Chapter 1454: Terrifying Spirituality

As a renowned Master Teacher clan, the Zhang Clan's square was naturally adorned with countless ancestral statues, including one of Confucius for worship. Already shocked that all the stone figures had come to life, hearing a voice now almost caused his spirit to collapse from fright.

He frantically looked over and, sure enough, saw the statue of Confucius standing before a group of guests, continuously introducing himself.

His throat went dry, and his eyes were wide with terror. "He... he awakened the Confucius statue too?" Zhang Wuchen felt he was losing his mind. That was Confucius, an entity revered by all. Even his statue commanded respect; no one dared to be presumptuous around it. Yet, this person had directly awakened it.

"And that's not all..." Elder Wuzhen pointed forward once more. He then saw the Zhang Clan's founding patriarch also seated there, growing more and more excited as he spoke—so much so that if he had saliva, it would likely be spraying everywhere.

"This is outrageous! Absolutely outrageous!" he roared. These statues were erected in the square to display the Zhang Clan's power and achievements. Now, they were seizing people and lecturing them... While what they said might be true, it was utterly humiliating! This was no longer a display; it was a forced introduction!

And most critically... the Confucius statue! Who on the Master Teacher Continent didn't know who Confucius was? Did he really need to introduce himself? Originally, the various predecessors of the Zhang Clan commanded awe, their deeds inspiring endless contemplation. Now, they were all acting like buffoons, telling tales. Where was their majesty? Where was their dignity?

"First, he collapses formations and buildings, then he enters a guest room and ruins so many ancestral statues... This guy isn't here for a challenge; he's here to cause trouble!" Zhang Wuchen felt he was about to burst with rage. Other challengers who entered the Zhang Clan acted as if on a pilgrimage, filled with nervousness and excitement, because regardless of whether they could defeat the Zhang Clan's descendants, their mere presence signified their capability! This person, however, was not only unafraid but had thrown the entire clan into chaos, to the point where even he couldn't control the situation... This was just too outrageous!

"He's definitely not... definitely not..." His vision blurred as he continuously shook his head. The people of the Zhang Clan were always composed; how could they possibly do something like this? This fellow certainly wasn't *him*... If he wasn't, then they would teach him a proper lesson, making him understand that the Zhang Clan could not be casually insulted.

"Send someone to find the clan's Spirit Awakener and have them destroy the sentience of these stone statues..." After taking several deep breaths to compose himself, Zhang Wuchen finally spoke. While sentience could be awakened, it could naturally also be destroyed. However, it was best for a Spirit Awakener to perform the task, otherwise, it was easy to damage the statues.

Elder Wuzhen nodded, called over a clansman, and gave a few instructions. Before long, two elderly men hastily arrived.

"Third Elder, Seventh Elder!" "Elder Wu, Elder Mo, we'll have to trouble you with this," Zhang Wuchen said, cupping his fists. The reason why Zhang Clan geniuses excelled in various professions was primarily because the clan housed many experts from other fields. These two were nine-star Spirit Awakeners, renowned throughout the entire Spirit Awakener Guild.

"Third Elder, rest assured, this is a minor task!" Elder Wu smiled, stroking his beard, his eyes gleaming with strong confidence. "I'll destroy their sentience right away and make these stone statues return to where they belong!"

"Good!" The Third Elder nodded. Although he was quite confident in the abilities of these two, he still felt it necessary to observe. After all, these statues were legacies left by generations of clansmen; they had no replacements, and once damaged, they would be incredibly difficult to replicate.

"Let's start with this one..." After a quick glance around, Elder Wu took a few steps towards the statue of Zhang Lingran he had seen earlier. His spirit emerged from his glabella and pointed directly at it. The storytelling stone figure immediately ceased its narration, becoming motionless, as if its sentience had been completely destroyed.

"There..." Elder Wu's spirit returned to his body, and he gave a slight smile. While awakening sentience was troublesome, even for a nine-star Spirit Awakener, it was not something that could be casually accomplished. However, destroying sentience could be done successfully in an instant, simply by acting. Seeing how easy it was, the Third Elder breathed a sigh of relief. Since it wouldn't damage the ancestral statues, he decided to let them continue. As long as all the sentience was completely destroyed, it shouldn't cause too much of an impact in such a short time.

"Thank you for your hard work, both of you..." he reiterated.

"It's no trouble at all. I'll go destroy all the other sentient spirits now..." Elder Wu waved his hand, about to go destroy the sentience of the other stone statues, when he saw Elder Mo pointing at him from the side, eyes wide with fright.

"What's wrong?" Elder Wu asked, frowning.

"On your head..." Elder Mo stammered urgently.

"My head?" Full of confusion, Elder Wu extended his divine sense to look at his own head. With just one glance, his knees buckled, and he nearly collapsed to the ground. He saw his head sprouting cacti and flowers, one after another, growing faster and more numerous by the second.

"That sentience wasn't destroyed," Elder Mo suddenly understood and cried out anxiously, "it... it burrowed into your spirit and is trying to seize control of your body!" Now it had entered his body and was fighting for control! With Elder Wu's strength, the chances of such a low-level sentience successfully possessing him were slim. However, a head full of cacti and foxtail flowers was still incredibly demoralizing!

"Damn it..." Realizing what had happened, Elder Wu trembled with rage, the cacti on his head shaking uncontrollably. He inwardly examined his spirit. After a moment, he said, "This sentience is in my Ocean-Filling Acupoint; I can't reach it myself. Come help me and use Qin Zhen's Void Extermination method to destroy it!"

"Alright!" Elder Mo nodded and took a few steps forward. With his eyebrows raised, a powerful surge of spirit energy erupted from him, transforming into a stream of qi that pierced directly towards Elder Wu's Ocean-Filling Acupoint.

*Pop!* A sound like a needle piercing a balloon echoed, as if something had been extinguished. After observing for a moment, Elder Wu finally breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness, this time it seems completely destroyed... huh?"

Before he could finish speaking, he saw a cactus sprout on Elder Mo's head, too. It was a lush, vibrant green, and like a hat, it completely covered his head.

"You... you..." His lips trembled, unable to utter another word. He had only attacked the sentience with his spirit, and they had separated upon contact. How had he also been affected?

"I don't know what happened either..." Elder Mo's body trembled; he was on the verge of tears. To destroy sentience awakened by others, one only needed to crush it with spirit energy; it was quite simple. But this... what exactly was going on? Why did it burrow into the body of whoever tried to deal with it?

Just as he was looking utterly distraught, unsure of what to do, the cactus on his head suddenly twitched. It swayed in the wind and began emitting a series of sounds, speaking as clearly as a human: "I am Zhang Lingran. May I help you?"

"..." Elder Wu."..." Elder Mo."..." Zhang Wuchen.