Saint-Ranked Technique!

There were four people beside Luo Zheng, one of whom was the Iron Tower Strong Man wielding a greatsword.

Who would have thought that this tower-like man was not only incredibly strong, with boundless physical strength, but also possessed such a powerful soul? The Azure Cloud Sect truly had many outstanding disciples.

Continuing forward, they reached the "Earth" Hall.

Purple light could be seen everywhere inside this hall.

Of the five people who entered the hall, everyone except Luo Zheng wore an unpleasant expression.

One person's face suddenly turned deathly pale. He was an Aristocratic Clan Disciple, and it was obvious that he could barely withstand the pressure of the Xing Tian Intent. The Aristocratic Clan Disciple pulled a dark-gray pill from his pocket and swallowed it in one gulp. When he opened his eyes again, a faint golden light shone from them. Luo Zheng immediately understood that the pill must be able to strengthen the soul and help him resist the pressure of the Xing Tian Intent.

Aristocratic Clan Disciples really are rich, Luo Zheng silently marveled inwardly. If he had been born a commoner, how could he have possessed such a pill to help him?

All five of them stopped in the hall. The techniques available for them to choose from now were all Earth-Ranked Techniques!

In the Eastern Region, techniques were divided into four ranks: "Heaven, Earth, Profound, and Yellow."

Yellow-Ranked Techniques were the most numerous, countless in number, and naturally the cheapest. Some martial academies could teach them.

Profound-Ranked Techniques were somewhat rarer. They were generally passed down as the techniques of minor families. For example, the "Rosewood Fist" Luo Zheng cultivated was a Profound-Ranked Technique. The Luo Family was not some great and prestigious clan, so a copy of the "Rosewood Fist" was already extremely rare. It was not casually taught to others, and even ordinary branch disciples had no qualifications to cultivate it.

As for Earth-Ranked Techniques, they were even more precious.

For example, branch disciples of these Scholar Clans often cultivated Earth-Ranked Techniques.

In this hall of Earth-Ranked Techniques, there was only a single shelf. The Azure Cloud Sect's foundations were truly profound. There were several hundred Earth-Ranked Techniques alone, and it surely would not be difficult to find one suitable for cultivation among them.

Luo Zheng stood before the shelf and swept his gaze across it, but his mind began to calculate. What kind of technique should he cultivate?

The "Rosewood Fist" was certainly not bad, but after entering the Azure Cloud Sect, it was somewhat inadequate. It could not fully unleash Luo Zheng's strength, and he would suffer greatly when facing someone who used a higher-ranked technique.

After thinking it over and over, Luo Zheng still decided to continue forward!

Although the Purple Light in this hall was formidable, it was far inferior to the Azure Dragon's Dragon Intent. The two were utterly incomparable.

Moreover, Luo Zheng's soul had been tempered by the Black Flame within his body. His soul was far stronger than an ordinary person's, so he needed to choose an even more powerful technique.

When Luo Zheng continued forward, the other four cast astonished looks at him.

"You don't want to live? The Xing Tian Intent in the hall of Heaven-Ranked Techniques is extremely dense. You won't be able to withstand it," the Iron Tower Strong Man warned him.

Faced with the kind reminder, Luo Zheng nodded and said, "I know, but I want to give it a try."

"Heh heh, if he wants to go throw his life away, let him. I've seen plenty of fools who don't know the height of the heavens or the depth of the earth. I heard that the Xing Tian Intent inside the hall of Heaven-Ranked Techniques is almost tangible and can kill people invisibly. Before tempering one's spirit, entering it means certain death," the Aristocratic Clan Disciple mocked.

Hearing the Aristocratic Clan Disciple's sarcasm, Luo Zheng smiled faintly and did not bother arguing. He raised his leg and walked into the next hall.

The Heaven-Ranked Hall.

This hall was much smaller than the previous ones.

Every Heaven-Ranked Technique was exceedingly rare. Even within great Aristocratic Clans, it was considered a secret never passed on to outsiders.

There was only a single bookcase inside the Heaven-Ranked Hall. Compared with the tall and imposing bookcases ahead, this one looked extremely short and shabby. It was made of wood, and many holes had been gnawed through it by insects.

After Luo Zheng stepped into the hall, he immediately felt that the Xing Tian Intent had changed completely.

The purple light had vanished, replaced by layers of purple shadows whose outlines sketched the forms of strange beasts.

Perhaps sensing that someone had entered the hall of Heaven-Ranked Techniques, the shadows that had been drifting slowly inside the hall suddenly charged toward Luo Zheng one after another.

Those purple shadows were all illusory, so they naturally could not harm Luo Zheng's body. However, after they surged into his body, he discovered that the shadows were directly attacking his soul.

Waves of stabbing pain came from deep within Luo Zheng's mind.

This kind of pain might have been fatal to others, but Luo Zheng's soul was far stronger than an ordinary person's.

Even so, he still felt as though he were suffering unbearable torment.

Each time those phantoms pounced, it was as if an awl had stabbed into his mind, bringing intense pain.

This pain had nothing to do with the flesh. It came from the spiritual level. With nowhere to dodge, Luo Zheng could only endure it all.

Every time those purple shadows attacked Luo Zheng, his soul could not help but tremble.

Enduring one attack was fine, but two, three, four...

After the attacks mounted, Luo Zheng began to have trouble holding on.

Things at the soul level were often mysterious and unfathomable. Luo Zheng had never even heard of methods for attacking the soul, much less knew how to counterattack.

Luo Zheng clenched his teeth, his eyes bloodshot. At that moment, a trace of surrender arose in his heart.

I absolutely cannot give up like this!

Luo Zheng had already endured inhuman spiritual torment once before.

Back then, the pressure of the Azure Dragon Intent had continuously torn him apart, shattered him, and then repeatedly repaired him. The pain he had suffered was a thousand, ten thousand times worse than this.

"What is this little pain? I'll treat it as tempering my soul!"

Luo Zheng shook his head, forced himself to rally, and advanced step by step into the hall of Heaven-Ranked Techniques.

As Luo Zheng endured the attacks of the phantoms and walked toward the small wooden cabinet, he suddenly saw that there was another passage behind the hall of Heaven-Ranked Techniques.

"Another passage? Could it be that the Heaven-Ranked Hall isn't the best place?" A trace of doubt flashed through Luo Zheng's mind.

From childhood to adulthood, Luo Zheng had only ever heard that techniques were divided into the four ranks of Heaven, Earth, Profound, and Yellow. Heaven-Ranked Techniques were supposed to be the pinnacle, yet he had never heard of any technique stronger than one of Heaven Rank.

His thoughts stirred. Should he go in and take a look?

His gaze swept back and forth across the cabinet, and Luo Zheng hesitated. The temptation of a Heaven-Ranked Technique was already great enough. In the past, not to mention a Heaven-Ranked Technique—even obtaining an Earth-Ranked Technique would have made Luo Zheng laugh his head off.

After hesitating for a while, Luo Zheng still could not suppress his curiosity.

Ordinary people had no chance at all to enter the Heaven-Ranked Hall. Since he had this opportunity, why not give it a try?

With that thought, Luo Zheng abandoned the chance to select a Heaven-Ranked Technique and continued forward.

The passage was not wide, and its decoration was poor as well. The floor and walls of the corridor had already rotted. When Luo Zheng crossed the corridor, which was about one zhang long, he suddenly felt a wave of relief.

The pressure from the Xing Tian Intent had actually vanished?

With his belly full of doubts, Luo Zheng continued forward and finally discovered that he had entered a stone chamber.

The stone chamber was round and not very large. In the center of the chamber stood a pure-black stele.

Luo Zheng immediately realized that this was actually a tomb!

At the instant Luo Zheng understood this, a demonic beast formed from purple light suddenly burst out of the tombstone.

This demonic beast looked very much like the purple shadows in the Heaven-Ranked Hall. However, compared with them, this beast was far more real. Its entire body was purple and lifelike, and even its eyes radiated a hateful gaze.

"I understand now. This tomb must be the tomb of the Xing Tian Beast. Then this demonic beast should be the soul essence of that dead Xing Tian Beast. This Xing Tian Beast is actually so tenacious. Even after dying for so many years, its will can still exist in this space and radiate such powerful Xing Tian Intent! But who was it that killed the Xing Tian Beast here back then?"

Luo Zheng secretly marveled, while vigilance also appeared on his face. The remnant soul aura of this Xing Tian Beast was far stronger than those phantoms, and the pressure it gave Luo Zheng was much more intense. Merely being glared at by this soul essence made him feel as if someone had swung a hammer and smashed it straight into his head!

Extremely dangerous!

If this soul essence really pounced on him, his soul would probably be torn apart in an instant, turning him into a soulless idiot.

Realizing the danger ahead, Luo Zheng retreated carefully, afraid that he might disturb the soul essence of the Xing Tian Beast and provoke its ferocity.

However, when he turned around and looked back, a bitter smile immediately spread across his face. In the passage behind him, the purple phantoms were densely layered together, blocking it completely.

The Azure Cloud Sect is far too sinister. I'm only choosing a technique. Was there really any need to set up such a dangerous trap for people to step into? Luo Zheng could not help grumbling inwardly.

What Luo Zheng did not know was that, within the Azure Cloud Sect, very few people could enter the Heaven-Ranked Hall.

Soul strength was not linked to cultivation strength. Even if they were experts of the Innate Secret Realm, they could not enter the Heaven-Ranked Hall if their souls were not strong enough, much less enter this tomb behind the hall.

Luo Zheng had only just taken two steps back when the phantoms in the passage behind him, like startled bats, began spreading toward him. At the same time, the soul essence of the Xing Tian Beast let out a howl and lunged fiercely at Luo Zheng.

"Damn it!"

Luo Zheng could not worry about anything else now. When forced to choose between two evils, he chose the lesser. He charged headfirst toward the phantoms in the passage. Although their attacks on his soul caused him tremendous pain, it was still better than being torn to pieces and turned into an idiot by the soul essence behind him.

Although Luo Zheng's sprint was fast, the soul essence was faster. In the blink of an eye, it had reached his back.

"Awooo!"

The soul essence let out a strange cry. It was only several inches away from Luo Zheng, and when he glanced back, he could see his own terrified reflection in its dark eyes.

At this critical moment, the gigantic furnace in the depths of his mind suddenly rotated slowly. A deep dragon roar suddenly rang out from the depths of his mind.

"That roar came from the Azure Dragon sculpture!"

As that Dragon's Roar, carrying supreme majesty, appeared, the purple shadows that had been attacking Luo Zheng immediately scattered in all directions, as if they had encountered their natural nemesis and were fleeing as far as possible.

The soul essence likewise leaped away from Luo Zheng as if its tail had been set ablaze. It stared warily at him, its dark eyes filled with dread. It seemed to want to pounce again, but it was deeply afraid of that Dragon's Roar. Its claws scraped restlessly against the ground while low growls rumbled from its mouth.

Seeing this scene, a smile appeared on Luo Zheng's face. He had never expected the Azure Dragon's roar to be their natural nemesis!

Every step Luo Zheng took forward forced the soul essence to retreat one step.

Finally, under Luo Zheng's Step by Step Forcing, the soul essence leaped into the tombstone. It opened its mouth and roared fiercely at Luo Zheng twice before ultimately burrowing into the black tombstone.

Luo Zheng could hear the deep unwillingness contained in that roar.

That had truly been dangerous. If the Azure Dragon sculpture in his mind had not suddenly made a sound, his soul would probably have been annihilated by now.

Now that the danger had been resolved, a faint smile appeared on his face as he began exploring the stone chamber.

From the moment he had entered, he had noticed that there was another cabinet inside the round stone chamber.

Luo Zheng walked over and saw two books of techniques placed on the cabinet.

There were only two techniques? What kind of techniques were these two?

He reached out and took down the only book. The technique looked extremely worn, like one of those ordinary old books found at a used-book stall, and it was covered by a thick layer of dust.

To see the cover clearly, Luo Zheng lightly patted it several times and dusted it clean. Only then did he see three large characters on the cover.

"Heavenly Devil God Fist!"