Chapter 41 Seclusion

Inside the seclusion chamber, Zhang Xiao sat cross-legged, a thick and dense aura of pure yang radiating from his body. It wrapped around the Yazi horn before him, refining ray after ray of starlight that poured into Zhang Xiao's body.

As the final beam of starlight merged into him, Zhang Xiao's figure began to shift and transform gradually. "Roar!" A dragon-like roar erupted from his mouth. Unlike the grand and mighty presence of the Xuanwu, and distinct from the arrogant aura of the Bi Fang, it carried an intimidating momentum capable of suppressing the very soul.

With a sudden shudder of his physique, Zhang Xiao instantly transformed into a streak of rainbow light that rushed out of the Xuantian Cave Mansion. "Roar! Roar!" successive roars echoed across the sky, causing the demonic beasts on the ground to scramble and press themselves flat against the earth, utterly devoid of even the strength to raise their heads.

An entity with a dragon-like body yet the face of a jackal and a sharp horn protruding from its forehead revealed its form above the clouds in the sky. It was none other than the divine beast Yazi, transformed by Zhang Xiao. However, unlike the descriptions found in ancient texts, the Yazi formed by Zhang Xiao was not entirely of a pure black hue.

Its agile body coiled out from the high clouds, revealing scales as dark as ink covering its skin, a pair of pale golden eyes, a massive horn of pure silver upon its forehead, and claws wreathed in multicolored divine light.

It was precisely because Zhang Xiao simultaneously practiced the three paths of Buddhism, Taoism, and Demoncraft that the appearance of the Yazi had undergone certain alterations; far from hindering its divine abilities, these changes enhanced them manifold.

Amidst the aura of bloodlust and tyranny, there was mingled a righteous and harmonious air of justice, alongside a faint trace of holiness. These three initially contradictory auras blended together in perfect harmony, forming a majestic presence capable of suppressing all evils.

"Screeech!!"

At that very moment, a sharp, piercing shriek descended from the heavens. Zhang Xiao looked up to see a gigantic eagle tearing through the nine heavens of gales, plunging straight down and hurtling toward him. This colossal eagle clearly had not yet birthed its innate spiritual wisdom, but possessing supreme innate talent, it already wielded the strength of the mid-Integration stage.

Lacking spiritual intelligence, it acted purely on instinct. Zhang Xiao's aura clearly posed a threat to it, prompting it to dive down from the high winds above with the intent to obliterate Zhang Xiao on the spot.

Alas, the giant eagle had chosen the wrong opponent. A fierce glint flashed in Zhang Xiao's eyes, and he thought to himself, "Just in time to serve as a whetstone." With a movement of his body, Zhang Xiao stepped upon layers of multicolored auspicious clouds and soared upward into the sky.

"Screeech!" The giant eagle possessed a massive wingspan; with a single flap of its wings, gale-force winds lashed out like blades. Countless visible wind blades rained down from the sky like a downpour.

Zhang Xiao narrowed his eyes. Though the technique possessed formidable power, how could it possibly threaten him? He flicked and slashed out with both claws, and the wind blades hurtling from the sky abruptly shuddered before scattering into nothingness. The power of the Yazi was primarily embodied in this single word: suppression—suppressing all evils, conquering all things without exception.

To say nothing of the fact that the giant eagle lacked spiritual wisdom and could not execute profound arts or spells; even if it had gained intelligence and unleashed spells matching its own realm, Zhang Xiao would have felt not a shred of fear and would have suppressed it all the same.

The Yazi transformed by Zhang Xiao surged upward through the clouds, instantly arriving before the giant eagle. Its claws wove intricate and marvelous trajectories, tearing massive gasps across the eagle's body as torrents of blood poured down from the sky like rivers.

Having long since bolted out of the Xuantian Cave Mansion, Heizi burst into hearty laughter at this sight. He hurriedly refined a crude, giant stone basin, capturing all the raining blood pouring from the heavens within it. This was, after all, the blood of a mid-Integration stage demon beast; how could such a supreme tonic be allowed to go to waste?

Enduring the pain, the giant eagle reached out with massive, razor-sharp talons to grab Zhang Xiao. Yet despite his considerable size, Zhang Xiao's movements were as litariely fluid and nimble as a fish in water. Not only did he evade the eagle's grab, but he instead stepped off the creature's massive claws and landed squarely upon its back.

"Hmph, an unreasoning beast devoid of even spiritual wisdom dares to come and test me? Be suppressed!" Zhang Xiao commanded in a cold, stern shout. An aura instantly erupted from his body, condensing into the shape of a stone tablet.

With brutal force, it smashed down upon the giant eagle's back. The stele measured only a few dozen feet in size, yet it carried the weight of a thousand mountains. The giant eagle's body shuddered violently, immediately driven plummeting downward by the crushing weight of the stele. Struggle as it might, it could not muster even a sliver of strength.

Watching the ground rapidly rushing closer from below, even without spiritual intelligence, the giant eagle knew that if it fell thusly, it would undoubtedly be pounded into a heap of mangled flesh. Despair instantly filled the eagle's eyes.

Witnessing this scene, Ziyan, standing by the entrance of the cave mansion, felt a stir of compassion and called out, "Young Master, enough! It is merely an unawakened beast. Young Master, please spare it this once."

Hearing Ziyan's plea, Zhang Xiao let out a sharp shout, extended his hand to snatch up the stele from the giant eagle's back, and spoke coldly, "Scram!" The frigid command boomed like a thunderclap, blasting the giant eagle aside.

Regaining control of its strength, the giant eagle dared not linger for a moment longer. It flapped its wings frantically, shot back up into the nine heavens, and vanished without a trace.

Watching the departing figure of the giant eagle, Heizi shook his head in helpless disappointment and muttered, "Alas! A bird that was practically about to tumble into the pot has just flown away like that." However, upon looking down at the massive stone basin—easily the size of a swimming pool—clutched in his grasp,

Heizi immediately beamed with irrepressible joy. "Well, at least this blood is enough for me to drink my fill, heh heh." With that, Heizi picked up the stone basin, stealthily scurried off to the side, and began to indulge.

High in the sky, Zhang Xiao shifted his form back into human shape and descended slowly. Seeing him approach, Ziyan hurried forward and asked, "Young Master, was I being too meddlesome?"

Hearing this, Zhang Xiao smiled, a rare, gentle expression gracing his features. "Of course not. For you to retain such a kind and benevolent heart is something your Young Master can only rejoice over; how could I possibly blame you?" Having said this, Zhang Xiao glanced sideways at Heizi hiding in the distance, shook his head with a wry smile, and beckoned Heizi to come over.

Seeing this, Heizi, who was currently imbibing the giant eagle's spiritual blood, quickly set down the stone basin and trotted briskly over to Zhang Xiao. "What does Young Master need?" Zhang Xiao tossed a jade slip to him and said, "You constantly rely on devouring others to increase your cultivation realm. While this method accelerates your cultivation speed drastically, it is ultimately not the proper path. When you encounter your heavenly tribulation, your soul will inevitably scatter and you will suffer eternal damnation.

The techniques recorded within this jade slip belong to the orthodox ancient teachings. Cultivate them diligently. I am about to enter a strict closed-door seclusion once more, and this time, it is estimated to take at least a decade or more before I emerge. Without my protection, if you still fail to cultivate properly, you might as well prepare to be annihilated into dust."

Zhang Xiao was not merely trying to frighten Heizi; he spoke the absolute truth. Refining his avatar into a second divine soul alone during this seclusion was no trivial task that could be accomplished in a year or two, all while simultaneously striving to break through to the Integration stage. Estimating a span of over a decade was actually a conservative guess.

Perceiving that Zhang Xiao's demeanor was far from joking, Heizi understood that he could not rely on his young master's protection forever. He nodded hurriedly, tucked the jade slip away securely, and swore to Zhang Xiao, "Rest assured, Young Master. By the time you come out of seclusion, I shall have achieved mastery and will never disgrace the Young Master's formidable reputation."

Seeing that Heizi had grasped his intent, Zhang Xiao gave a faint nod, turned to Ziyan, and said, "Yan'er, during these past days, your Young Master has been somewhat cold toward you. Once I emerge from seclusion, I will surely find a way to forge a fleshly body for you."

Upon hearing her young master's words, Ziyan felt sweetness welling up within her heart. Yet upon a second thought, hesitation crept into her mind: if she truly attained a physical body, would she still be able to remain by the Young Master's side at every moment? The answer, naturally, was no.

Throughout his journey, though it could not be described as a trail of endless blood and corpses, Zhang Xiao walked a path fraught with peril at every step, and his future path was destined to be extraordinary. How could he possibly drag along a burden like herself everywhere he went? At this thought,

Ziyan shook her head and replied, "Young Master, Yan'er does not desire any physical body."

Hearing her response, Zhang Xiao paused in surprise. He remembered that when he originally promised to forge a perfect physical body for her, Ziyan had appeared exceedingly joyful; why was she refusing it now?

This left Zhang Xiao to mentally sigh that a woman's heart was truly as unfathomable as the ocean floor—changing on a whim. However, since Ziyan was unwilling, he would not force the matter and simply laughed, "Very well, when the time comes, your Young Master will simply take you out to travel and sightsee instead, hahaha."

With those words, Zhang Xiao's figure dissolved into a streak of long rainbow light, vanishing before Ziyan's eyes. Gazing at the direction where Zhang Xiao had departed, Ziyan felt a mixture of bitterness and sweetness in her heart, thinking to herself, *What is a physical body worth? If I can stay by the Young Master's side every single day, it surpasses anything a hundredfold.*

Returning to the seclusion chamber, Zhang Xiao retrieved the jade box containing the Soul-Dividing Fruit and began to calculate in his mind. Whether it was the Seven Transformations Xuantian Art or the Poro Zen Scripture, while his capabilities appeared immensely powerful on the surface, the hidden perils had never truly been resolved.

Ever since he utilized the power of karmic merit to fuse the three paths with his vital essence, breath, and spirit, his avatar had remained firmly jammed within his sea of consciousness, barely maintaining a delicate balance among the three disciplines.

Because the avatar could not fully integrate into his divine sense, it prevented him from unleashing the ultimate might of simultaneously cultivating the three paths. Now was the time to thoroughly eradicate this hidden danger once and for all.