But.. I'm still too weak at the moment. If I could advance my physical body and soul cultivation a little more, at least to the point where I can match a Saint 7-dan cultivator, I would be able to overcome the lightning tribulation.

As complicated as the thought process was, it took only an instant for Zhang Xuan to come to realize all of it.

At this moment, the storm clouds were beginning to charge up energy once more after striking down Bi Hongyin.

After spurting several mouthfuls of blood and swallowing two pills, Bi Hongyin finally recovered slightly from her injuries. As soon as she regained her strength, she immediately directed an antagonistic glare toward Zhang Xuan.

It was to protect her formation plate that she offended such a powerful lightning tribulation, and yet.. that fellow actually destroyed her formation plate!

"I don't care whether you were invited here by Luo Xuanqing or not," Bi Hongyin roared furiously. "If I don't teach you a lesson today, my surname won't be.."

But before she could finish her words, the young man opposite to her interjected with a frosty face. "Shut your mouth!"

Zhang Xuan's voice was not too loud, but it was infused with the power of his demonic tunes and Impartation of Heaven's Will. It sounded loud and clear even amid the deafening rumbling of the thunder, and it left a lingering buzz in their ears.

"That Leaving Aperture realm lad actually told Bi Hongyin to shut her mouth?" The shorty nearly fell to the ground from shock.

Luo Xuanqing also widened his eyes in frenzy.

As the King of Destruction, he rampaged freely in the Sanctum of Sages, fearing not even the managerial elders. But before the Bi Hongyin, who would turn into a banshee whenever she got angry, he always made sure to watch his language and actions.

Yet, not only did that fellow destroy her formation plate, he even told her to shut her mouth.

Aren't you being a little too brazen?

"What did you say?" Bi Hongyin asked with a threatening edge to her voice.

The bulging, crimson eyes that glared at Zhang Xuan could truly send shivers down one's spine. If not for her charred face, she would have definitely been extremely frightening.

"Shut your trap if you want to live!" Given the precarious situation he was in, Zhang Xuan could not even be bothered to maintain a polite front anymore.

With a leap, he slowly advanced toward the storm clouds above.

Hong long long!

As soon as he approached the storm clouds, the lightning immediately sensed the aura he was emanating and slowly gathered toward him.

"He.. Is he intending to withstand the lightning tribulation for me?" Zhang Xuan's abrupt action had bewildered Bi Hongyin so much that she even forgot about her rage in this moment. "But if even I am unable to withstand the lightning tribulation, there's no way he can survive it!"

Even a Saint 7-dan expert like her was completely helpless against the devastating might of the lightning bolt above. Given that the young man was a mere Leaving Aperture realm cultivator, there was no way he stood a chance against it!

Is he intending to compensate for my broken formation plate with his life?

Bi Hongyin widened her mouth in shock. As this thought came to her mind, all of her fury vanished without a trace, and she even felt a little touched inside.

Despite facing death, the young man still charged forward to protect her. It seemed like he was not that bad a person after all.

"Wait a moment, is that.. his lightning tribulation?"

In contrast to the emotional Bi Hongyin, Luo Xuanqing, the shorty, and the fatty noticed that the storm clouds were swiftly gathering toward Zhang Xuan, and realization dawned upon them.

That explained everything; it was all due to that fellow.

The fatty gulped unconsciously. "Didn't you say that he just achieved a breakthrough yesterday and can't possibly make any advancement today? Why does it seem like.. he's at Leaving Aperture realm pinnacle?"

"That really seems to be the case.." Luo Xuanqing's lips were twitching as well.

Based on what he had heard, that fellow had made a breakthrough from Primordial Spirit realm pinnacle to Leaving Aperture realm primary stage within ten breaths the previous day, and he had spent that afternoon taking the 8-star formation master examination at the Hall of Erudition, so he should not have had any time to even reinforce his cultivation. How in the world did he manage to make a breakthrough again now?

Not to mention, a breakthrough of three cultivation stages!

Boom! Boom!

While the crowd was still in a state of shock, the storm clouds had already finished gathering around the young man, and lightning energy was swiftly gathering together, threatening to spill forth at any moment to tear the young man apart.

"This won't do. Even if his cultivation has reached Leaving Aperture realm pinnacle, he won't be able to withstand something of that scale," Luo Xuanqing exclaimed.

Even with his recent breakthroughs, the young man's strength was still far too weak in comparison to the lightning energy that had gathered above. Even Saint 7-dan experts like them were unable to withstand the lightning energy in the storm clouds, let alone that young man!

He could already see the young man being reduced to ash as soon as the lightning bolt fell, and no one would be able to save him.

"I was the one who brought him here; I can't let him die as a result of this," Luo Xuanqing uttered in panic. Even someone as domineering as him felt completely helpless before this situation.

He was the one who had brought Zhang Xuan over, and they were also the ones who had blindly interfered with the lightning tribulation, resulting in it growing stronger and stronger. He would not be able to get past his guilt if the young man died as a result of that.

Just as he was in a complete state of loss, the young man's voice suddenly sounded. "I'll deal with the lightning tribulation. If you have any physical body cultivation technique manuals or soul cultivation technique manuals, hurry up and bring them out. I need as many of them as possible."

"Cultivation technique manuals?"

Everyone was taken aback.

The important thing now is to resolve the current quandary we are in, so why are you seeking cultivation technique manuals?

The lightning bolt is going to fall on you anytime soon! Even if we give you cultivation technique manuals now, will you have time to study them?

Seeing that the crowd was still hesitating, Zhang Xuan bellowed furiously, "Hurry up!"

"Yes!"

They had no idea what Zhang Xuan wanted cultivation technique manuals for, but since he was adamant about the matter, Luo Xuanqing and the others quickly nodded in agreement.

Were it any other situation, they surely would have killed the other party if a Leaving Aperture realm lad dared to speak to them in such a manner. However, with the threat of the lightning bolt weighing down on them, none of them had the time or effort to bother about his attitude.

They knew that they had incurred the wrath of the lightning tribulation too, and if the young man failed to clear his lightning tribulation, they would become its next victims.

"I have physical body cultivation technique manuals here!" The fatty flicked his wrist, and a huge collection containing several thousand books appeared before him.

With just the sheer power of his physical body, he was able to knock Luo Xuanqing back and shatter sealed spaces. Considering how the prowess of his physical body had already reached an extremely frightening level, it was not too surprising for him to have plenty of physical body cultivation technique manuals.

"I have some soul cultivation technique manuals here!" Bi Hongyin also whipped out some books.

"I have both physical body and soul cultivation technique manuals, but I don't have too many of them.." The shorty and Luo Xuanqing took out a few books as well.

It was apparent that they were all from powerful clans or organizations just by how they were able to reach Saint 7-dan at their young age. These manuals might have been rare treasures to other cultivators, but to them, these were resources that they had no lack of.

"Thank you." Zhang Xuan's eyes lit up upon seeing the number of manuals before him.

He hurriedly scanned through them with his eyes.

Hu la!

It took just an instant for him to collect them all into the Library of Heaven's Path.

Not only are there physical body and soul cultivation techniques, there are even Saint 6-dan Grand Dominion realm and Saint 7-dan Phantasmal Space realm cultivation techniques! It's a pity that their quantity is a bit lacking, so I'm still unable to compile complete Heaven's Path Divine Art manuals from them, Zhang Xuan thought in pity.

Even though there were Grand Dominion realm and Phantasmal Space realm cultivation technique manuals amid the pile, he was still a long way from compiling the Heaven's Path Divine Art. Even if they collected them all, it would not do much to help his current situation.

Forget it, I'll take a look at the physical body cultivation technique manuals instead..Zhang Xuan thought.

Compile!

His mind jolted slightly, and a new book materialized in the Library of Heaven's Path.

He placed his finger on the book, and the knowledge harnessed in it swiftly flowed into his mind.

Success!

As expected of a top-notch physical body cultivator! The books he had were numerous, and they covered over a wide range of aspects concerning physical body cultivation. Through compiling all of them together, Zhang Xuan actually managed to compile a complete Heaven's Path Golden Body!

As long as he cultivated according to it, he would be able to temper his physical body to achieve a level of resilience on par with Saint high-tier artifacts!

Let's see if it's the same for the soul cultivation technique manuals..

Knowing that time was a luxury he could not afford to waste, Zhang Xuan swiftly turned his sight to the other group of books that he had just collected.

As a demonic tunist, Bi Hongyin specialized in soul offense. As such, she had a huge collection of books regarding souls. As for Luo Xuanqing and the fatty, even though they specialized in neither physical body cultivation nor soul cultivation, as offspring of powerful clans or organizations, they still had plenty of books regarding those topics.

All in all, the collection of books the three of them had numbered over a thousand.

Taking out the soul cultivation technique manual he had obtained from Vicious and placing them together, Zhang Xuan willed, Compile!

A new book materialized before his eyes.

Zhang Xuan shook his head in disappointment. I only managed to perfect the Leaving Aperture realm Heaven's Path Soul Art from that..

Ever since the eradication of the soul oracle's lineage, there had not been any occupation or power that had been able to display prowess on par with them with regards to the soul. Even with the soul cultivation techniques that he had obtained from Vicious, he had only managed to form the Leaving Aperture realm Heaven's Path Soul Art. The Grand Dominion realm Heaven's Path Soul Art was still plagued with flaws, and it would be hard for him to cultivate it right now.

Forget it, I should just use whatever I can get for the time being. Every slight increment in strength will mean a higher chance of survival for me..

Sighing deeply, Zhang Xuan turned to the crowd and asked once more, "Do any of you have pinnacle spirit stones, Jade Spirit Essence, or cultivation resources that harness concentrated spiritual energy?"

Even with the required cultivation techniques in hand, it would be futile if he did not have any spiritual energy to raise his cultivation.

"I have the Jade Pearl Sap! It has similar properties to the Wintry Spirit Essence of the Glacier Plain Court!"

"I have a piece of Jade Spirit Essence over here, but it isn't too big.."

"I have a grade-8 Origin Spirit Pill.."

..

Upon hearing Zhang Xuan's needs, the crowd hurriedly took out the pills, spirit stones, and spirit essences they had and tossed them toward Zhang Xuan.

"Thanks!" Zhang Xuan's eyes lit up in excitement.

It would have taken him a great deal of effort to gather these items on any other occasion, but due to the crucial moment, the others also understood the urgency of the situation and did not hesitate to pass their resources over to him.

With a sweep of his hand, Zhang Xuan took the Jade Pearl Sap, Origin Spirit Pill, and Jade Spirit Essence and swallowed the former two decisively without any hesitation. After which, he turned his gaze back to the storm cloud and noted that the bolt of lightning was done forming and was about to strike down. Knowing that he had no time to waste, he immediately dashed into the storm clouds.

"What is he doing?"

"He'll die if he dashes in recklessly like that!"

Everyone's body recoiled from horror upon seeing Zhang Xuan's actions.

Dashing straight into the storm clouds was equivalent to placing oneself in the midst of a sea of lightning! Under such conditions, it was only a matter of time before one's physical body and Primordial Spirit wore down and dissipated into nothing!

Hong long long!

Zhang Xuan's charge into the storm clouds seemed to have angered the lightning. Countless smaller bolts of lightning swiftly gathered in the area that he had disappeared into, and it took only a blink of an eye for the entire sky to be filled with lightning sparks. It was to the extent that one would be shocked just by attempting to extend one's Spiritual Perception into the storm clouds.

"What should we do?"

"There's nothing we can do but to wait. This is his lightning tribulation, and if he manages to clear it, it will disappear soon after. Otherwise.. there's a good chance that none of us will be getting out of here alive!" Luo Xuanqing said with a livid face.

They had all interfered with the lightning tribulation, so unless Zhang Xuan cleared his lightning tribulation, it would only continue to grow larger and larger until it struck down every single one of them.

This was also the reason they did not hesitate to take out whatever Zhang Xuan demanded earlier.

After a moment of silence, the fatty suddenly remarked, "For a Leaving Aperture realm pinnacle cultivator to clear such a formidable lightning tribulation.. things aren't looking too optimistic!"

He was known for his superior defensive ability, but even he had no confidence that he would be able to survive the onslaught of such powerful lightning. If such was the case for him, the chances that the young man would survive the ordeal were even slimmer.

"Indeed. Prepare yourselves. If the lightning tribulation continues its attack, we'll just have to use the ability of our bloodlines to vanquish it," the shorty said.

"I guess there's no other choice.."

The others nodded in agreement as well.

The lightning tribulation might have been powerful, but they had their trump cards as well. If they went all out, it was not completely impossible for them to destroy it. However, they would sustain grievous damage in the midst of it, and that could potentially hinder the future advancement of their cultivation.

Unless they were truly cornered, they would not even consider such a course of action.