Library of Heaven’s Path

Chapter 1112: Hall Master Xing Has Been Eaten

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

It was a face covered in huge tumors, and at the very top of his head, there was even a crimson tower of meat stretching half a meter upwards. In this moment, Hall Master Xing looked like a moving cactus!

It was only due to his face retaining some semblance to his original appearance that they did not suspect him of being an inner demon who had escaped from the passageway… However, his appearance was truly eerie!

Didn't he just challenge Trial of Inner Demons?

Why did he look as if he had just been pummeled?

"Hall Master Xing!" Division Head Liao hurriedly rushed forward and cried, "Even if you couldn't clear the trial, you shouldn't have harmed yourself like this…"

The Trial of Inner Demons only served to assess one's mind, so it didn't pose any harm to the physical body. Yet, for Hall Master Xing to return in such a state… Was he so upset about failing the trial that he decided to harm himself?

"You…" Hall Master Xing nearly fainted from anger. He turned to Zhang Xuan, pointed at the tumors on his face furiously, and asked, "Sun shi, can you tell me what is going on over here?"

Not expecting to be dragged into the matter, Zhang Xuan was startled. "You are asking me? How would I know?"

"You really don't know?" Hall Master Xing asked with narrowed eyes as he turned around.

Upon seeing what was behind Hall Master Xing, Zhang Xuan nearly spurted blood.

A crimson flower bud was growing right on the other party's bottom.

A flower on the bottom and a cactus on the head… Zhang Xuan scratched his head in confusion for a moment when a thought suddenly came to him, and his lips twitched. Could it be that… I enchanted the spirit of a plant instead of an artifact into him earlier?

Naturally, different beings had fundamentally differing spirits.

Plant spirits could allow the medicinal herb it was harnessed within to mature swifter and healthier. However, if the spirit died, it was very likely that the entire medicinal herb would wither as well.

Such was the case for most saint herbs.

This was similar to the Bodhi Saint Tree. In the period of time that its spirit was asleep, it looked as if it was dead on the surface. This left Emperor Yu Shenqing in a panic, and he had searched far and wide for herbologists to treat it, nearly resulting in a calamity.

As such, dealing with spirits was also an extremely profound subject, such that it was worth others devoting their whole lives to studying.

That isn't right. I'm certain that I used the method to enchant artifacts on it. Zhang Xuan frowned.

No matter how he thought about it, he just could not understand how an artifact spirit could have possibly turned into a plant spirit.

While he was deep in thought, the bud on Hall Master Xing's bottom suddenly began blossoming, and an indescribably horrendous smell drifted from it. Shortly after, the cactus on his head also began blooming. In a moment, a bunch of flowers could be seen hanging on his head, making him look like a reindeer.

Its growth rate is clearly one of a plant spirit, so could I have really made a mistake? Wait, I've got it!

A thought suddenly struck Zhang Xuan at this moment. Even though I used the method to enchant artifacts on it, the rich vitality with Hall Master Xing's body resulted in the artifact spirit displaying properties similar to those of a plant spirit. This is also why Hall Master Xing's body has transformed in such a bizarre manner as well.

Zhang Xuan had not made any mistakes in his enchantment, but due to the differences in the environment, it was inevitable that the artifact spirit would display unexpected properties from when it was in an artifact.

Most artifacts were non-living until they were enchanted, as shown by their pitch-black world within them. On the other hand, Hall Master Xing's Primordial Spirit was pulsating with life. It was an environment far more nourishing than any soil. As such, it was inevitable that the spirit that Zhang Xuan had enchanted into his Primordial Spirit had grown frenziedly.

Cough cough!

Upon making sense of what was going on, a bizarre look crept onto Zhang Xuan's face.

With the great strength wielded by Hall Master Xing's Primordial Spirit, he could still easily suppress the spirit within him easily, preventing it from running amok. However, shortly after having his Primordial Spirit enchanted, he had entered the Trial of Inner Demons, and his mind had come under attack. In his moment of weakness, the spirit had managed to make a comeback and grew frenziedly, thus resulting in the ridiculous circumstances at this moment.

But… what the heck was that plant?

While it resembled a cactus, it was not really one, and the flower on his bottom looked foreign as well.

Ah, it seemed like he had made a grave mistake trusting Kong shi's words!

It was due to the other party's advice that he had taken a leap of faith forward, in hopes of forging his path. Who could have known that barely after he took the first step, he already found himself dropping into a pit?

Kacha! Kacha!

Just as Zhang Xuan was in deep thought, the flowers of the cactus finally matured into fruits roughly the size of a jujube. Round and crimson, it might sound weird to say this, but it looked deeply appetizing.

"What the heck are these?" Seeing that fruits were growing on him, Hall Master Xing was on the verge of tears. He looked at Zhang Xuan desperately, hoping that the latter could resolve his situation.

Even though he was not too sure what was going on, he had an inkling that it had something to do with the spirit enchantment.

Otherwise, given that he had never possessed the ability to flower in the past, why would his talent as a plant blossom all of a sudden?

"Cough cough. I'm not too sure what has happened either. Perhaps you ate something unclean a while ago. Let me take a look at your condition, and I'll see what I can do about it." Knowing that he might be pummeled to life if he admitted that the was the culprit, Zhang Xuan spoke without the slightest redness on his face.

Honestly speaking, it was not his intention for the situation to end up in such a manner. Judging from the size of the rift in Hall Master Xing's Primordial Spirit, Zhang Xuan knew that it would be nigh impossible for the other party to clear the Trial of Inner Demons if he left it be.

On top of that, it was apparent that Hall Master Xing was in a rush to raise his fighting prowess to deal with some kind of threat, and it was for this reason that Zhang Xuan decided to take the risk after confirming that it was feasible, and it would not pose any threat to the other party's life.

Furthermore, he did plan to deal with the spirit, but he just had to be disrupted at the very last moment, resulting in his efforts to be rendered futile.

Still, it was indeed a stupefying sight to see the head of the Combat Master Hall, one of the strongest experts in Qingyuan Empire, walking around with a cactus head covered with delectable fruits and a bizarre flower on his bottom.

If he were to charge an entrance toll for this exhibit, he could probably earn a huge fortune out of this.

"I have eaten something unclean?" Hall Master Xing stared at Zhang Xuan with an unbelievable look on his face. However, knowing that it was meaningless to point fingers at this moment, he could only concede. "Sun shi, I beseech you to help me…"

"Very well!" Sitting on the ground, Zhang Xuan began exerting his spirit awakener prowess once more and entered Hall Master Xing's mind.

He adeptly maneuvered his way over to the other party's Primordial Spirit, and when he looked at where the rift had been, he could not help but freeze.

His efforts had not been futile; the rift had been completely filled up at this moment. However, this had led to another troubling matter—Hall Master Xing's Primordial Spirit had already fused completely with the enchanted spirit.

This… Zhang Xuan's eyelids twitched uncontrollably. His Primordial Spirit is way too adaptable!

Typically speaking, the spirit that Zhang Xuan had enchanted should have been considered a foreign object, and the Primordial Spirit would have tried its best to expel it. Yet, within just two short hours, the spirit had actually succeeded in fusing perfectly with Hall Master Xing's Primordial Spirit.

Originally, all Zhang Xuan had to do was head to the rift and eliminate the consciousness within the spirit, thus putting it entirely under Hall Master Xing's control. However, now that the spirit had already fused together with Hall Master Xing's Primordial Spirit, its consciousness had been intermixed together with Hall Master Xing's, meaning that course of action was out of the question.

If he attempted to wipe out that consciousness, he would risk killing Hall Master Xing as well.

Most likely, the spirit must have hastened the fusion while his mind was preoccupied by the inner demons.

Had he known that such a situation would happen, he would have stopped Hall Master Xing from entering the Trial of Inner Demons at any cost. Now that the other party's head had turned into a cactus covered with fruits and his bottom was sprouting a flower… This was truly a disaster!

Zhang Xuan withdrew his consciousness from Hall Master Xing's mind as he frowned in distress.

It's fortunate that the enchanted spirit doesn't have any offensive ability. However, now that it's fused into his Primordial Spirit, it is no longer possible to resolve the issue externally. He will have to eliminate that spirit himself.

There were indeed some cultivators in the world who used certain secret arts to consume plant spirits in order to enhance their Primordial Spirit and souls. While Hall Master Xing did not cultivate any of such secret arts, it seemed like the sheer strength of his Primordial Spirit had helped to facilitate a smooth fusion with the spirit. However, the first step of those secret arts was to eliminate the consciousness within the spirits, and in Hall Master Xing's case, the fusion had happened without him knowing, so he had ended up skipping the vital first step.

He did manage to perfect his Primordial Spirit in the end, but the existence of two consciousnesses within his Primordial Spirit had inevitably resulted in all kinds of bizarre problems cropping up.

For one, the spirit, through its instincts, was delightfully tapping into the huge reserves of vitality within Hall Master Xing's body to grow non-stop.

While Zhang Xuan was still deep in thought, the cactus on Hall Master Xing's head grew higher and higher, and the flower on his bottom grew more and more warped. From afar, he resembled a massive plant, rooted quietly to the spot.

Such a feeling was further accentuated as more and more jujube-like fruits sprouted from his head, making him seem like a bona fide fruit tree.

Noting that Zhang Xuan had withdrawn his consciousness from his mind, Hall Master Xing asked anxiously, "Sun shi, do you know any way to resolve this issue?"

"I have identified the root of your problem, but I still need some time to think the matter through," Zhang Xuan said awkwardly.

What the heck was this?

The other party had earnestly made a request of him, but he had ended up causing such a huge mishap.

How embarrassing!

Hall Master Xing heaved a sigh of relief. "It's good that you have identified the root of the problem."

While there was still no solution at the moment, at the very least, with the root of the problem identified, there should still be hope for a cure.

Otherwise, if he had to spend his entire life in such a form, he would much rather have a knife plunged straight into his chest.

At that moment, 'jiya!', the door to the room opened. Division Head Wei walked in with large strides, and upon seeing the tree, he could not help but walk up to it and remark, "What a weird-looking tree!"

After saying those words, he reached out and plucked one of the fruits before biting down on it heartily. Then, he turned to Division Head Liao and Zhang Xuan, and asked, "Is Hall Master Xing not out yet? It has already been two hours!"

"…" Hall Master Xing.

"…" Division Head Liao.

"…" Zhang Xuan.

Grinding his teeth tightly together, Hall Master Xing replied menacingly, "I am over here…"

It was one thing for him to be treated as a tree, but to think that someone would actually eat his fruit.

"Hall Master Xing!" It was then that Division Head Wei noticed that Hall Master Xing's face was on the tree. In that instant, the motion of his mouth came to a halt, and he widened his eyes in shock.

"Cough cough! Sun shi, you should quickly find a way to cure him. Otherwise, putting aside resolving our current crisis, he won't even be able to face our fellow combat masters!" Division Head Liao said anxiously.

"Un. The reason for Hall Master Xing's current condition is due to a spirit fusing with his Primordial Spirit. At this stage, I'm afraid that it's impossible to solve his situation externally anymore. He will have to cultivate a technique to eliminate the spirit within his Primordial Spirit. Nevertheless, rest assured that he will revert back to normal once the spirit is eliminated," Zhang Xuan explained.

Hall Master Xing heaved a sigh of relief before asking, "Then, is Sun shi in possession of any techniques that are capable of eliminating a spirit?"

"That… I'm afraid not!" Zhang Xuan scratched his head awkwardly.

The Spirit Awakener Guild did have techniques that allowed one to eliminate spirits externally, but the current predicament Hall Master Xing was in made it risky to adopt such a solution. And as for secret arts to eliminate spirit internally… he did not have any such manuals in his possession.

Hall Master Xing staggered, and despair loomed in his eyes. "Am I doomed to live in this state for the rest of my life?"

"Actually, I do have another solution that will revert you back to normal swiftly…" Zhang Xuan hesitated for a moment before continuing. "Firstly, I'll sever the plant offshoots from your body to hinder their activity. After which, I'll concoct some poison for you to swallow. The poison serves to temporarily lower the vitality within your body and deprive the plants of their nutrients. With some time, they should wither and die off. However, you mustn't use your cultivation during this period of time, or else they will come right back to life!"

"You want me to consume poison?" Hall Master Xing gulped down a mouthful of saliva as his face paled. He could not help but tremble at that thought.

Just a spirit enchantment from you has already left me in such a state. If I consume the poison you concoct, what in the world will happen to me?

At the same time, he could not help but ask doubtfully, "For you to be able to concoct poison, could you be a… poison master?"