Chapter 1094: Sealing the Sage, I Can Give It a Try

“Dispersed by the impact? What do you mean?”Ji Yan and Tan Qing were both taken aback, their faces blank with confusion. If the other party had said they didn't find the entrance, or didn't pass the stone tablet engraved with the three characters "Qiu Wu Palace," or didn't enter it, they would understand. But... "dispersed by the impact"... This sounds so profound, they couldn't understand it at all.“Could you please elaborate?”

“You'd better explain...”Seeing the two men's curious expressions, Master Wu blushed, unsure how to begin. He turned to President Han instead. Master Wu was not a Master Teacher, and felt President Han would explain it more effectively.

“Alright, actually, it’s like this...”With a bitter smile, President Han carefully chose his words and recounted the entire story in detail.

“You mean... Master Zhang spotted flaws in the ancient saint’s palm technique? Not only did he successfully cultivate it, but he also corrected it?”“And he wants to take the ancient saint... as his disciple?”The two vice-deans were utterly dumbfounded, almost collapsing from shock on the spot. Were they listening to a fairy tale? Could there really be such an unbelievable Master Teacher in the world?

That was the Qiu Wu Ancient Saint... anyone who had heard his name would revere him like a god, not daring to speak loudly in his presence. Yet this fellow... immediately proposed taking him as a disciple... Had he never accepted a disciple before, or had his audacity reached an unprecedented level?

“Ahem... I was merely stating the facts. I didn’t expect the Qiu Wu Ancient Saint to be so fragile, so unable to withstand such a blow. Alas, it seems his mental fortitude needs considerable tempering...”Noting their gazes, Zhang Xuan sighed. He hadn't intended for this situation to occur. It was simply unavoidable...

“Fragile...”“Tempering?”Both men were speechless.He was one of the renowned ancient saints of the Master Teacher Pavilion, a subordinate of the Teacher of Ten Thousand Generations... And you, a junior from tens of thousands of years later, wish to take him as a disciple. It was a miracle he didn’t die of sheer indignation; what more could you possibly do to him? You modified his self-created and most cherished palm technique on the spot, and, crucially, significantly increased its power... It was truly commendable that he even managed to utter a word.

“Without the inheritance... it seems we truly can’t escape now...” After a moment, Ji Yan shook his head with a bitter smile. To return empty-handed from a treasure mountain, and with such an outrageous Master Teacher—how had he even become the academy dean? They were genuinely worried about the future of Hongyuan Academy. However, without obtaining the inheritance, the spatial seal couldn't be broken, meaning they couldn't leave. Worrying was futile.

They had originally hoped that someone receiving their message would be able to rescue them, but now... that hope was clearly misplaced.

“What exactly is 'Consecration'? Is it connected to the Consecration Altar?”Ignoring the others’ attitudes, Zhang Xuan turned to them. Given the striking similarity in their names, and both being linked to Master Kong, he refused to believe there was no connection between Consecration and the Consecration Altar.

“There is indeed a connection between the two, if I’m not mistaken...”Seeing his inquiry, Ji Yan had no choice but to answer. Just as he began to speak, everyone felt a violent tremor in the ground, as if an earthquake had struck, and it seemed the entire building could collapse at any moment.

“What’s wrong?”Master Wu and the others’ pupils contracted sharply.

“This phenomenon occurs unpredictably every day, and today’s has begun... Come, I’ll take you to see Zhang Yinqiu. However, I must warn you in advance: we only have the time it takes for one stick of incense to burn. We must return within this period, otherwise, it will be like before, and we won't be able to escape again...”Ji Yan seemed accustomed to this shaking. He paused for a moment, then said through gritted teeth.

“To see Zhang Yinqiu?” Everyone paused in surprise, then nodded, “Alright!”“Let’s go!”

Without further delay, Ji Yan led the way out. Tan Qing, lacking limbs, found it difficult to move or fly in certain areas, so he remained behind.

Bypassing the numerous formations and traps outside the room, they ascended. Before long, they reached the very top of the structure. It was then they discovered that this tower-like building had a flat roof, and at its very center was a small, circular platform emitting dazzling light.

The tremor they had felt earlier had been emanated from this very platform.

“This is...”Zhang Xuan was momentarily stunned. This object was identical to the circular platform that had appeared at the Consecration Altar after he had debunked the cultivation insights. Back then, when he pointed out the errors in Master Kong’s insights, the stone tablet had shattered, and a circular platform had emerged from the rock wall, rising to the top. He and Luo Ruoxi had then been directly teleported into a folded space.At the time, he had always believed that circular platform was where Master Kong sat during his consecration. Seeing this one, he suddenly realized it was highly probable that it was not.

“Indeed, this is the Consecration Altar left by Master Kong when he achieved consecration. The one outside is merely a replica...”Noticing Zhang Xuan’s confusion, Ji Yan nodded.

“The true Consecration Altar?” Zhang Xuan clenched his fists. A Heaven-Acknowledged Saint was no ordinary person. How could a place of consecration, imbued with the laws of heaven and earth, merely emit a faint glow? And how could it be hidden atop a mountain, unafraid of being discovered by others?

His Eye of Insight activated, Zhang Xuan gazed at the Consecration Altar before him. He saw a peculiar light barrier standing over it, with ripples flowing across its surface, giving a unique sensation. It felt as though merely inhaling a breath of the air around it could significantly boost one’s cultivation and make the Saint Domain energy within their body even more potent.

“When one achieves Heaven and Earth Consecration, even a trace of dissipated energy is an immense fortune for us cultivators. The reason my cultivation speed is so rapid is precisely because of this...” Ji Yan nodded.

Everyone nodded simultaneously. The light emanating from the circular platform felt warm on their bodies, giving them a sensation of being bathed in sacred radiance. Although they had only just arrived, they clearly felt their thoughts quicken, their muscles become more active, and any cultivation they undertook seemed to yield twice the results with half the effort.

Cultivating in such a place, as long as one’s talent wasn't too deficient, would undoubtedly lead to extremely rapid progress. Advancing three major levels in just two years was perfectly understandable.

Observing their expressions, Ji Yan knew they had understood. He stopped explaining, took a few steps forward, and pointed to a spot not far from the Consecration Altar: “The Dean is right here...”

Everyone was startled and quickly looked, seeing a stone statue standing nearby. It depicted an old man, carved so lifelike that it was identical to the portrait of Zhang Yinqiu displayed among the students.

“Master Wu? You’re here...”As they wondered, a faint voice emanated from the stone statue. They quickly looked and saw the statue, just like the Qiu Wu Ancient Saint earlier, begin to speak.

“Zhang Yinqiu, how could you be in this state...”A pang went through Master Wu’s heart as he couldn’t help but look over. No wonder Ji Yan had said there were less than three of them. The fact that Zhang Yinqiu could speak and recognize him indicated he still possessed consciousness and was not truly dead... yet his current form was virtually indistinguishable from death.

“The Dean, in order to save us, had his physical body destroyed by King Tian Ye. At that time, the Consecration Altar happened to be active, and its sacred light enveloped him. His soul did not dissipate but was instead absorbed onto a stone, unable to leave or escape. However, he still retained his consciousness and wasn't entirely dead... that’s how he came to be in his current form!”Ji Yan explained.

The situation at the time had been complex. Dean Zhang Yinqiu’s physical body was shattered on the spot, and it was presumed he would surely die. They never dreamed that this Consecration Altar, left by Master Kong, possessed such immense magical power. Under its sacred light, his soul miraculously did not perish but instead attached itself to a stone and survived.

Over time, he transformed into a stone statue. However, he could neither escape nor move; he could only stand quietly in this spot. To be honest... he was no different from being dead.

“The old dean tamed the Purple Sun Beast not through soul taming, but through a blood contract. When his physical body died, the master-servant relationship naturally dissolved... No wonder the library didn't know who its master was when it investigated that creature back then...”Zhang Xuan finally understood.

When Zhang Xuan tamed sacred beasts and spirit beasts, it was through soul sacrifice, where the beast companion’s soul was entirely under his own soul’s control. However, the old dean clearly did not follow this method; he merely used essence blood to form a contract.

While this type of contract could also tame sacred beasts, the master-servant relationship would automatically dissolve upon the death of the physical body. Previously, when he investigated the Purple Sun Beast, he hadn't known its master was the old dean, which had led to a misunderstanding... He had thought the dean was truly dead, but it turned out to be this very unique situation.

“Actually, it’s nothing. This way is quite good; at least I’m alive...”Seeing everyone’s sorrow, especially his old friend Master Wu, whose face had turned pale, the stone statue of Zhang Yinqiu chuckled.

This situation was not what he had desired, but... at least it was better than having his soul scattered and his existence extinguished completely.

“Since you were able to enter, I presume you’ve seen the traces I left and obtained the inheritance of the Qiu Wu Ancient Saint, correct?”After offering a word of comfort, Zhang Yinqiu looked at them. As long as they obtained the inheritance, it meant they could escape and would no longer be confined here indefinitely.

Although he himself could not leave, Vice Deans Ji Yan and Tan Qing could successfully escape, which would at least preserve some of the Master Teacher Academy's strength.

“We didn’t obtain the inheritance...”Seeing the Dean’s inquiry, this time without Master Wu needing to answer, Ji Yan hastily recounted the entire sequence of events.

“You...”After hearing the explanation, Zhang Yinqiu’s eyes widened as if he had seen a ghost. He glanced at Zhang Xuan, wanting to say something, but ultimately stopped, filled with helplessness. “Without obtaining the ancient saint’s inheritance, leaving is almost impossible... unless one can be acknowledged by Heaven and Earth and directly achieve consecration, just like Master Kong!”

“Achieve consecration?” Zhang Xuan was momentarily stunned.

“Yes!” Zhang Yinqiu continued, “This Consecration holds the true Consecration Altar, along with numerous insights and explanations for achieving sainthood. Its sole purpose... is for Master Kong to leave it to future generations, hoping that they too can be acknowledged by Heaven! As long as someone can break through on this Consecration Altar and become a Heaven-Acknowledged Saint, the seals obstructing the surroundings will also vanish!”

Hearing him state the condition for leaving, Master Wu and the others offered bitter smiles. “This is simply impossible to achieve...”

“Yes, it is indeed impossible...”Throughout history, only Master Kong had ever accomplished it, which clearly demonstrated its immense difficulty. How could they possibly achieve it? A mere handful of scattered, disorganized individuals like themselves?

“That’s why... we never envisioned being able to leave. Before coming here, we had already made preparations for our passing. To still be clinging to life now is already quite good!”Ji Yan stated.

“Actually...”Seeing everyone dispirited, Zhang Xuan hesitated for a moment, then looked at them.

“Consecration... I can try!”