It was not yet dark when Zhang Xuan had copied thousands of books. Glancing at the reserves of Heavenly Mandate Vitality, he had no choice but to stop with a sense of helplessness.
During this assessment, the Suspended Realm and the Library of Heaven's Path absorbed a significant amount of Yuan Power. For others, it would be a lifetime's worth; but for him, it was but a drop in the bucket. Not to mention other tasks, just copying cultivation methods alone would require millions of iterations to include all the secret manuals in the room.
And in these two assessments, to avoid detection, he had been extremely cautious, not daring to use his full capabilities, with the most he absorbed at one time being about ten thousand iterations, which was still far from the millions needed!
However, keeping a low profile was always the right thing to do. Otherwise, if School Head Lu or someone else discovered his uniqueness, he'd face all kinds of interrogations and trouble.
With that thought, Zhang Xuan couldn't help but give himself a mental pat on the back for his cleverness.
If it were anyone else faced with such a vast amount of Heavenly Mandate Vitality, it would be hard to resist absorbing it all. Yet, he had managed to do just that, which was quite an accomplishment in his own eyes.
"Integrate..."
Wandering within the Library of Heaven's Path and looking at the myriad of books suspended in the air, with a flicker of his spirit, countless Heavenly Mandate Vitalities burned, and a brand new tome appeared before his eyes.
Zhang Xuan stretched out his palm and the book gently fell into it.
He opened it lightly to reveal an ancient charm exuding a sense of profound primordial energy.
"...a Furnace refines Origin qi, the higher its tier, the faster the synthesis of Origin qi! A normal Furnace, like cultivation methods, is divided into six tiers: daylight robbery, middle-tier, high-tier, Spirit pinnacle, Imperial-grade, and Emperor-grade!"
"Daylight robbery-grade often absorbs the power of plants and trees. Though the force of vegetation is weak, it is vast and ubiquitous, easy to ignite..."
"Middle-tier is formed from the power of rare medicinal materials. The inferno is vigorous and full of vitality, but unfortunately, they are scarce and hard to find..."
"High-tier is often powered by Primordial Beasts..."
"Spirit pinnacle is often the Heavenly Destiny Primeval Beasts..."
"Imperial-grade is rare, with sources being the rarest of artifacts..."
"As for Emperor-grade, what it requires is nearly impossible to find in the world, truly unique, otherwise it cannot be achieved..."
The first page of the book detailed the tier classifications of Furnaces within the Accumulative Realm and their forging methods.
Plants, medicinal materials, Primordial Beasts, Heavenly Destiny Primeval Beasts, rare artifacts, worldly rarities... The material used to ignite the Furnace differs, and so does the corresponding Furnace.
Simply put, igniting a Furnace is like a process of investing fortunes; whoever has more precious materials will forge a stronger Furnace, accumulate power faster, and ultimately reach higher achievements.
"What should I use for forging?"
Zhang Xuan frowned.
To become stronger, one naturally needs to seek out things that are rare and unparalleled in the world to forge an Emperor-grade Furnace. But with his current situation, let alone finding such things, he hadn't even heard of them!
Even if he had heard of them, with his current strength, by the time he found them, it would probably be hundreds of years in the future...
"Heavens' Order!"
After thinking for a long time and coming up with nothing, Zhang Xuan's spirit moved, and the cultivation technique derived from Heavens' Imperfections coalesced, with the power of Heavenly Mandate Vitality, into a figure made of light in front of him.
The small figure sat cross-legged before him, following the methods detailed in the book, slowly practicing, with the paths of the zhenqi's circulation glowing brilliantly within its body, dazzlingly bright.
It was the capability possessed by Empyrean Kong shi in the Master Teacher Continent!
Given a starting point, it could use the laws of the world to deduce patterns.
To put it simply, since each person has unique constitutions and abilities, possessing this ability allows one to customize cultivation techniques tailored to the individual, finding the secret manual that suits them best and unleashes their greatest potential.
This was also the main reason why Empyrean Kong shi, back in the day, could take on 3,000 disciples and have 72 of them reach greatness.
Otherwise, no matter how energetic a person is, it's impossible to truly teach without differentiation and based on each individual's talents, let alone ensure each and every one becomes as powerful as a dragon...
Having finished looking at the Heaven's Path Divine Art for the Accumulative Phase and being unable to find artifacts to light an Emperor-grade Furnace, he could only use the power of Heavens' Order to slowly deduce and see if there was a shortcut that could be taken.
Whoosh!
"An Emperor-grade Treasure" took the form of a fiery red Furnace, into which strands of Origin qi entered and were decomposed, transforming into pure Strength, flowing through the meridians.
"Why does this feel...so familiar?"
Having glanced at the process of cultivation with the Emperor-grade Furnace, Zhang Xuan was slightly astonished.
The Origin qi met the Furnace and swiftly dispersed, breaking down into various types of Strength. Although the speed was fast enough to astonish other cultivators, to the point of being regarded as Celestial, it still seemed somewhat weak in his eyes.
Because he had seen such a scene...before!
With a thought, the next moment he found himself within the Suspended Realm, looking up at the very top of The Firmament, where amidst the chaos, strands of Origin qi descended from the heavens, ignited by primordial energy, turning into patches of colorful afterglow like at dusk.
This burning speed was countless millions of times faster than that of the Emperor-grade Furnace!
Within contact with Origin qi, it could transform into mountains, rivers, life, vegetation, and everything under the heavens...
"Primordial energy is something born during the creation of a world... truly a rarity in this world!"
His eyes brightened and he clenched his fists in excitement.
Always wondering where he might find the rarest of things, it turned out that the primordial energy, which was everywhere in the Suspended Realm, was the best!
Because this thing, only the master of a realm could control. It was truly scarce and hard to find in the world.
With a slight shimmer, he appeared inside the "Source Pool." With a light tap of his hand, strands of primordial energy abruptly appeared, filling the entire area, making the entire world seem like a Furnace with a burning inferno.
"For the world serves as the Furnace, and creation is the work; yin and yang are the charcoals, and all things are as copper..."
A clear sound arose.
Accompanied by the enlightenment rising in Zhang Xuan's heart, countless fragmented Origin qi in the library began to converge rapidly into his body, and in the blink of an eye, a massive tornado formed.
A Furnace forged with any object could only be considered an artifact, but one built with primordial energy could truly turn the heavens and earth into a Furnace, forging The Firmament itself.
...
Su Qiao was the keeper of the Baiyan Academy's Book Collection Vault and ranked among the highest of the Miscellaneous Duties Teachers. Having managed the library for over 50 years, he was truly an elder among elders. Even School Head Lu, on meeting him, would respectfully address him as Elder Su.
Today, as this Elder Su was reading, a new teacher with a Library Access Certificate walked in.
At the age of about twenty-four or twenty-five, devoid of any Strength in his body, it was clear he hadn't yet begun to practice cultivation. Most importantly, as soon as he arrived, he went straight into the Accumulative Realm Technique Zone.
These were books that students would look at. A teacher going over to study them... When had the academy recruited such a weakling?
Initially thinking he was searching for a student, Su Qiao subtly observed for a while and felt like he was about to explode with frustration.
The other party was strolling in the library, pulling out books then putting them back, pulling them out again only to return them... without even flipping them open, followed by all sorts of daydreaming...
Are you here to read or just to cause trouble?
Ostentatious, scatterbrained, ignorant, impetuous... In the blink of an eye, Su Qiao plastered the newcomer with labels in his mind.
"I should mention to the School Head that the Library Access Certificate can't just be given to anyone... otherwise, it will spoil the atmosphere of the library!"
With a snort, Su Qiao reopened the book in his hand, intending to continue reading when suddenly he sensed a slight tremble in the ground. At once, the surrounding Origin qi began to flood toward the center of the library like a tide bursting a dam.
He hurriedly looked up.
The young man he was just criticizing was now standing still, his left hand behind him and a book in his right, with his eyes slightly closed, his body unmoving yet like a bottomless pit, devouring all the surging Origin qi...
Because it devoured so rapidly, the surrounding Origin qi twisted into strands, turning into tornadoes that caused the bookshelves to rattle loudly.
"Is this the absorption phenomenon of 'Devouring Origin Dragon' caused by the rapid intake of Origin qi? This, how is this possible!"
Su Qiao's pupils contracted and he stood rigidly in place.