Chapter 1671 - Venturing Alone
“This…” Sword Saint Xing fell silent.
He found his son’s conjecture to be very plausible too.
If the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe truly wanted to take down mankind, there was no reason for them to disperse their forces across 108 Subterranean Galleries. The dispersion of forces would make it much more troublesome for mankind to cope with their assault, but it would hinder them from launching a decisive assault either.
It would have been much more efficient if they had just focused their forces on a couple of Subterranean Galleries. Had they resorted to concentrated, surprise attacks on a couple of the more loosely guarded Subterranean Galleries, their chances of success would have been much higher.
“Even if the Otherworldly Demons were to keep us preoccupied at the Subterranean Galleries, they wouldn’t be able to dominate the Temple of Confucius with just a small handful of experts. If what you said is true, it would mean that the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe has already snuck most of their experts over to the Master Teacher Continent!” Sword Saint Xing said gravely.
Tens of thousands of years of accumulation had filled the ranks of the Master Teacher Pavilion with countless experts. With the Great Codex of Spring and Autumn was at stake over here, there was no way the Master Teacher Pavilion was going to hold back. Without a doubt, the grand elders and old ancestors of the Master Teacher Pavilion were going to emerge from their seclusion as well.
It would seem to the common populace that they had already disappeared into the annals of history, but there was no way to tell for certain if they had truly passed away or not!
Some of them would have already passed away, but there was bound to be a handful who had chosen to go into hibernation, just like the Ancient Sages. They were biding their time for the opportunity that would allow them to make a breakthrough in their cultivation.
It would appear on the surface that Yang shi was the strongest expert beneath the Ancient Sages, but it would do to remember that he was only in his eight hundreds. Given how large the Master Teacher Continent was, there were bound to be seniors who had dominated the eras prior to him, especially since the lifespan of a Great Sage was 1500 years.
Even if some had passed away, there had to be some who were still living and kicking!
Had Temple of Confucius not opened, they might have still chosen to remain in seclusion. This way, they would be able to lessen the loss of their vitality and lengthen their lifespans as long as possible. However, with the opening of the Temple of Confucius just around the corner, they were bound to make a move.
If anything, it was likely that the key to achieving a breakthrough to Ancient Sage lay within the Temple of Confucius. Perhaps, they might even find treasures that would allow them to lengthen their lifespan… This was the very opportunity they were waiting for, so there was no way they would remain impassive before it!
And there was just no way the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe would have failed to consider this in their plans.
Since they were willing to go to the extent of sacrificing a significant number of their brethren in order to stall the experts of the Master Teacher Pavilion and the major powers, there was no doubt that they were determined to claim the Temple of Confucius. Naturally, they would have to dispatch a sufficiently powerful force into the Master Teacher Continent in order to ensure that they would achieve their goal.
“I have encountered some Otherworldly Demons on the Master Teacher Continent not too long ago. Most of them were at Sempiternal realm, and there were even Ancient Sages amongst them!” Zhang Xuan replied with a nod.
Back when he was at the Harvest Valley City Seer Guild, he had slain five Great Sage 4-dan Sempiternal realm Otherworldly Demons. The fighting prowess they commanded was noteworthy, possibly on par with the grand elders of the Master Teacher Pavilion headquarters.
Furthermore, he even met a living Ancient Sage there!
Given how even the Otherworldly Demon Ancient Sages were able to circumvent the detection of the Master Teacher Pavilion, he couldn’t begin to imagine just how many Otherworldly Demons had successfully infiltrated the Master Teacher Continent!
Just the very thought of it sent shudders down his spine.
In the worst-case scenario, perhaps the forces before them were all ordinary soldiers bearing the mission to stall them here; in truth, the Great Sage Otherworldly Demons had already successfully infiltrated the Master Teacher Continent.
“Did you encounter any Great Sage Otherworldly Demons in the battle so far?” Zhang Xuan asked.
“While we were guarding the seal, your father and I encountered an expert and clashed with him. He was a fearsome foe. If not for our collaborative swordsmanship, we might not have been able to return alive. That being said, I still sustained some injuries in the fight,” Sword Saint Meng replied.
“You are injured?” Zhang Xuan quickly turned a worried look over.
“Don’t worry, it’s nothing major. I have already consumed a recovery pill!” Seeing that her son was worried about her, Sword Saint Meng replied with a reassuring smile.
“That’s a relief…” Zhang Xuan nodded. “An opponent which requires your collaborative swordsmanship to deal with is bound to be at Sempiternal realm at the very minimum…”
The Xingmeng Sword Saints were at Great Sage 3-dan Intuitive Impulse realm consummation, but the prowess they were able to bring out through their collaborative swordsmanship was beyond what an average Sempiternal realm cultivator would be able to deal with!
If Sword Saint Meng still ended up sustaining some injuries even after they had executed your collaborative swordsmanship, it would mean to say that the opponent they had faced was extremely powerful.
If the goal of the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe was to claim dominance in the Temple of Confucius, they should have dispatched all of their top experts to the Master Teacher Continent. It was truly surprising to hear that there would still be a Sempiternal realm cultivator in the ranks of the enemy.
Of course, it was still too early to come to a conclusion at this point in time, but this did weaken the credibility of his argument.
“No matter what their motive is, I want to take a look at it personally to verify it. It won’t do for us to continue biding our time here blindly!” Unable to make sense out of the matter, Zhang Xuan raised his head and said.
At this rate, mankind would find itself losing a large group of experts for the Temple of Confucius. If the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe successfully amassed most of the treasures in the Temple of Confucius as a result of that, mankind would be placed in an even more disadvantageous position in the war.
However, with a massive army of the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe standing right before them, they couldn’t afford to just leave their posts and reinforce the Temple of Confucius either.
If his conjecture was true, the ideal plan would be to assault the army before them right now and regain control over the seal as soon as possible before reinforcing the Temple of Confucius.
However, if his conjecture were to be false, they would be abandoning the protection of the formation, and this was an extremely risky move.
Thus, the only thing he could do at the moment was to scout the situation himself and uncover the true intentions of the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe.
“You wish to take a look personally? That won’t do! You are the head of the Three Premier Clans and the Sanctum of Sages! If something were to happen to you, it would be a huge setback to mankind!” Sword Saint Xing immediately expressed his vehement opposition toward Zhang Xuan’s decision.
His son wielded massive influence in mankind, possibly even greater than Ren Qingyuan and Yang shi. There was no doubt that he would play a crucial role in uniting the forces of mankind in the war against the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe.
They couldn’t afford to allow him to take such a risk!
If he were to be caught by the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe while scouting the situation, the chances of him returning alive were extremely slim. Even if they were to mobilize the full prowess of the Zhang Clan to rescue him, it was unlikely that the operation would in their favor.
It was the greatest blessing of mankind for someone who wielded considerable influence in most major powers of the Master Teacher Continent to appear at this juncture. Such a figure could easily become a binding force in constructing an allied army of mankind. If he were to pass away, mankind would be scattered once more. It would be a huge setback in the war against the powerful Otherworldly Demons.
“You can’t go!” Sword Saint Meng exclaimed in fright too.
“I have comprehended the Spatial Quintessence of Sealing. I understand that the spatial seal has been breached, and I believe that I might be able to mend it. If I were to succeed, the Otherworldly Demons wouldn’t be able to bring in their reinforcements easily, thus increasing our likelihood of a victory… Don’t worry, I have plenty of life preservation means up my sleeves. Besides, I’m just going to see what they are up to. It’s not as if I’m going to start a battle with them or anything. They won’t be able to find me easily!” Knowing their worries, Zhang Xuan reassured with a smile.
“But…” Sword Saint Meng was still extremely worried.
“This is something I have to do. I’ll just be scouting for intelligence, so the level of danger would be much lower. If you don’t believe me, you can ask Ruoxin!” Zhang Xuan said.
“Zhang Xuan will be fine if it’s just simple scouting,” Luo Ruoxin reassured with a nod.
Her disguise amulet was able to disguise even one’s bloodline, so he wouldn’t face any trouble disguising as an Otherworldly Demon. Besides, even if something were to happen, Zhang Xuan had the ability to get away as long as his opponent wasn’t an Ancient Sage. There was indeed nothing to worry about.
“Then… You must make sure to proceed with utmost caution. If you were to notice anything amiss, head back right away. Don’t push yourself, alright?” Seeing that even Luo Ruoxin had said such words, Sword Saint Meng hesitated for a moment before reluctantly nodding in agreement.
“I will!” Zhang Xuan replied with a smile.
Taking a deep breath, he leaped down from the city walls.
While descending down, his figure suddenly vanished without a trace before everyone’s eyes.
“This…”
“How did our clan head disappear?”
“I can’t sense him with my Spiritual Perception!”
The elders exclaimed with widened eyes.
“It’s a maneuver of the Spatial Quintessence of Sealing. Through sealing the space around his body, he is able to redirect light and Spiritual Perception away from him, thus making it nigh impossible to perceive his presence. Unless one’s soul cultivation or comprehension of space reaches a certain level, it would be impossible to find him,” Luo Ruoxin explained to the confused crowd.
Realization dawned upon the crowd.
They didn’t know that it was possible to manipulate space in such a manner to produce such mystical effects.
It was no wonder why the Spatial Quintessence of Sealing was the highest heritage of the Luo Clan. Its prowess truly didn’t disappoint!
If they were able to conceal their figure through such a method as well, it would effectively mean that they could march right into the enemy camp openly without catching anyone’s notice!
They were still a little worried over the safety of their clan head a moment ago, but after seeing what he was capable of, their hearts were put at ease.
With the ability to conceal himself and the ability to accelerate time, he would surely be able to overcome any danger and return safely!