Chapter 1034: I Can Try

“Master Wu!” The three greeted him.

“What’s going on?” Zhang Xuan asked directly.

“The seal has been somewhat unstable for half a month, but it was within a controllable range. However, since the day before yesterday, it has been shaking constantly, as if it could collapse at any moment. It’s almost out of control!” Wu Shi’s brows furrowed as he looked ahead.

“Out of control?”

“Yes…” Wu Shi nodded. Just as he was about to speak, he felt a muffled, thunder-like sound slowly reverberate from underground, like the groan of a giant beast, or as if a colossal dragon lay dormant beneath the mountain range, ready to awaken at any moment and slaughter everyone.

“What is that?” Zhang Xuan and the others’ expressions changed.

Hearing that sound, it felt as though they were at the epicenter of a massive disaster, human power rendered incredibly insignificant. Should the disaster strike, they would likely be swallowed instantly, beyond salvation even by gods.

“That’s the sound coming from inside the seal. I’m not sure what’s happening, but if this continues, the entire seal will completely collapse soon. When that happens, both the ruins and Huoyuan City will likely be instantly razed to the ground!” Wu Shi’s face was filled with worry.

Once the seal breaks, the volcano will erupt immediately. Yanlin Mountain is only over 300 kilometers from Huoyuan City. At such a close distance, it will inevitably affect everything, and even cultivators of the Saint realm will find it hard to escape.

The power dormant beneath the volcano was immense, far exceeding what human strength could contend with!

Boom! As they spoke, the rumbling grew louder, and the ground began to pulse. A scorching hot airflow surged upward from within the seal. Under the violent tremors, more than half of the formation flags that the group had just placed were immediately shaken off.

Numerous students from the Formation Master Academy, who were guarding the pit, simultaneously turned pale. Hundreds of them were instantly thrown backward, each spitting blood.

As soon as these individuals were injured, new students immediately came to reinforce them, exerting their full cultivation to prevent the surrounding seal from collapsing.

“Such immense power…” Seeing this, Zhang Xuan’s face turned pale.

The power surging from below exceeded imagination; even Saint 4-dan and 5-dan cultivators, acting together, couldn't suppress it.

So many powerful students from the Master Teacher Pavilion were merely struggling to maintain it.

Under such power, if the seal wasn't opened, let alone entering, they might be pulverized by the violent airflow before even getting close!

He had previously thought that no matter how dangerous these ruins were, as long as he was careful and relied on his Library of Heaven’s Path and Eye of Insight, he would always be able to avoid misfortune and major incidents. Now it seemed… he had indeed thought too simply!

In such a volatile place, a slight carelessness could result in instant death, beyond salvation by gods.

“Team Jia, guard Gen position! Team Bing, guard Xun position! Qian position is guarded by Team Wu! All other teams, remain in place and channel your true qi into the center of the pit!”

Just then, a loud shout rang out. Immediately, an old man flew up and hovered above everyone, a massive compass suspended before him. He shouted commands while making calculations.

The many students below, hearing his instructions, arranged themselves according to their pre-formed teams. Immediately, countless streams of true qi surged forth simultaneously, converging at the center of the pit, like a colossal firework exploding.

With the surge of true qi, the surrounding seal seemed to be reinforced, gradually calming down. The rumbling from below also appeared suppressed, no longer as violent as before.

“No… if it’s reinforced like this, how can the seal ever be opened?” After observing for a moment, Zhang Xuan frowned.

While this indeed prevented attacks from the terrifying power below, making the area temporarily safe, there was also a significant problem!

That problem was, with the reinforcement of the seal, entering the ruins would become increasingly difficult, perhaps even impossible!

According to previous statements, the seal would open in two or three days. But if they continued to reinforce it like this, it might not open in three years, let alone three days.

“Yes, but we have no other choice! If the seal doesn’t open, we can’t enter, and as it is now, if we don’t reinforce it, the entire ruins will collapse…” Wu Shi shook his head.

In truth, they didn’t want to reinforce it like this, but if they didn’t, the ruins would cease to exist, making entry pointless!

Besides, with such ferocity below, even if they could enter, they wouldn’t dare! Who could guarantee it wouldn’t erupt at any moment, burying people inside?

“Besides reinforcing it, is there no other way?” Zhang Xuan couldn’t help but ask.

“There is, but… it’s impossible to do!” Wu Shi shook his head.

“Tell me about it?” Zhang Xuan couldn’t help but look over.

If there was a way, they could at least try. Even if it didn't succeed, it would be much better than the current situation.

“This seal is like a membrane, containing the violent power below, much like a balloon sealing an opening. The power inside constantly attacks; initially, the balloon’s elasticity can maintain it, but as the power accumulates, it will eventually reach an unbearable limit, at which point it could explode! The purpose of reinforcing the seal is to extend this limit and make the seal’s power stronger!” Wu Shi explained. “Unfortunately, no matter how strong it becomes, as long as the power below isn’t resolved, it’s just treating the symptoms, not the root cause. There will always come a day when it’s breached!”

“Understood!” Zhang Xuan nodded upon hearing his explanation. What he said was very illustrative.

The violent power below was the root cause. Not addressing it and continuously reinforcing the seal was futile, like making a balloon increasingly elastic. It would only prevent the violent power from succeeding for a short time. In reality, as the suppression lasted longer and the power accumulated more intensely, the resulting explosion would be even more devastating!

It was like a flood, dammed up by embankments. The more it was blocked, the higher the water level rose, and the pressure increased exponentially. Eventually, it would certainly reach an unbearable limit.

If that happened, they would be in serious trouble.

“The other method is to address the root cause: eliminate the violent power below… but as things stand, no one can enter before the seal is opened, let alone find the crux of the problem and stop it! And once it opens, the power below will undoubtedly erupt violently…” Wu Shi shook his head with a bitter smile.

It was a paradox: opening the seal offered the possibility of completely resolving the hidden danger, but once opened, the danger would erupt instantly…

“This…” Zhang Xuan and Mu Shi exchanged glances, shaking their heads helplessly.

The other party was right; it was indeed an impossible dilemma. Even knowing that continuously reinforcing the seal would only lead to more trouble, there was absolutely nothing they could do.

“I heard from Mu Shi that this anomaly occurred only after the Master Teacher stationed here discovered the Spirit Tribe members… I wonder if that’s true?” A thought sparked in Zhang Xuan’s mind, and he couldn’t help but ask.

“Yes!” Wu Shi nodded. “The Spirit Tribe members didn’t stay long before hastily departing. I don’t know what methods they used, but that’s when things started changing here… Initially, the impacts were minor, even a few of us could withstand them, but as time passed, they grew stronger and stronger. Even with twenty thousand students combined, it’s becoming a struggle!”

“They didn’t stay long before leaving?” Zhang Xuan hesitated. “Which Master Teacher discovered these Spirit Tribe members?”

“It was an ordinary four-star Master Teacher who was responsible for guarding this place at the time!” Wu Shi replied.

“An ordinary four-star Master Teacher, whose cultivation is at most Mortals IX… yet they discovered the Spirit Tribe causing trouble?” Zhang Xuan found it strange.

He had seen many Spirit Tribe members who had come for these ruins; the weakest had reached Saint 1-dan, and the strongest of the Ten Great Kings had even reached Saint 4-dan!

How could an ordinary four-star Master Teacher, whose cultivation was at most Mortals IX, have discovered them causing trouble and not been killed?

“Don’t worry, this Master Teacher is absolutely trustworthy and would not betray humanity…” Wu Shi quickly explained, thinking Zhang Xuan suspected someone was colluding with the Spirit Tribe.

“I’m not suggesting he would betray humanity…” Zhang Xuan shook his head. Just as he was about to say something, the rumbling from the ground resounded once more.

“Initially, the power below surged only once every two or three hours, but now it’s happening every ten minutes…” Wu Shi said.

Two days ago, although the power below also surged, the frequency was very low, so they weren’t as strained. But now… it surged every ten minutes, and they were nearly at their limit!

“If this continues, I fear these students won’t be able to bear it…” Zhang Xuan’s face turned ashen.

These were all his students, and a large portion of them belonged to the Xuanxuan Club. Sustaining it once every few hours was manageable, but every ten minutes, they wouldn’t last long before collapsing and suffering significant cultivation damage!

“I know, but there’s no better way now…” Wu Shi shook his head.

“It’s better to guide than to block. Since it can’t be suppressed indefinitely, why not guide the violent power out? That way, it wouldn’t be so troublesome…” Luo Ruoxi, standing beside them, suddenly spoke.

“Guiding it… we have considered it, but this power is too strong and attacks from all directions. If we can’t find the most suitable spot, the seal won’t just collapse instantly; it could easily trigger an explosion… If done incorrectly, everyone here could be blown to pieces!” Wu Shi explained.

Taking the balloon example again: the more it’s inflated, the larger it gets, and once it reaches its limit, it will inevitably explode… To prevent this, piercing it to release the air is the best solution. However, if pierced incorrectly, it’s like lighting a fuse and directly detonating it.

Not only Huoyuan City, but all the Master Teachers present could be annihilated, without a single survivor.

Therefore, how large a hole to make and where to make it is a profound art. If the correct spot isn’t found, it means death… Even as seven-star Master Teachers and seven-star Formation Masters, they weren’t confident enough to risk it.

“Find the most suitable spot… to release the power?” Hearing their conversation, Zhang Xuan’s eyes suddenly lit up. He looked over intently, his face full of excitement. “This… perhaps I can try!”