Chapter 1756: Yuan Tao Attacks the Ancient Saint Realm

He looked at the girl in confusion, only to see a faint smile on her face, without any sign of surprise.

Relieved, Zhang Xuan continued watching as Yuan Tao's barrel-like body kept expanding, reaching seven or eight meters tall in less than a minute, looking as if he might explode at any moment.

"Whether he can withstand it depends on himself!"

Luo Ruoxi's voice rang out.

"Withstand?" Puzzled, Zhang Xuan was taken aback, then recalling something, his pupils contracted: "Could it be... that the imprint just now, after being struck into Yuan Tao's body, will be absorbed by him?"

The imprint just now had fallen from the platform and been driven into that fellow's body by him using Heavenly Dao true energy. He had thought it was only temporarily stored there—how could it be, from the girl's words, that it would be absorbed?

That was an imprint left by Confucius over years of teaching. Its energy might not be clearly powerful, but its understanding of cultivation and martial arts was absolutely maddening... This was evident from how the Hundred Schools of Thought had spent countless resources to obtain it.

So precious, if it could really be absorbed... the benefits would be even more terrifying than advancing to the Ancient Saint realm!

"Houtu Qilin was a beast pet once tamed by Confucius, and also the formation core guarding a world. It shares the same lineage as this imprint. Its blood merges perfectly with the Dragon Rhinoceros bloodline, so the imprint won't resist... You've done what you needed to do. What achievements he can attain depends on himself."

Luo Ruoxi smiled faintly.

Realizing it was indeed as he had guessed, Zhang Xuan swallowed hard, his throat dry.

The imprint left by Confucius—anyone else would have enshrined it, not daring to overstep. But this one directly schemed to have Yuan Tao devour it... The thought alone was maddening!

Earlier, he had thought she might be a strong figure from the Hundred Schools of Thought, but now it seemed she definitely had no connection.

Otherwise, she would never do such a thing.

"Spit it out!"

At this moment, Yan Xue and the others finally understood what had happened, and they were about to explode.

They had exhausted their efforts, aiming to take away this platform and the imprint, never dreaming... that someone would swallow it!

Whoosh!

Unable to contain himself any longer, Yan Xue moved, thrusting his longsword straight forward.

Sword aura like a dragon, the air hummed softly.

Though he appeared young, he too had comprehended the true essence of the sword, and at least two types!

"Hmph!"

Seeing that this fellow, who had just been protecting Yuan Tao, now struck out, Zhang Xuan raised an eyebrow, slapped his Dragon Bone Divine Spear, and transformed into a meteor, appearing behind his student. He raised his arm, the spear tip level with the air.

Having reached the Great Perfection of the Heart's Blood Surge realm, his strength had increased again. Facing the Great Perfection of the Immortality realm, he was not at a disadvantage.

Clang clang clang clang!

The spear tip and the opponent's sword tip clashed repeatedly, producing a series of collisions. The air waves pressed outward, and the surrounding space seemed unable to bear it, cracking into dark fissures.

"Zhang Xuan, do you know what you're doing? Without the suppression of the Master's imprint, the entire Confucian Temple loses its sealing power. Time and space may become chaotic, and we will be forever stranded in the time-space passage, unable to return to reality!"

Gritting his teeth, Yan Xue shouted while attacking.

"Since you know the consequences, why did you send my student to seize the Master's imprint?" Unmoved, Zhang Xuan countered while fighting back.

They were the ones who struck first to seize it, yet now they blamed him. Were the Hundred Schools of Thought so lacking in responsibility?

"We seized it, but for another purpose..." Before Yan Xue could finish, a powerful aura swept in like a tidal wave, abruptly interrupting their attacks.

Swish swish swish!

Both flew backward, breaking away from the battle circle.

Heavenly Dao True Qi circulated once, healing his injuries. Zhang Xuan quickly stood up and looked toward the center of the wave. There, Yuan Tao had grown over ten meters tall, standing like a giant, his head touching the sky and feet on the ground.

Whoosh!

Looking up to the sky and roaring, he swallowed the Dragon Rhinoceros phantom above his head into his belly. Immediately, his aura surged, rising step by step.

Seeing the divine, not bad at the middle stage, late stage, peak, perfection, and great perfection!

Golden Body realm: early stage, middle stage, late stage, peak, perfection, and great perfection!

A sudden flash of inspiration...

In the blink of an eye, he had reached the great perfection of the Immortal realm!

Even so, his power continued to rise without ceasing, as if it would never stop.

"Could he be about to directly assault the Ancient Sage realm?"

His pupils contracted, and Zhang Xuan clenched his fists.

He hadn't expected Yuan Tao's fortune to be so great, far surpassing Zhao Ya and the others, possibly directly assaulting the Ancient Sage level.

"The power needed for the Ancient Sage is too immense; his accumulation is too low, he probably can't do it... Moreover, he needs the power of an Ancient Sage, which isn't here..."

At some point, Luo Ruoxi had come to his side again, her gaze distant.

"It's not here, but I have it!"

Knowing that his student was about to break through, Zhang Xuan didn't hesitate. With a flick of his finger, a jade bottle flew out.

Sizzle!

As it approached, the bottle cap opened, and pure, mighty power poured down, enveloping Yuan Tao in an instant.

Blood of an Ancient Sage!

Having ambushed and injured the Ancient Sage of the Hundred Schools of Thought, he had obtained a good amount of blood, which now could be used for him.

At the same time, the Spring and Autumn Diagram opened, and the aura of the Ancient Sage also frantically poured into the latter's body.

Crack!

With the supply of these two items, Yuan Tao's body, which had been on the verge of exploding, seemed to break through a bottleneck, and his power surged once again.

With every move he made, it seemed as if thunderclouds were churning, and space itself was torn into cracks.

Boom!

The heavenly tribulation appeared.

Heavenly fire and thunderbolts fell incessantly, like a torrential rain.

Yan Xue and the others, who had earlier wanted him to spit out the brand, no longer dared to approach.

This was already the calamity of advancing to an Ancient Saint; with their strength, if they truly got close, they would surely die.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

The heavenly fire scorched without cease, the thunderbolts tempered without pause. Yuan Tao's towering figure grew increasingly solid, shrinking from over ten meters tall back to the size of an ordinary person.

With every movement, it seemed as if thunder and lightning swirled around his body, and even space could not withstand it.

"The Ancient Saint blood... is completely consumed!"

Soon, Yuan Tao's ascending power came to a halt. He wanted to cross that final threshold, but the energy was insufficient.

The power needed to advance to an Ancient Saint was truly immense. Although Zhang Xuan had some Ancient Saint blood, it was still somewhat lacking to allow Yuan Tao to truly break through.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

The force of the冲击 weakened, and the heavenly tribulation in the sky, seemingly without opposition, also began to slowly dissipate.

The opportunity to冲击 the Ancient Saint realm was rare and hard to come by. Once failed, the next attempt would be years away, and might never be found again... Most critically, if the first attempt failed, the difficulty of the second would increase by at least double!

In other words, if this attempt failed, success in the next would be nearly impossible.

Simply because of insufficient energy, such a situation occurred... What a pity.

"Could it be... that all efforts will be wasted?"

Zhang Xuan's face turned ashen.