Zhang Xuan nodded in realization.All along, he thought that the Temple of Confucius only contained the Great Codex of Spring and Autumn and Kong s.h.i.+"s heritage. However, from the looks of it now, it was likely to be similar to most ancient domains out there. There were many unexpected treasures and fortuitous encounters awaiting the cultivators there.
"Not only so, the Temple of Confucius harnesses the academic aura and academic fortune Kong s.h.i.+ has left behind. Even if a cultivator fails to acquire anything at all, he would still be able to make significant progress in his cultivation just by cultivating within. Furthermore, it"s said that Kong s.h.i.+"s Impartation of Heaven"s Will lingers in the Temple of Confucius. As long as one listens carefully, one will be able to overcome any bottleneck one is facing with ease," Luo Ruoxin explained.
"The emergence of the Temple of Confucius is a major affair to all cultivators in the world. This is an opportunity that no one is willing to give up on, be it the human cultivators, the Otherworldly Demons, or the Beast Tribe… You must ensure that you are prepared if you wish to acquire anything from the Temple of Confucius. Advancing blindly in the Temple of Confucius isn"t going to work out."
Hearing those words, Zhang Xuan lowered his head solemnly.
The Otherworldly Demonic Tribe weren"t lacking experts, and there were many formidable beasts in the world too. Considering the allure of the Temple of Confucius, not even the Master Teacher Pavilion would dare to stop them carelessly.
The implications were simply great. Stopping them would mean robbing them of the countless possibilities of what they could become. In the worst-case scenario, it could even lead to a full-blown war there and then!
And if the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe were to make a move then, mankind would really be in trouble.
The best they could do at the moment was to acquire the Great Codex of Spring and Autumn as soon as possible and control the Temple of Confucius. This was the only way they could ensure that the situation wouldn"t run amok.
Kong s.h.i.+ had forged six Subordinate Amulets and a Prime Amulet, which equated to a total of seven Celestial Amulets of Legacy. So far, it was known that the Master Teacher Pavilion headquarters, the Zhang Clan, and the Luo Clan possessed a Subordinate Amulet each. As for the remaining three Subordinate Amulets, their whereabouts were a mystery.
However, if Zhang Xuan had to fathom a guess, he felt that it was likely that the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe and the Hundred Schools of Philosophers had a Subordinate Amulet in their possession too.
Furthermore, cultivators who possessed unique const.i.tutions would be able to enter the Temple of Confucius as well. This meant that a considerable number of people would be able to enter the Temple of Confucius. It could really turn out to be dangerous if he didn"t make ample preparations in advance.
Putting everything aside, the cultivators of the Hundred Schools of Philosophers had already shown that they had no lack of formidable artifacts. Even with the recent advancements in his cultivation, he would still have difficulties dealing with them.
He didn"t think that he could be considered weak anymore, but he wasn"t so arrogant as to think that he could easily tower over all of the experts in the world.
"Let"s return to the Zhang Clan and see how their preparations are coming along!"
In truth, Zhang Xuan didn"t know much about the Temple of Confucius and how the Great Codex of Spring and Autumn could be acquired. However, it was likely that the Zhang Clan had some exclusive intelligence and had been preparing for it since a long time ago.
With such thoughts in mind, Zhang Xuan and Luo Ruoxin quickly left the Master Teacher Pavilion headquarters and returned to the Zhang Clan.
With the advancements in Zhang Xuan"s cultivation, the spatial pa.s.sageways he constructed through ripping open dimension rifts had become significantly stabler. It didn"t take long before the ma.s.sive Zhang Clan appeared before their sights.
As soon as he entered the Zhang Clan, Zhang Xuan could already sense that something was amiss.
The Zhang Clan always had huge crowds walking to and fro, but at this very moment, the entire place felt exceptionally empty. There was hardly anyone within sight.
It took quite a bit of searching around before Zhang Xuan finally found an elder. He asked anxiously, "What happened?"
"Nearly all of the cultivators of Saint realm and above in our Zhang Clan have made their way to the Subterranean Gallery to fend against the invasion of the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe. The Xingmeng Sword Saints have already headed over too!" Upon seeing Zhang Xuan, the elder hurriedly greeted him with a bow before reporting the current circ.u.mstances.
"They have headed to the Subterranean Galleries?" Zhang Xuan widened his eyes in realization.
He had been too overwhelmed by the emergence of the Temple of Confucius that he had forgotten about the orders he had pa.s.sed down earlier. Back when he was still at the Master Teacher Pavilion headquarters, he had instructed the Three Premier Clans to reinforce the Master Teacher Pavilion in fending against the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe.
"Which Subterranean Gallery they head to? Bring me there!" Zhang Xuan instructed imposingly.
With the opening of the Temple of Confucius just around the corner, it was likely that the invasion of the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe would further intensify. After all, there would not want to miss on this once in a lifetime opportunity.
This was truly a quandary. The Temple of Confucius was important, but even if they managed to acquire the Great Codex of Spring and Autumn, it would be meaningless if losing the Master Teacher Continent was the price of it.
The Great Codex of Spring and Autumn could enhance a cultivator"s prowess immensely. However, to fight a war of such scale, they would require the might of countless soldiers. It would be a catastrophe if the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe were to breach their defense at this point in time.
It was no wonder why the Master Teacher Pavilion headquarters was in such a panic, even going to the extent of clearing his 9-star master teacher examination in such a slipshod manner.
Otherwise, if they were to go through formal procedures, just proving his philosophy of pedagogy was likely to take several years already.
"Even though there is unrest in all 108 Subterranean Galleries, our scouts found that most of the Subterranean Galleries are only facing minor skirmishes at the moment. The local Master Teacher Pavilions should be able to suppress them. The true threat lies in six of the Subterranean Galleries, namely the Master Teacher Pavilion headquarters" Subterranean Gallery, the Dragon Gate Subterranean Gallery, the Icysea Subterranean Gallery, the Cloudsea Subterranean Gallery, the Zhang Clan"s Dracotiger Mountain Subterranean Gallery, and the Luo Clan"s Starcl.u.s.ter Subterranean Gallery!
"There are many 9-star master teachers to deal with the Subterranean Gallery over at the Master Teacher Pavilion headquarters" side, so they don"t require any a.s.sistance at the moment.
"Over at the Dragon Gate Subterranean Gallery and the Cloudsea Subterranean Gallery, the Progeny of Combat, Zheng Yang, has officially a.s.sumed the t.i.tle of the master of the Combat Master Hall and led countless combat masters to quell the unrest in those two places.
"As for the Icysea Subterranean Gallery, the Glacier Plain Court, the Yuan Clan, the Sanctum of Sages, and the Spirit Awakener Guild have all liaised with one another and sent their forces over to stabilize the region.
"The other Sage Clans, occupation guilds, and powers are patrolling the other Subterranean Galleries to lend their aid wherever required.
"Last but not least, the Jiang Clan is moving alongside with both the Zhang Clan and the Luo Clan to guard the Dracotiger Mountain Subterranean Gallery and Starcl.u.s.ter Subterranean Gallery!
"The Otherworldly Demons are particularly rampant in the Dracotiger Mountain Subterranean Gallery and the Starcl.u.s.ter Subterranean Gallery, and the seals which Ancient Sage Qiu Wu have left behind are having trouble fending them off. As such, all master teachers of 6-star and above in the Zhang Clan are all mobilized to the Subterranean Gallery to bolster the defenses!" the elder explained.
"I am left in charge of taking care of the clan while the others are away. Should the situation turn for the worse, I"m responsible for moving our clan members away so as to preserve the lineage of our Zhang Clan!"
"Dracotiger Mountain Subterranean Gallery? In other words, there is Subterranean Gallery is right beneath us?" Zhang Xuan"s eyebrows shot up.
He knew that some of the regional Master Teacher Pavilion branches were responsible for suppressing the Subterranean Galleries across the continent, such as the Hongyuan Master Teacher Academy… He should have guessed that it would have been the same for the Zhang Clan as well!
The Dracotiger Mountain was right next to the Zhang Clan, and since the Subterranean Gallery was named as such, it was likely to be in the vicinity.
"Un, the entrance is right beneath our Zhang Clan. If you wish to enter, I can bring you over right now!" the elder replied.
"Bring me over. I wish to take a look!" Zhang Xuan instructed.
Putting aside the fact that the Temple of Confucius wasn"t open yet, even if it was, it still wouldn"t be as important as quelling the invasion of the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe!
"Clan head, please follow me!"
Without any hesitation, the elder led the way forward. Before long, they arrived at their destination.
"This is… the mausoleum of the Zhang Clan?" Zhang Xuan was taken aback.
"That"s right. The Subterranean Gallery is located beneath our mausoleum!" the elder replied.
"Using heroic spirits of the Zhang Clan"s predecessors to suppress the Subterranean Gallery…" Zhang Xuan murmured quietly.
This practice was similar to that of the Hongyuan Master Teacher Academy. Each princ.i.p.al of the Hongyuan Master Teacher Academy would deposit a sliver of their will at the entrance of the Subterranean Gallery so as to reinforce the seal, thus preventing the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe from stepping onto the Master Teacher Continent.
"Only the heroic spirits of our predecessors are able to suppress the Otherworldly Demons and prevent them from entering the Master Teacher Continent. Clan head, the Subterranean Gallery is right ahead. I still have some other matters to attend to, so I"ll have to take my leave right now!" the elder bade his farewell before leaving the area.
If the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe were to breach the defenses set up by the Zhang Clan and the Jiang Clan, their very first point of contact with the Master Teacher Continent would be the Zhang Clan. Thus, they had to be prepared to move the members of the Zhang Clan at any moment.
Otherwise, if even the younger generation were to lose their lives in this war, mankind would have nothing to oppose the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe anymore!
"Un!" Zhang Xuan nodded before making his way into the Zhang Clan Mausoleum together with Luo Ruoxin.
There were countless stone tablets lying all around. Taking a closer look, there was a name inscribed on each of the stone tablets. These were the strongest experts of the Zhang Clan in their era, but it was a pity that they were unable to escape the restraints of time. All that was left of them was a fistful of yellow dust.
No matter how talented a person was in his lifetime, in the pa.s.sing of tens of thousands of years, all that would remain of them were just lonely names on blocks of stones.
With time, even history would forget who they were and what they did. All that would be left of them were their heroic spirits.