy, so she would always leave some leeway. However, the man before him attacked fiercely and mercilessly, seemingly intent on killing him. And rightly so, any unknown entity intruding into the Imperial Palace would likely unnerve anyone. He rapidly dodged, but the opponent's palm force was too profound, and he was still grazed, feeling a burning pain. He had already sustained a minor injury.

"No, I can't keep dodging like this; I'll definitely be caught!" Filled with anxiety, Zhang Xuan's heart didn't panic. Instead, he meticulously analyzed the current situation. His soul's power was only at the Unity Realm, far too different from the opponent's Saint 1-dan pinnacle. He simply couldn't evade him. Continuously dodging would only lead to him being beaten to death.

"Using the formation..." His eyes flashed, and Zhang Xuan instantly made a decision. Defeating the opponent with his current strength was certainly impossible. Now, he could only rely on the Primordial Qi Grand Formation in the courtyard. Through the Library of Heaven's Path, he already knew the formation's flaws and critical points. To escape, he could only utilize this. Thinking this, he didn't hesitate. His figure flickered, and he arrived at a formation node. At that very moment, the opponent's attack had already rained down upon him.

"Activate!" Without hesitation, he tapped his foot. Boom! The formation he had stopped moments ago instantly reactivated. A mist enveloped the middle-aged man in the blink of an eye. "Go!" Knowing that even if the opponent was familiar with formations, it would take some time for him to break out, Zhang Xuan dared not hesitate any longer. His spirit flickered, and he shot straight out of the courtyard, darting away.

"Damn it..." The middle-aged man clearly hadn't expected the intruder to be able to control the formation. He bellowed in rage. By the time he emerged from the formation, the figure had already vanished, no longer detectable. "What exactly was that?" Standing above the courtyard, looking at Zhang Xuan, who had disappeared without a trace, the middle-aged man's face turned ashen. While the content recorded on these stone tablets was profound and esoteric—something the intruder likely couldn't comprehend with a mere glance, so there was no worry of loss—the fact that someone could enter and exit the Imperial Palace as if no one was there and even control a Level 7 formation was simply too outrageous! If the formation in this courtyard hadn't activated and aroused his suspicion, prompting him to come and investigate, he wouldn't have discovered anything at all.

"It seems the Imperial Palace's security needs to be reinforced..." His eyes glinted. Not knowing whether the intruder was a Saint Beast or a human, the only solution was to strengthen the palace's defenses and kill the intruder directly if they appeared again.

"That was close!" After escaping the courtyard, Zhang Xuan dared not continue flying. Instead, with a thought, he slipped into a small courtyard nearby. His Eye of Insight could see through the formations of these courtyards, so he didn't worry about triggering them. After running wildly for several hundred meters, he finally evaded the opponent's spiritual search and couldn't help but sigh in relief. As expected of the Hongyuan Imperial Palace, there were indeed experts skilled in soul attacks. And rightly so; since the Bodhi Tree nourished the soul, the Imperial Family members' souls would naturally be powerful, so it wasn't surprising for them to possess some soul-based martial techniques. This made it quite difficult to freely search for the so-called Sacred Bodhi Tree within the Imperial Palace.

"After all this trouble for half the day, the banquet is probably about to start. I'll have to find another chance to come back!" Knowing that his actions had 'stirred the grass and alerted the snake,' places with the Bodhi Tree would undoubtedly have even tighter defenses. Even if he found it, he might get caught. After a moment of hesitation, Zhang Xuan decided to return first. Anyway, Wei Ruyan's condition was stable; she wouldn't be in mortal danger anytime soon, so there was no need to risk it.

With a thought, he once again perched on the eaves, looking at the dense, sprawling, and magnificent buildings around him. Zhang Xuan couldn't help but scratch his head. "Uhm... where was the banquet hall again?"