"You should understand why I asked you to come here with me alone. This matter must not leak out at any cost, or else it could stir a panic among the populace!"

Seeing that Wu shi had understood the severity of the issue, Zhang Xuan instructed, "Nevertheless, it's still of paramount importance that we uncover the traitors of mankind, or else they could bring catastrophe upon us. Thus, you must conduct the investigation privately and destroy whatever lingering influence the Qingtian Emperor has in the Qingyuan Empire Master Teacher Pavilion once and for all!"

"I understand!" Wu shi nodded.

He knew that Zhang Xuan was right. If they could not purge the Qingyuan Empire Master Teacher Pavilion of its spies, it would only be a matter of time before the spies did them in.

"I'll leave this corpse to you. When the envoy from the headquarters arrives, use it as evidence and report the matter to him," Zhang Xuan said.

It was true that the body of the Qingtian Emperor wielded incredible strength, but it was not as agile and nimble as being in his own body. As such, he did not think that there was a need for him to retain the Qingtian Emperor's body for his own use.

More importantly, a vice pavilion master was even involved in the matter. In view of that, it would not be convenient for him to use the body in public. As such, it was best to leave the matter to Wu shi.

"Thank you." Wu shi clasped his fist in gratitude before stowing the corpse into his storage ring.

To be honest, if not for the young man before him, he never would have believed that the meritorious Vice Pavilion Master Tian was the Emperor of the Qingtian Lineage!

"Alright, you should return back to the Master Teacher Pavilion to deal with the matter. I also want to take a rest," Zhang Xuan said.

Hearing those words, Wu shi bade his farewell before leaving.

After Wu shi left, Zhang Xuan swiftly stowed the altar before him into his storage ring. Following which, he took out the Qingtian Emperor's storage ring and extended his consciousness into it.

As the Emperor of the Qingtian Lineage, the Qingtian Emperor would have plenty of treasures in his possession.

Hu!

A painting materialized in Zhang Xuan's hands. It was the grade-8 painting that he had appraised a while back.

Placing the painting aside, he continued looking on.

A moment later, he delightfully took out a few jade boxes from the storage ring.

Slowly opening them, a concentrated surge of spiritual energy suddenly gushed into Zhang Xuan's face, leaving him feeling refreshed.

Concentrated high-tier spirit stones!

Six jade boxes with five concentrated high-tier spirit stones each That means there's a total of thirty of them here! Zhang Xuan thought in agitation.

He had only managed to obtain 18 concentrated high-tier spirit stones from the emperor of the Qingyuan Empire, and yet, who could have thought that the Qingtian Emperor would actually have thirty of them in his possession.

The Qingtian Lineage sure was wealthy!

With this thirty, I should be able to advance to the Embryonic Soul realm easily! Zhang Xuan heaved a sigh of relief.

Strength was the foundation he had to build up before he could pursue anything.

Only with sufficient strength would he be able to vie for the slot to the Sanctum of Sages, rise through the ranks, and gain the ability to negotiate on equal terms with the Zhang Clan and the Luo Clan.

Time was truly not on his side. He only had until the third month of next year.

He did not want to see his lover getting married to a 'so-called' talent of the Zhang Clan whom she had not even met before!

After obtaining the concentrated high-tier spirit stones, Zhang Xuan decided to leap straight into the Myriad Anthive Nest.

It was quieter within the nest, and he did not have to worry about being interrupted by anyone in there.

Crossing his legs, he placed the thirty concentrated high-tier spirit stones in front of him before muttering, "Time to start!"

Concentrating his focus on his soul, he moved his soul toward his Origin Core once more, and this time, he managed to successfully infuse his soul into the Origin Core without any problems.

At the same time, he swiftly devoured the spiritual energy contained within the concentrated high-tier spirit stones and channeled it through his meridians toward his Origin Core.

In order to reach the Embryonic Soul realm, he would have to fuse his soul and Origin Core together and morph it into the shape of an embryo. He had already compiled the cultivation technique required for the morphing process, and all that he had been lacking was spirit stones.

Driven with immense power, the massive congregation of spiritual energy crashed toward the Origin Core with astounding momentum.

Boom!

As the rate at which Zhang Xuan absorbed spiritual energy increased, a vortex of spiritual energy quickly formed around him. Under the massive impact from the crashing spiritual energy, a gap finally opened in his Origin Core.

A small hand slowly crept through the small gap in his Origin Core.

Knowing that this was the crucial period, Zhang Xuan's eyebrows shot up as he channeled all the spiritual energy he had absorbed toward his Origin Core at maximum speed. "Break!"

Sila!

The Origin Core finally broke open, and a small infant slowly climbed out from it.

This is an Embryonic Soul?

Seeing his Embryonic Soul, Zhang Xuan's lips could not help but twitch uncontrollably.

It was true that his Embryonic Soul did resemble a baby, similar to that of other cultivators, but his Embryonic Soul was ten meters tall!

Imagine a ten-meter-tall baby This was truly frightening!

An ominous feeling suddenly arose in Zhang Xuan's heart. This Just how much spiritual energy will I require to develop it into a Primordial Spirit

If his Embryonic Soul was this much bigger than that of the other cultivators, did it not mean that the spiritual energy he would require to achieve a breakthrough would surely be much greater others? Other cultivators might only require a single concentrated high-tier spirit stone to cultivate through the entire Embryonic Soul realm or even achieve a breakthrough to the Primordial Spirit realm.

But with the size of his Embryonic Soul, he really could not begin to imagine how many concentrated high-tier spirit stones he would require.

Sighing deeply, Zhang Xuan continued absorbing the spiritual energy within the concentrated high-tier spirit stones to raise his cultivation.

Some time later, when the final concentrated high-tier spirit stone broke, Zhang Xuan slowly opened his eyes and shook his head helplessly.

Embryonic Soul realm intermediate stage

He had thought that thirty concentrated high-tier spirit stone should suffice for him to reach Embryonic Soul realm pinnacle, but who would have thought that they were completely depleted by the time he reached Embryonic Soul realm intermediate stage?

Zhang Xuan rubbed his glabella in frustration. At this rate, I'll require at least fifty more concentrated high-tier spirit stone before I can reach Embryonic Soul realm pinnacle

Even finding a single concentrated high-tier spirit stone felt like finding a needle in a haystack. Where in the world was he supposed to find the fifty concentrated high-tier spirit stone required for him to reach Embryonic Soul realm pinnacle?

In the first place, it was doubtful that he could find so many concentrated high-tier spirit stones even if he flipped Qingyuan City upside down!

Sighing deeply once more, Zhang Xuan consoled himself. At the very least, despite the fearsome rate of depletion of spirit stones, my fighting prowess did rise proportionately to the consumption.

While it did pain his heart to see thirty concentrated high-tier spirit stones vanishing so swiftly, admittedly, he was still rather satisfied with the rise in his fighting prowess.

Previously, he would have struggled to be a match for Pavilion Master Gou, relying heavily on his superior combat skills and adept use of formations to achieve victory. However, with his newfound strength, he would be able to match even the Leaving Aperture realm Qingtian Emperor!

In other words, despite possessing only a cultivation of Embryonic Soul realm intermediate stage, he was already on par with a Leaving Aperture realm primary stage cultivator!

With such strength, it could be said that he had finally reached the peak of the Qingyuan Empire!

When he first arrived at Qingyuan City, he was only a Saint 1-dan pinnacle rookie, only able to match Saint 3-dan cultivators. Even Primordial Spirit realm cultivators would have been able to do him in easily. But now, even Hall Master Xing was not a match for him.

Ah, time sure flies

Just thinking of it evoked some reminiscence within him.

This should be the eighth day since I arrived in Qingyuan City, Zhang Xuan remarked internally as a slight tinge of redness slowly crept across his face.

Eight whole days, and yet, he had only advanced less than two realms. Zhang Xuan could not help but feel deeply ashamed of himself. It seemed like he really needed to work harder from now on.

Forget it. I should check on that fellow now.

Tossing aside his stifled feelings, Zhang Xuan tapped the area before him, and a soul appeared before his eyes.

At this moment, the Qingtian Emperor had already been ground down by the Heaven's Path zhenqi, retaining only half of his original strength. Severely wounded, he seemed to be spiritless and lethargic, reminiscent of a person on his deathbed.

Nevertheless, upon catching sight of Zhang Xuan, flames of hostility began burning in his eyes.

"You son of a bitch, I'll kill you!" Roaring furiously, the Qingtian Emperor charged forward to tear the young man before him apart. However, before he could even deal any damage, a single finger abruptly appeared before his eyes.

Padah!

The next moment, the Qingtian Emperor found himself firmly pressed down on the floor, unable to move at all no matter how hard he struggled.

"Y-y-you How can you be so strong?" The Qingtian Emperor narrowed his eyes in disbelief.

It was just a while ago that the other party had been no match for him at all. How could the other party have become so much stronger in the blink of an eye?

To be able to render him powerless with a single finger just what kind of cultivation realm had he reached?

Since he could not be bothered to waste his breath with the other party, Zhang Xuan got straight to business. "As an Otherworldly Demon, how did you manage to cross over to the Master Teacher Continent? How did you become acquainted with Vicious and inherit the heritage of the soul oracles? How many spies of yours are there in the Master Teacher Pavilion? Speak! I'll just say this once; I have plenty of time to play with you. Confess, and I'll consider giving you a painless death. Otherwise, I'll become your worst nightmare"

The reason he did not let Vicious swallow the Qingtian Emperor directly was because he wanted to find out these things from the other party's mouth.

"Hahaha!" Raising his head proudly, the Qingtian Emperor obstinately declared, "Do you think that I'll submit to human scum like you? Dream on! I am the Emperor of the Qingtian Lineage, death brings no fear to me"

However, before he could finish his words, a kick suddenly fell on his head, smashing it into the ground.

Following which, he heard the voice of the young man once more. "Vicious, as long as I retain his soul energy for your consumption, it won't matter if I kill his consciousness, right?"

"Very well, I won't stand on ceremony then."

Right after saying those words, the other party's palm rose up, and a surge of burning Heaven's Path zhenqi gathered in his grasp.

The palm gradually lowered toward the Qingtian Emperor, leaving him with a burning sensation that was intensifying by the moment.

The Qingtian Emperor tried to struggle free but to no avail. When the palm finally fell on his soul, a wretched scream escaped from his lips. "You AHHHH!"

He had been planning to grit his teeth and bear the torture until the very end, but in the very next moment, he saw the other party flicking his finger and pulling a thin thread from his soul.

The eyes of the Qingtian Emperor immediately widened in horror. "Soul Search!"

As a soul oracle, there was no way he would be unaware of the technique that Zhang Xuan was executing. Known to be one of the most violent techniques of the soul oracles, it would put the victim through excruciating pain and deal irreparable damage. Even if his soul did not dissipate at the end of the process, the chances were that he would have become mentally retarded.

For a person as proud and lofty as the Qingtian Emperor, the thought of living life mentally retarded was unacceptable to him, and it filled him with tremendous fear.

"I'll speak, I'll speak!" the Qingtian Emperor immediately exclaimed.

"I already gave you a chance earlier. It's too late now." Unwilling to waste his breath on the other party, Zhang Xuan forcefully tugged on the string and pulled it out.

Toward his enemies, he was not so patient and kind as to offer them second chances. It was only out of consideration of Vicious' needs that he had spared the Qingtian Emperor for so long. However, since Vicious did not require the latter's mind to be intact, there was no need for him to hesitate any longer.

At this point, he could tell that the other party's mental fortitude had already fallen, so he would be able to acquire whatever he needed through the Soul Search.

Tzzzzzzz!

After drawing out the other party's memory, Zhang Xuan began studying it carefully.

Two hours later, Zhang Xuan exhaled deeply before rubbing his glabella.

Through his Soul Search, he had already gained a thorough understanding of the ins and outs of the incident.

Around two thousand years ago, this Emperor of the Qingtian Lineage had unwittingly established a connection to Vicious' consciousness in the midst of a ritual.

Making use of that opportunity, Vicious had used a secret art that tapped into the energy from the tributes to teleport the Qingtian Emperor over and imparted the cultivation techniques of the soul oracles to him.

In order to infiltrate the higher ranks of the Master Teacher Pavilion, he had bid his time while kidnapping young infants who showed some talent for cultivation, intending to reincarnate his will within them.

This secret art was extremely complicated, and it would deal severe damage to one's soul as well.

Even tapping into Vicious' deep comprehension of souls, he could only afford to use the technique once every ten years. It had taken 120 attempts before he managed to succeed with Tian Qing.

As for why the Qingtian Emperor would go through so much trouble to infiltrate the higher ranks of the Master Teacher Pavilion personally, the reason was detailed in his memory as well.

"It's for Kong shi's 'Celestial Amulet of Legacy'!" Zhang Xuan muttered with a grim expression.