Chapter 1208: Someone Missed Me?

“Gather his body and take him back to the Master Teacher Pavilion!”

Since he was dead, all grudges were settled. With a sigh, Elder Wu waved his hand.

Master Tian wielded immense power; although he was only a deputy head, his authority was virtually identical to that of the head, and he held singular dominance. He was expected to eventually reach the 8-star Master Teacher level and achieve even higher realms, but no one ever dreamed he would die here.

The thought of it was truly lamentable. Never offend Zhang Xuan, no matter who else you offend... It seemed their previous decision was correct.

Two elders came forward to collect the body. Only then did Elder Wu look around, “Where is Master Zhang?” The battle had been fierce, and they had been too preoccupied to notice where Zhang Xuan had gone.

“My master went into that cave...” The Golden Origin Cauldron bounced.

“A cave?” Elder Wu and the others then noticed a stone door on one side of the garden that hadn't been there before.

“The Breath-Sealing Formation masked its presence; that's why we didn't discover it...” Elder Wu said, approaching.

This formation sealed off all auras, so even though they had been fighting nearby, they hadn't detected anything. However, while the formation was active, it was undetectable, but with the stone door now open, like a bottle uncorked, if they still couldn't find it, they wouldn't be worthy of being 7-star master teachers.

“Let's go in and see!” Nodding, Elder Wu stepped inside.

Zhang Jiuxiao and the others followed. Not long after they entered, they heard a dejected voice, “Give me a pull...”

Everyone turned and saw that the Golden Origin Cauldron also intended to enter, but it was stuck outside the stone door, its three thick legs wedged in the doorway, looking utterly resentful.

This fellow could grow larger, but shrinking was not so easy. It was just like Zhang Xuan's witch soul, which desperately wanted to shrink and enter the nascent soul but simply couldn't.

Everyone worked together to break down the doorway, finally freeing the stuck cauldron. After crushing the scattered debris on the ground, the Golden Origin Cauldron, looking pleased and proud, floated after them towards the stone steps.

Before long, they arrived in the underground palace. They saw the lava and the altar, and also Zhang Xuan, sitting motionless on the ground.

“Master Zhang...” Everyone gathered around. Elder Wu's face turned pale, his eyes filled with disbelief. “No breathing, no heartbeat—Master Zhang is dead? How is that possible?”

The person before them had no discernible breath or heartbeat, like a statue. He was a Celestial Master Teacher and a Celestial Sage; how could he possibly die in such an insignificant place?

Just as they were at a loss, the boisterous voice of the Golden Origin Cauldron rang out. “Dead? What do you mean, dead? My master is cultivating a special technique; all of you, go play somewhere else!”

At Qiu Wu Palace, the Golden Origin Cauldron had taken Zhang Xuan into the lava, so it knew that when he cultivated certain techniques, his soul would leave his body, making his physical form appear identical to a corpse, which was not strange at all.

“A cultivation technique?” “What kind of technique could make someone completely insensible?” Everyone frowned, unwilling to believe it.

As master teachers, they were well-informed and had never heard of any cultivation technique that would make the body appear exactly like a corpse!

“How could such a technique exist in this world?” Zhang Jiuxiao also shook his head.

As a clan disciple, he was well-traveled and had seen many strange things, but something like this—no heartbeat, no breathing, a slightly stiff body... and most importantly, unable to hear or respond, completely unconscious—what could it be but death? Even when a primordial spirit left the body, there would still be a heartbeat and breathing.

Hearing his words, everyone shared the same doubts.

“Believe it or not!” The Golden Origin Cauldron wiggled its massive body. If it had a face, it would surely be sneering at them. A bunch of master teachers, with less knowledge than a mere cauldron—truly country bumpkins!

“I'll know if I check with my zhenqi...” Whether he was dead or not would be clear with a quick examination.

Without waiting for the Golden Origin Cauldron to reply, Zhang Jiuxiao extended his hand and reached for Zhang Xuan. If his zhenqi entered the body and found that the meridians were still pliable and the internal organs active, it would indicate he was alive.

As his palm merely touched Zhang Xuan, a fierce power suddenly surged forth, as if he had been targeted by a ferocious beast. Zhang Jiuxiao's pupils constricted, and the hairs on his body instantly bristled.

Just as he thought to dodge, it was too late. He then saw a palm, carrying immense power, chop down onto his handsome face. Immediately after, his mouth twisted, his entire face contorted like a gourd, and he was sent flying backward.

*Pfft! Whoosh!* He spat blood, his body flying backward to crash heavily against the underground palace wall, his face as pale as paper.

A large pit was left in the wall, and Zhang Jiuxiao, like a sausage nailed to it, couldn't help but shed tears. “I was just checking... if he was dead or not. Did he really need to use so much force?”

As the victim, he naturally knew who had delivered that palm strike; it was none other than Zhang Xuan, sitting on the ground like a corpse. “I was just checking if you were dead, wasn't I? Did you have to hit me so hard, like you were trying to kill me?” In an instant, Zhang Jiuxiao felt utterly exhausted. Ever since he met this guy, he hadn't had a single good day.

Struggling to peel himself off the wall, he looked at the culprit who had sent him flying, only to see that not only did Zhang Xuan show no remorse, he hadn't even opened his eyes, remaining motionless in his spot. It was as if the incident had nothing to do with him.

“I told you my master was cultivating a technique, but you wouldn't listen...” Seeing this, the Golden Origin Cauldron swayed its body, its tone full of “you deserved it.”

“It truly is cultivation...” Elder Wu and the others' lips twitched. They had seen strange cultivation methods, but never one this peculiar. Could such a technique really exist in the world?

“Since Master Zhang is cultivating, we'll wait here. Elder Gu, go to the Master Teacher Pavilion, bring some people, seal this area, and report the matter truthfully to headquarters!” After a moment, Elder Wu instructed.

“Yes!” An elder retreated.

The world spun before Zhang Xuan's eyes, and when he opened them again, he was in a dilapidated house. Beneath him was still an altar, which must have been connected to the one in the underground palace; his soul had been drawn from there to here.

The altar exerted a special suction force, immobilizing him and making it difficult to escape in a short time.

“Master Zhang, we meet again!” Just as he was about to survey his surroundings, he heard a faint voice. Looking up, he saw a bronze-masked figure standing a short distance away, facing sideways with hands clasped behind their back.

“It's you?” Frowning, Zhang Xuan recognized him. It was the bronze-masked figure from the Treasure Appraisal Pavilion who had previously brought Elder Wubei's 8-realm painting to have its seal deciphered.

“Indeed!” The bronze mask nodded and turned around. “If I'm not mistaken, the content sealed within that painting was altered by you, wasn't it?”

“Altered?” Shaking his head, Zhang Xuan raised an eyebrow, his face full of righteous indignation. “How is that possible? Even if I had the ability, as a master teacher, I would never arbitrarily alter someone else's painting. That would be copyright infringement, something we of this generation would never do!”

“Never do?” The bronze-masked figure's eyes immediately narrowed. “Only your consciousness entered that painting, and after the seal was broken, it transformed into a different image. Not only was the style different, but even the artistic concept changed. If it wasn't you, then who could it have been?”

When the seal was broken, he found it was not the image he had speculated but rather a bathing beauty, which he found hard to believe. However, upon careful reflection after returning, he immediately noticed something was amiss. He had been able to acquire an 8-realm painting and discover the seal within it, meaning his understanding of calligraphy and painting was no less than President Meng Chong's.

The bathing beauty painting under the seal, although skillfully imitated, was still very different from Elder Wubei's fixed-plate painting method. To ensure the scroll's flatness, Elder Wubei would rather shave off a layer to add a seal... his obsession with the scroll's neatness and symmetry had reached a fanatical level. The later painting, though it also appeared flat and neat, was attached to a pile of scattered stones, and the ink color was noticeably newer, making it easy to see that someone had deliberately added it. Combining this with the fact that only Zhang Xuan's consciousness had entered the painting before the seal was broken, it wasn't difficult to deduce.

“You're misunderstanding me a bit. Although that bathing beauty painting isn't large, it's exceptionally detailed. My consciousness was only in the painting for a very short time. Do you think... someone could create a painting of that quality in such a short period?” Zhang Xuan shook his head, his face expressing indescribable sincerity.

“This...” The bronze mask frowned. This point also puzzled him greatly. From the moment Zhang Xuan's consciousness entered the painting to the breaking of the seal, no more than three minutes had passed. To create a painting and seamlessly integrate it into another within such a short time, leaving no discernible flaws, would be incredibly difficult not just for him, but even for an 8-star calligrapher and painter.

However, if it wasn't the person in front of him, then who could it be? He could guarantee that, other than the day it was taken out, the painting had not been shown to anyone else.

“The short time frame would make painting impossible, but furthermore, I wasn't the only one whose consciousness entered it.” Seeing his hesitation, Zhang Xuan continued.

“Not just you?”

“Yes, have you forgotten? Zhang Jiuxiao's consciousness also entered, and he was ambushed by the spirit, ending up with a head full of durians!” Zhang Xuan said.

“True! Zhang Jiuxiao's consciousness also entered...” The bronze mask's expression darkened.

“He's from the Zhang Clan. I don't need to elaborate on how terrifying the Sage Clan is, do I? That family loves to snatch things from others; forget a mere painting, they might even snatch people! Since he knew how to break the seal, perhaps he had some magic treasure on him, which he secretly used to alter the content inside without you noticing!” Zhang Xuan explained.

“The Sage Zhang Clan...” The bronze mask's lips twitched, and a hint of fear appeared in his eyes. It seemed he had heard of this Sage Clan and knew of their power and dreadfulness.

*Achoo!* Zhang Jiuxiao, who had just applied medicine and felt his face becoming more comfortable, suddenly sneezed, a look of surprise on his face. “Is... is someone thinking of me?” He had always been disheartened, so to suddenly have someone caring for him felt a little exciting!