Library of Heaven's Path 2: Eternal Fate of the Heavens

"This..."

Zhang Xuan's entire body trembled involuntarily.

He could now battle a peak Bodhisattva Realm master with just his physical body, and his soul was not lacking in strength either. Despite such power, he spat blood merely from probing a stone...

The so-called Enlightenment Stone was too terrifying.

"Lord Zhang, are you...okay?"

While still in shock, he saw Hu Sheng looking over with a worried face.

"I'm fine!"

Zhang Xuan shook his head.

With his current body, spitting a mouthful of blood was trivial; even if he lost a hundred pounds of blood, he would recover instantly, without any significant consequence. Yet a single stone was able to injure him, which was unprecedented.

"As long as you're fine!"

Hu Sheng finally breathed a sigh of relief. "The evaluation is about to begin."

"Alright!" Zhang Xuan no longer examined the Enlightenment Stone but looked directly ahead.

At this moment, the entire valley was filled with people, densely packed, numbering at least ten thousand. In the center of the flat clearing, an elderly woman floated quietly in the air, her body emitting a dazzling light. Behind her was the shadow of a fox, with six fox tails blooming in the Phantasm Space.

"I am the current clan head of the Qingqiu Mountain lineage, Hu Yun!"

The elderly woman did not speak, yet a voice automatically sounded in everyone's mind, reminiscent of telepathy.

"It's a mental communication... This elder's strength is not low!" Zhang Xuan nodded secretly.

To transmit intention into the minds of ten thousand people without a hitch required her soul to have reached at least the level of lighting four Life Lamps.

Although not as good as his own, in the entire Source World, she was definitely considered a strong figure. To put it simply, her soul alone was enough to contend with a Peak of Life Sea 9-dan without falling behind.

"My time is near, and I am selecting an inheritor for our ancestors. All branches are requested to step forward. Activate the ancestors' intentions; how the evaluation proceeds, and how the choice is made, is all up to the ancestors."

Hu Yun said.

"Understood!"

The clan heads of all branches nodded simultaneously, each dispatching the most outstanding young cultivators among them.

Each branch had 9 representatives, eight branches totaling 72 individuals.

Zhang Xuan saw Fu Yingying, Fu Jingjing, Fu Yiyi, and others were prominently listed.

As for other branches, the fox heads and tails seen earlier counted no less than twenty.

"Qingqiu Mountain consists of eight branches: Flame Sun, Xuanbing, Divination, Netherworld, Thunder, Illusion Sound, Star Fall, and Spirit Wood. The most popular for inheritance are Flame Sun, Xuanbing, and Divination."

Hu Sheng, fearing he didn't understand, telepathically explained.

"Flame Sun, Xuanbing?"

Zhang Xuan looked puzzled.

He hadn't heard Fu Yingying and the others mention anything like this before.

Hu Sheng said, "The eight branches represent the power of the nine tails of the Nine-tailed Fox. The reason there are eight instead of nine is that the core Charming Intent hasn't been passed down... We hold an inheritance selection every century to see if any descendants can gain the ancestors' recognition and lead the Qingqiu lineage back to the pinnacle again."

"Oh!"

Zhang Xuan nodded and casually pointed at Fu Yingying and the others: "Which branch are they?"

Hu Sheng: "They belong to the Star Fall lineage, left Qingqiu Mountain a hundred years ago, only recently returning, but have already fallen into decline; among the nine transmitters, only one is above Galaxy 6-dan, and that's the clan head... They're likely just going through the motions, with zero chance of gaining inheritance."

"Alright!"

Zhang Xuan said no more.

Normally, Fu Yingying's branch indeed had little hope of gaining inheritance, almost zero, but with his help, the outcome might be different.

During their conversation, the clan heads of the eight branches surrounded the Enlightenment Stone, each placing their hand upon it.

A bright white light suddenly rose, shooting towards the sky, and soon the Enlightenment Stone glowed brightly like a brilliant bulb.

In the next moment, the Heavenly Mandate Vitality within the entire valley began to stir rapidly, converging crazily toward the center of the square. Shortly thereafter, a phantom image of a nine-tailed fox appeared in the air.

It should be a remnant intention of the grandteacher of Qingqiu Mountain.

"The evaluation is divided into three parts!"

Without much preamble, the phantom directly intoned the standards.

"First, Nine Tail Origin tracing, also known as the bloodline trial. Shortly, I will invoke strength to encompass the square. The trial participants will sit cross-legged, activating their bloodlines. At that time, a phantom image of fox tails will form behind them. Three tails are qualified, six tails are outstanding; reaching the outstanding level allows entry into the next test."

"Understood!"

After hearing the rules, everyone nodded simultaneously, released their palms, and returned to the middle of the square, sitting cross-legged.

"Bloodline test? Seems like Fu Yingying and the others will suffer..." Zhang Xuan shook his head.

Fu Yingying's lineage had left Qingqiu Mountain a hundred years ago, mostly marrying ordinary people. Compared to the other seven lineages, their bloodline was undoubtedly thinner, no wonder no one favored them.

Buzz!

As everyone sat down, a light emanated from the nine-tailed fox phantom, enveloping all 72 evaluators.

Rustle!

Immediately behind each cultivator, fox tails bloomed, resembling spread fans.

Among them, fox heads and tails were the most numerous, with five-tailed ones accounting for over ten, and six-tailed ones also numbering more than eight, with even two reaching seven tails.

The remaining proportion was much smaller, with threes making up the majority, sixes counting only 12, and only one reaching seven tails.

"Look, the Star Fall lineage doesn't even have one reaching six tails..."

"It's the bloodline contaminated by leaving Qingqiu Mountain, serves them right!"

"I wonder if anyone else will dare to leave... It's a living lesson!"

Voices of discussion arose among the crowd.

Zhang Xuan looked over, seeing Fu Yingying and the others indeed not even reaching six tails, even she as the clan head only manifested five tails.

Failing to achieve excellence means direct elimination, without participating in the second round.

Could it be that after providing so much help, they'll be eliminated in the first round? That would truly be a big pit.

"How could this happen?"

Zhang Xuan was dumbstruck, Fu Yingying showed the same anxious expression.

Each of the eight branches had representatives reaching six tails; if they were eliminated in the first round, it would be an enormous shame.

"Something must be wrong..."

Fu Yingying lifted her head to look at the nine-tailed fox phantom in the sky. The bloodline test had a time limit, only about a tea's time at most. Now half the time had passed, if she didn't quickly come up with a solution, they could only be ridiculed.

Having come to take part in the evaluation, naturally, she didn't want to be eliminated nor could she be eliminated; if that happened, their branch would have no chance of returning to Qingqiu Mountain.

But the bloodline test assessed the purity of their bloodline, and evidently, their bloodline was too thin.

Not only her but also Fu Jingjing, Fu Yiyi, and others faced the same issue.

"Right, since it's about bloodline... If I forge Zhang Xuan's blood essence, could my bloodline become purer?"

Fu Yingying thought suddenly, with a notion involuntarily surfacing.