Library of Heaven's Path

A short moment after Yang shi left the Blacksmith Guild, he suddenly widened his eyes as a thought surfaced in his mind.

How could I have forgotten about the matter concerning Sword Saint Xing and Sword Saint Meng?

Sword Saint Meng had always thought of his senior as her son, and that was also one of the matters that Yang shi had sought to verify. However, the revelation that the other party was a Celestial Master Teacher had left him deeply shocked, and following that, he had been too deeply immersed in the ingenuity behind the other party's meridian reconstruction technique. As a result, that matter had completely slipped his mind.

If it had been anyone else, given his eye of discernment, he would have been able to tell with a single look. However, his senior's Soul Depth was far higher than his, and he also had the ability to morph his physical body freely. It was difficult for him to discern his senior's original appearance, let alone determine the origin of his birth.

Yang shi shook his head as he continued heading forward.

Forget it! Sword Saint Xing and Sword Saint Meng should be in the Glacier Plain Court at the moment. I'll just have to discreetly inform them of the matter and have them head over to take a look. Considering their blood ties, it should be easier for them to recognize him!

While he did know quite a few things surrounding the young prodigy, it would still be best to have his own parents verify his identity. Since that was the case, he would just leave this matter to them.

They were not very far away anyhow.

…

Shortly after Yang shi left, Zhang Xuan heaved a sigh of relief.

To be honest, it had been quite stressful for him to be standing before the man whom he had impersonated for so long. It was fortunate that the other party bore no malice toward him and was deferential to his identity as the Celestial Master Teacher. Otherwise, this matter might not have been able to be resolved so peacefully.

Seeing that his surroundings were finally quiet, Zhang Xuan exhaled deeply as a gleam surfaced in his eyes. "Alright, I should get to the real deal now…"

The new meridian network that he was going to reconstruct within Zhao Ya was simply too shocking, so he did not dare showcase it before Yang shi. On top of that, he was not too sure how it would turn out. As such, he had only focused on building up the foundations and reconstructing the parts that still bore some resemblance to that of the human meridian network, avoiding the portions where the meridian network had changed as far as he could.

But now that Yang shi had finally left, there was no need for him to hold back.

"Zhao Ya, from this point onward, I'll be paving open new meridians in areas where you didn't have meridians before, so the pain that you will be placed in will be ten times more excruciating than before. You must hold on and maintain your consciousness no matter what happens, understood?"

Knowing that the process would be unbearable for Zhao Ya, Zhang Xuan warned her grimly to allow her to prepare herself mentally for what was to come.

The new meridian network would differ greatly from the Eight Mystic Meridians that was within a human's body, so there was no choice but for him to forcefully forge a way forward through unpaved terrain. The pain resulting from that would be as good as having a weapon stabbed into one's body and twisted around, and the worst part was that the weapon would be inching forward bit by bit.

This was a pain that even the toughest of cultivators would find hard to endure.

However, this was a necessary process in order to reconstruct her meridians, and even with his Heaven's Path zhenqi, there was not much that he could do to alleviate her pain. He could only pray that she would be able to grit her teeth and persevere to the end.

"Teacher, I understand. Rest assured, I'll surely pull through!" Zhao Ya replied resolutely.

As the vine slowly unfolded throughout her body, she could feel the changes in her body, and the hope for recovery was beginning to blossom in her. Not only so, she could sense that as long as she could pull through this ordeal, she would be able to push for a breakthrough directly. With her newfound power, she might just be able to help her teacher out of the current quandary that he was in.

Thus, no matter what, she had to hold on. It was not just for her but for her teacher as well!

"Good!" Hearing the resolve in Zhao Ya's voice, Zhang Xuan was reassured.

He hesitated for a brief moment before flicking his fingers forward.

Tzzzzz!

Numerous surges of zhenqi swiftly shot forth in the form of thin threads, and they wrapped themselves around Zhao Ya as if creating a cocoon. They served to protect the vital acupoints and organs within Zhao Ya's body.

After that was done, he continued pushing the thin vine forward, hastening its speed as it paved its way through Zhao Ya's body.

The new meridian network compiled through the Library of Heaven's Path was pretty much flawless, but ultimately, he still had not tested it. Thus, he had no way of knowing what would happen to Zhao Ya's body as a result of the new meridian network. As such, he had taken every protective measure possible just to be safe.

By using his zhenqi to seal Zhao Ya's vital acupoints and organs, the moment that something went wrong, he could use his zhenqi to ward off any damage and heal her vitals at the same time, thus opening up the possibility for an emergency rescue. Otherwise, if he made a move only after something had happened, it would already be too late.

Huhuhu!

As the vine began making its way toward the unpaved regions, Zhang Xuan heightened his attention to keep a closer eye on things.

"Teacher…" the young lady moaned.

Her body was shivering intensely from the excruciating pain drilling through her body. It was at a scale far beyond what she had felt before. Even death had not left her as frightened as this!

If not for her sheer willpower pushing her on, she might have already fainted.

"Grit your teeth and hold on. The meridians here will be useful for your future cultivation!" Zhang Xuan bellowed.

"I-I will hold on!" Zhao Ya nodded feebly.

"Good!" Hearing that Zhao Ya could still respond to him, Zhang Xuan heaved a sigh of relief as he continued driving the vine forward.

Hong long!

As the vine finally pushed through a bottleneck, the aura emanating from Zhao Ya's body suddenly warped into a foreign form. It was tinged with sharpness and ferocity, reminiscent to the aura of a gladiator charging toward his enemy.

This aura pierced right into Zhang Xuan's soul, shaking him at his core.

"This is… the aura of an Otherworldly Demon?" Zhang Xuan narrowed his eyes in shock.

This aura was simply too familiar to him—it was something that only Otherworldly Demons should possess! He could emulate it using his Heaven's Path zhenqi, but even his emulation was not able to reach this level of purity.

It was as if Zhao Ya had suddenly turned into an Otherworldly Demon Emperor, possessing a bloodline that was even stronger than Vicious'.

"Could it be because of the involvement of the Otherworldly Demon's meridian network in the compiled meridian network?" Zhang Xuan's face turned livid.

The new meridian network that he was paving for Zhao Ya was compiled out of the books that detailed not only human meridian networks but those of saint beasts and Otherworldly Demons too. The area that the vine was paving open did not exist in the human meridian network, but it was present in the Otherworldly Demon meridian network.

Zhang Xuan thought that a similarity in meridian network should not mean anything at all, but contrary to his expectations, it actually caused the warping of her aura.

"Zhao Ya, how are you feeling right now?" Zhang Xuan asked nervously.

"I… am… fine…" Zhao Ya's voice was very soft and strained.

It seemed like she had to exert all of her strength in order to squeeze out those three words from her mouth.

Hearing that Zhao Ya was fine, Zhang Xuan heaved a sigh of relief. At the same time, he swiftly analyzed the situation before him.

"Otherworldly Demons do possess vastly different meridian networks compared to that of humans… Could the reason behind the difference in the level of existence between humans and the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe be due to the difference in their meridian network?"

Otherworldly Demons possessed strength equivalent to Transcendent Mortals at birth, and their lifespan was far longer than any human. As long as they were not killed due to some external event, they could easily live for tens of thousands of years… This was something that even Ancient Sage human cultivators were unable to achieve!

Just from that in itself, it could be seen that Otherworldly Demons were beings that were more biologically advanced than humans.

Just by altering Zhao Ya's meridians to resemble those of an Otherworldly Demon, her aura swiftly changed from that of a docile human to that of a ferocious Otherworldly Demon. Was that not evidence that it was the difference in meridian networks that resulted in the difference in the level of existence of the two races?

If that was the case… were humans able to accept the meridian network of the Otherworldly Demons?

If it was possible for the meridians of a human cultivator to be reconstructed in likeness of the Otherworldly Demons, and the method to do so was propagated throughout the Mater Teacher Continent, would the human race not grow far stronger and live far longer?

As this thought surfaced in Zhang Xuan's mind, he quickly established a mental connection with Vicious in the Book of Heaven's Path, and soon, he received his answer.

"Master, there's indeed a fundamental difference between the meridian networks of humans and Otherworldly Demons. However, I fear that there won't be too many of the vine you have in the world. Furthermore… you are probably the only person in the world who is able to save a cultivator whose meridians have collapsed properly. Even that Yang shi fellow from before wouldn't be able to pull something like that off."

Zhang Xuan shook his head and sighed. "I guess you're right…"

Indeed. He only had this single vine from the Dongxu Gourd, and judging from what Yang shi had said, it seemed like the vine in his possession was an anomaly as well. Furthermore, the only reason Zhao Ya was able to survive even after having all of her meridians shattered was due to Zhang Xuan spending an entire day infusing his Heaven's Path zhenqi into every single part of her body. Without either of those two, it would be impossible to replicate this miracle.

Besides, the utter collapse of meridians and the excruciating and lengthy reconstruction process… Honestly, this was not something that a normal cultivator could endure.

"It seems like it will be impossible to spread this procedure throughout the Master Teacher Continent…" Zhang Xuan shook his head in pity.

If humans could possess as much potential and as long a lifespan as the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe, Kong shi's goal of a strong mankind could very well be achieved. Even if the Master Teacher Pavilion ceased to exist, mankind would still wield the power to protect itself.

However, it was a pity that the vision would never come to be. Furthermore, it was still too early to tell whether the new meridian network would truly be beneficial or not. If Zhao Ya became as brutal and callous as the Otherworldly Demons as a result of the altered meridian network, then the creation of the new meridian network might not necessarily be a blessing for mankind. Until the results were conclusive, it was best to just wait and see.

"Continue!" Despite the risks of the new meridian network, Zhang Xuan knew that it was already too late to back out.

Thus, he continued driving the vine to pave a way forward in Zhao Ya's body, and slowly, the aura of the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe that the latter emanated grew stronger and stronger.

All of a sudden, a loud bellow echoed throughout the entire hall, causing even the roof to shudder. "Zhang Xuan, come out and accept your death!"

Si la!

Following which, the seal placed over the hall was torn apart by a powerful force.