Chapter 1564: Surge in Prowess

"I see!"

All of Zhang Xuan's doubts were finally resolved.

It was no wonder his previous self would end up in somewhere as remote as the Tianxuan Kingdom, living a pitiful life as an orphan. Even when he finally breathed his last, he was still a nobody, devoid of anyone's care and concern.

Even though he was not too sure how his bloodline had been torn out of his body, it was bound to be at least as deadly as back when all of Zhao Ya's meridians ruptured. If not for his previous self's superior physical resilience as a Connate Saint, as well as the Zhang Clan's vast resources, he could very well have died back then.

Wait a moment... Something is wrong! If the Innate Fetal Poison was an intentional doing by the Zhang Clan, why would Kong shi be afflicted with the Innate Fetal Poison, too? Zhang Xuan frowned.

Kong shi's body had been afflicted with the Innate Fetal Poison; this was something that he had just verified earlier. However, in Kong shi's era, it was still possible for cultivators to become Ancient Sages. Surely there was no need for anyone to go to the extent of tearing his bloodline out of his body?

With such thoughts in mind, Zhang Xuan hurriedly asked, "May I know what form the poison that you mentioned comes in? Also, what kind of effect does it have on one's body?"

"The Innate Fetal Poison can be used to substitute one's bloodline, thus allowing one's bodily functions to continue as per usual in the short term. However, the poison places an immense strain on the body, such that a person afflicted with it will usually die before stepping into their twenties if they haven't found a way to cure or suppress it by then!"

Speaking up to this point, Sword Saint Xing looked at Zhang Xuan and said, "You are already in your early twenties, and you have successfully raised your cultivation beyond the Saint realm. From the looks of it, you should have already resolved the Innate Fetal Poison, right?"

One of his son's students happened to be the master of the Poison Hall, so he was bound to have a deep understanding of poison as well. Furthermore, his son did not look sickly or debilitated in the least, so he assumed that his son had already cured himself.

"This... Yes, I have already resolved it!" Not wanting his father to overthink this matter, Zhang Xuan nodded.

Earlier, his father had said that the Innate Fetal Poison would kill its host within twenty years, so it was very likely that his previous self had died from the Innate Fetal Poison. But now, he was starting to wonder if the poison that he was afflicted with was the same Innate Fetal Poison that his previous self had died from.

From the sound of it, the Innate Fetal Poison that had been planted into him back then was not too formidable, given how unworried his father was about the matter. However, when he spoke to Kong shi a while ago, the latter had said that the true problem would come after the Innate Fetal Poison was cured.

Could it be that the appearance of the Library of Heaven's Path had caused some kind of unpredictable change to the Innate Fetal Poison?

However, that was no longer important. What was most important was for him to raise his cultivation swiftly and become a 9-star master teacher as soon as possible.

Noticing the dazed look on Zhang Xuan's face, he thought that the latter was just a little overwhelmed by the news that he had just heard and needed some time to digest all that shocking information.

Thus, Sword Saint Xing said with a smile, "Alright! You should be exhausted from all the information that you have just received, so let's stop here for tonight. Rest well. Tomorrow, we'll be bringing you to the Ancestral Hall to pay respects to your ancestors and hold the inauguration ceremony to officialize your position as the clan head. After that, we'll be heading over to the Luo Clan to ask for your little lover's hand in marriage!"

"Un!" Zhang Xuan nodded.

He had not even realized it himself earlier, but he was indeed feeling a little drained at the moment.

He had already been feeling a little sapped back when the power from the Pavilion Master Seal's droplet receded from him, but due to the many matters that he had to deal with, he had been left with no choice but to hold on till now.

Thus, the two of them walked out of the passageway, and right before they parted, Zhang Xuan suddenly turned to Sword Saint Xing and asked, "Sword Saint Xing, do you have any pinnacle spirit stones or items rich in spiritual energy on hand? I want to reinforce my cultivation and try pushing for a breakthrough if possible!"

While he had already recognized the middle-aged man before him as his father, he still found it a little difficult for him to address the other party as 'father'.

On the other hand, Sword Saint Xing knew that he had been absent for most of his son's life, so it was understandable that it would be hard for his son to accept him all of a sudden. He was a little disappointed by the matter, but he knew that this was a problem that could only be slowly resolved with time.

Thus, he smiled and said, "You wish to reinforce your cultivation? I don't have too many pinnacle spirit stones with me at the moment, only around two thousand of them. You can use them for now... I do have quite a few items that are rich in spiritual energy, too. These ten jade bottles here each have a grade-9 pill in them, and they are fantastic for replenishing depleted energy... Right, I also have two gourds of Earth Vein Marrow Essence over here, and they are fairly great too. Oh, I also have two Whitescar Spirit Stones here. I obtained them during a mission a while ago. They can aid you in the advancement of your cultivation..."

As Sword Saint Xing spoke, he took out object after object from his storage ring.

"This..." Zhang Xuan's lips twitched.

All along, he had thought that he could be considered fairly rich, but compared to Sword Saint Xing, he was really as good as a beggar!

Two thousand pinnacle spirit stones, ten grade-9 pills, two gourds of Earth Vein Marrow Essence... Any single one of those items was worth more than his entire fortune!

It was no wonder everyone admired those who were born in large clans. Just the amount of resources that they had access to was something that unaffiliated cultivators would never be able to compare to.

If he had possessed these resources back when he was still in the Tianxuan Kingdom, he might already have become an Ancient Sage by now!

Noticing that his son was standing quietly on the spot, Sword Saint Xing thought that his son was snubbing him for the meager wealth that he possessed, so he quickly clarified with an awkward look on his face, "This is just my private stash. If it isn't enough, you can ask for more from your mother. She has many more good items than me..."

"No no no, this is more than enough!" Zhang Xuan shook his head in horror.

In the end, this was only his private stash...

It seemed like having parents was not too bad after all. At the very least, he did not have to worry about a lack of resources in his future cultivation anymore!

"That's a relief! We have always kept your residence empty in case you ever returned. Come, let me show you there..." After Zhang Xuan stowed the items into his storage ring, Sword Saint Xing quickly led the way forward.

Before his son was even born, he had specially ordered that a residence be constructed for him. Things did not go as planned, but Sword Saint Xing never allowed anyone to move into the residence. Perhaps with the hope that their son would return one day, they had the servants clean the residence every day, but they never allowed anyone to stay there.

Since his son had finally returned, it went without saying that he should stay in that residence.

Before long, the two men arrived in a relatively large residence.

As soon as Zhang Xuan walked in, he immediately felt rich spiritual energy shrouding him, revitalizing him. He scanned the residence with his gaze, and he had to admit that he was rather satisfied with the accommodation.

Thus, he clasped his fist and said, "Alright, I'll be taking my rest then..."

Knowing that his son was bound to be exhausted after his long day, Sword Saint Xing patted his shoulder before walking out.

Zhang Xuan walked Sword Saint Xing out before walking around the residence to find the spot with the highest concentration of spiritual energy. After which, he took out his pinnacle spirit stones and began recovering his depleted energy.

After recuperating for roughly four hours, he finally recovered to his peak condition, and he felt reinvigorated once more.

It's about time to push for a breakthrough... Zhang Xuan thought excitedly.

The Master Teacher Pavilion had not sent over the Saint 9-dan cultivation technique manuals yet, but from the thousands of books that he had collected from the 9-star master teachers, he had managed to successfully compile the Saint 8-dan Heaven's Path Divine Art.

Immersing his consciousness into the Library of Heaven's Path, he placed his finger on the compiled Heaven's Path Divine Art manual, and the content of the book swiftly flowed into his mind, becoming his knowledge.

Upon reaching Saint 8-dan Dimension Sundering realm, a cultivator would be able to create isolated spaces from the rest of the world through their Dominion.

Zhang Xuan drove his zhenqi according to the circulation pathway in the Heaven's Path Divine Art, and his cultivation and strength slowly rose.

Within two hours, he had already reached Dimension Sundering realm pinnacle, on the verge of making a breakthrough to the Macrocosm Ascendancy realm.

Knowing that pushing for a breakthrough would draw in the Macrocosm Ascendancy Ordeal, and that would potentially cause devastating damage to the Zhang Clan, he suppressed the sensation and turned his attention to his soul cultivation instead.

Previously, through Vicious' memories, he had managed to obtain soul cultivation techniques up to Saint 9-dan, but he had not been able to find suitable soul-related books to compile together with it to form Heaven's Path Soul Art manuals. However, when he met Lu Chong earlier, he had managed to obtain the soul cultivation techniques of the soul oracles from him, and that had allowed him to compile Heaven's Path Soul Art manuals all the way up to Saint 9-dan.

Since he had ample spirit stones in hand, it was a good opportunity for him to raise his soul cultivation all the way up to Saint 9-dan.