Chapter 1244: Strange Master and Disciple

Under the immense pressure, everyone's bodies stiffened. The head before them was truly enormous, and its power was endless. Although it hadn't made a move, the aura it exuded had already sealed off the space, making escape impossible.

"This is... a Spirit Severing Realm pinnacle expert!" Wu Shi swallowed hard and said. With his strength, he could easily tell that the opponent had reached the pinnacle of the Spirit Severing Realm. This kind of power was beyond their ability to contend with!

"It is indeed the Spirit Severing Realm pinnacle..." Zhang Xuan nodded. Just as he had guessed back in Qingyuan City, this ruthless being had indeed reached the Spirit Severing Realm pinnacle, possessing strength several times greater than Emperor Qingtian.

"What should we do then?" Looking on anxiously, everyone was filled with worry. If it were someone at the late Spirit Severing Realm, they might still be able to put up a fight with some effort. But how could they fight a Spirit Severing Realm pinnacle expert, especially one so enormous? No matter how they fought, they would lose!

"Zhang Xuan, you are very clever. To devise a method of breaking formations with formations to destroy the altar... your tactics are quite brilliant. However, it is precisely your brilliance that allowed me to break free from my shackles, haha! How does it feel? You've always wanted to kill me, yet you personally released me, forcing you to passively flee. Do you feel a deep sense of regret?" The human face floated steadily in the air, becoming increasingly clear, its gaze chilling and eyes filled with playful amusement. The surrounding space had already been sealed by him. Even if these people wanted to escape, they couldn't. They were like turtles in a jar, with nothing to fear.

"I do regret it... but it's already like this, and regret is useless. I'm just a little curious about who created that altar and how it managed to trap you?" With a face full of remorse, Zhang Xuan gritted his teeth and couldn't help but look over. This was something he had never understood. The altar was clearly a Foreign Tribe artifact, so why would it trap a member of their own kind?

"In any case, you're about to be devoured, so explaining it to you won't hurt..." With a cold laugh, the floating head opened its mouth, its voice like muffled thunder: "That thing was made by Emperor Qingtian!"

"Emperor Qingtian?" Zhang Xuan was puzzled and surprised. "Isn't he... your student? Didn't he learn Soul Oracles from you?" How could his own student create an altar to imprison his teacher?

"Hmph, over two thousand years ago, I summoned him here. Back then, I was nothing more than a pair of shattered eyes and a fragment of thought..." The ruthless being snorted coldly, "I taught him Soul Oracles with a simple goal: to use his power to help me find my other parts and recover my strength!"

"Indeed!" Zhang Xuan nodded. This much could be deduced without even guessing. To be called a ruthless being, one naturally had to be a formidable character. How could such a person be a good Samaritan, taking on a student and freely teaching the lost art of Soul Oracles? He definitely had his own agenda.

"That fellow was indeed very diligent, treating me as his teacher... He even captured countless Master Artificers and Refiners, gathering countless treasures to help me forge this head!" the ruthless being stated.

"Forged by Master Artificers?" Zhang Xuan recalled the densely packed rooms he had seen underground. He hadn't known what they were for before, but now it seemed they were precisely the indentations within the head. To forge such a massive head, countless treasures and immense manpower must have been expended. It appeared that over the past two millennia, many Master Teachers had died, and the number of Master Artificers and Refiners was even greater! However, most of them were drawn by the Ghost Cavern's ability to temper one's state of mind, and coupled with the discreet methods, they remained undiscovered.

"However, this fellow was initially very respectful towards me. I always thought it was out of loyalty, but I never expected... he would actually try to scheme against me!" The ruthless being's voice revealed resentment: "I don't know when he found that altar. On the surface, it was to help me recover my power quickly, but in reality, it worked in conjunction with the head forged by the Master Artificers... forcibly trapping me! I couldn't escape; I could only be imprisoned here..."

"Imprisoned?"

"That's right, he didn't just want to imprison me! In fact, his purpose in obeying me and learning Soul Oracles was also very simple: from the start, he intended to seize my memories and take my place..." The ruthless being sneered. Emperor Qingtian, the ruler of the Foreign Tribe, how could he easily submit to anyone, even if the other party was the Ruthless Great Emperor?

"Seize... and take his place..." Shaking his head, Zhang Xuan sighed and looked at him with a pitiful expression: "You're an old monster who has lived for tens of thousands of years and once fought with Master Kong... yet you were actually outmaneuvered by a mere Emperor Qingtian?" Regardless, the being before them had once battled Master Kong. Not only was its strength formidable, but its life-saving techniques were also endless. For it to be reduced to this state by Emperor Qingtian, a person Zhang Xuan himself could handle... it was simply unbelievable.

"I knew his intentions all along, but over two thousand years ago, when I first awoke, I didn't even have Saint realm strength and couldn't resist him at all! I had to rely on his power and resources..." Snorting, the ruthless being's eyes flashed: "However, he wanted to kill me, but how could I be so easily killed? I secretly left a wisp of my will in his mind. If he ever acted against me, I could make him vanish body and soul!"

Zhang Xuan's mouth twitched, and he shook his head. What a pair of master and disciple: you guard against me, I guard against you; you want to kill me, I also want to kill you... They played their game of 'Infernal Affairs' extremely well!

"When the head was completed, for me to revive and gain fighting power, I had to spread my will across the entire island... This would cause me to fall into a brief coma... It was precisely at that moment that he secretly made his move against me using the altar..." Thinking of this, the ruthless being still seemed to be seething with rage: "Just as he tried to kill me, the wisp of will I left in his mind took effect... He didn't want to die, so naturally, he had to obey me again. However, he also had a contingency, and I didn't dare truly kill him, so we could only remain in this stalemate..."

Wu Shi, Hall Master Xing, and the others exchanged glances. The master-disciple relationship was extremely important. On the Master Teacher Continent, if a student was found to have betrayed their master or ancestors, they would be immediately executed without further ado. Because of this, everyone on the Master Teacher Continent, including ordinary cultivators, held "teachers" in great respect. Heaven, Earth, Teacher, Emperor, Parent! Their status was only below Heaven and Earth, even ranking above emperors and parents! With such a revered status, it was almost unheard of across the entire continent for a student to scheme against a teacher... Yet for the Foreign Tribe, the teacher constantly thought of exploiting the student, and the student constantly thought of seizing the teacher's body... How truly bizarre!

"The Foreign Tribe only pledge allegiance to their Spirit God; they don't care about 'teachers'..." Seeing their confusion, Zhang Xuan explained. He had encountered many members of the Foreign Tribe and dealt with numerous individuals, even witnessing the complete eradication of the entire Qingtian lineage, from "Emperors" to "Kings." He knew a great deal about their customs. They only pledged allegiance to their Spirit God, obeyed their commands, and offered sacrifices. The so-called "teacher"... meant nothing to them. Not to mention merely scheming against a teacher, even killing one was considered perfectly normal in their eyes, not an act of great rebellion. It was precisely for this reason that Emperor Qingtian and this ruthless being, despite coexisting for over two millennia, secretly harbored ulterior motives and engaged in covert struggles. Otherwise, with the ruthless being's foresight and knowledge, and the involvement of an Emperor, how could it still be trapped here after two millennia? In fact, Zhang Xuan even suspected that the ruthless being in Wu Yangzi's underground palace could only possess consciousness because of Emperor Qingtian.

"For even a formidable ruthless being to hesitate, I wonder... what exactly is Emperor Qingtian's contingency plan?" After explaining, Zhang Xuan looked up and continued to ask. What exactly was it that prevented this ruthless being from acting, even with the immense advantage of having left a wisp of will in the other's mind?

"It's about the Legacy Heavenly Token!" the ruthless being replied. It seemed that after being trapped for countless years, he was also frustrated, and facing these Master Teachers whom he could kill at any moment, he now had an opportunity to speak his mind.

"Legacy Heavenly Token?" Having experienced soul-searching Emperor Qingtian, Zhang Xuan already knew this information and wasn't too surprised. Wu Shi and the others, however, had their pupils contract. Ignoring everyone's shock, the ruthless being snorted and continued, "It was a puppet loyal to him who uncovered this news. As Master Teachers, you should know how precious this item is!" Everyone nodded simultaneously. The Legacy Heavenly Token was personally left behind by Master Kong and was linked to the Spring and Autumn Great Codex, a secret manual personally created by Master Kong. Its value was so immense that not only could it drive ordinary Master Teachers crazy, but even Nine-Star Master Teachers at the Master Teacher Pavilion headquarters would likely be unable to restrain themselves if they learned of it.

"If I could obtain the Heavenly Token, I could escape this inhuman, ghost-like state, easily find my scattered parts, and restore my peak strength! I might even seize the Spring and Autumn Great Codex and surpass Master Kong..." Its enormous eyes flickered continuously, and the ruthless being was filled with excitement. An ordinary member of the Foreign Tribe might not know how to use the Legacy Heavenly Token even if they obtained it. However, this ruthless being had fought Master Kong countless times and would undoubtedly know how to use it to maximize its effects.

"In my current state, I cannot leave. To obtain the Legacy Heavenly Token, I can only rely on him... So, I must keep him alive! Furthermore, he also knows the locations of some of my avatars. If I kill him, merging them will be difficult!" the ruthless being continued. Zhang Xuan nodded. The allure of the Legacy Heavenly Token was simply too great, and coupled with the desire to restore his strength, it was only natural that he didn't dare to kill him.

"You said... a puppet loyal to Emperor Qingtian... was able to find this information, even Deputy Hall Master Tian Qing didn't know about it... This puppet's status must be quite high, right?" A thought struck Zhang Xuan as he picked up on the problem in the ruthless being's words, and he asked again. Deputy Hall Master Tian Qing was a wisp of Emperor Qingtian's own will, not a puppet. King Zhongqing could only be considered a minion, certainly not a puppet. For this puppet to obtain information about the Legacy Heavenly Token, its status must be significant... Who could it be? Why wasn't it recorded in Emperor Qingtian's memories?

"No need to try and trick me into talking. This individual has already pledged allegiance to me..." The ruthless being sneered, seemingly having finished all necessary explanations and wishing to say no more. Its gaze turned cold, and a wave of killing intent spread directly towards the group: "Alright, now that you know so many secrets, you can be on your way!"

*Boom!*

A mighty force suddenly pressed down, causing everyone's breathing to quicken as they felt their chests about to explode.