Chapter 1623: Escape

A moment ago, when I saw these individuals produce so many Ancient Sage artifacts, I was confused and wondered if I had misunderstood. However, witnessing one of them reveal his true form, I finally understood: they were not from the Hundred Schools of Philosophers at all, but rather members of the Spirit Race!

Secretly investigating Wu Chen and previously making those conjectures… to be honest, he still harbored a subconscious suspicion toward Luo Ruoxi.

His face flushed with profound guilt.

She had trusted him without reservation, sharing every piece of information and even disregarding something personally written by Confucius… yet he had harbored suspicions.

The more he dwelled on it, the more awkward he felt.

Upon seeing the individual revert to his original form, Luo Ruoxi and Wu Chen also appeared momentarily stunned and deeply shocked.

"Since they are members of the Spirit Race, I won't hold back any longer!"

Having confirmed their identity, Zhang Xuan saw no need for further words. With a powerful shout, his spear thrust forward rapidly once more.

After transforming into his true form, the tall young man could unleash his full power, and his combat strength significantly increased. Yet, compared to Zhang Xuan, who wielded the Dragonbone Divine Spear, he was still vastly outmatched.

He was swiftly stabbed in the shoulder, and blood gushed from the wound.

The thin young man and the dark-skinned young man were also driven into a desperate state by his spear, barely able to defend themselves.

"Quickly, retrieve the Heavenly Talisman!"

Knowing that continuing this fight would lead to them all being impaled by this opponent, the thin young man could no longer restrain himself and shouted loudly.

"Understood!"

The fair-skinned young man near the Inherited Heavenly Talisman responded. At that moment, he was engaged in combat with Luo Ruoxi.

The girl's attacks were neither swift nor overly forceful, yet each strike carried an irresistible might. After only a few moves, the fair-skinned young man's arm grew numb, and his face became even paler.

All of them were at the peak cultivation level beneath Ancient Sages, yet they never would have imagined that these three opponents were each more formidable than the last.

Realizing that continuing would inevitably lead to defeat, or even injury, the fair-skinned young man gritted his teeth, flicked his wrist, and a book immediately soared into the air.

*Boom!*

The moment the book appeared, it instantly transformed into a vast curtain that seemed to obscure the nine heavens. Its radiant light shone, effectively blocking Luo Ruoxi.

"Ancient Sage's Notes?"

Her expression darkened, the girl's delicate brows rose, and she slammed her palm down forcefully. Immediately, she felt all her power being absorbed by the curtain below, unable to inflict the slightest harm upon her opponent.

Notes personally written by an Ancient Sage contained immense energy; even Half-Ancient Sages couldn't breach them, let alone those at the Great Sage level.

*Whew!*

Breathing a sigh of relief, the fair-skinned young man looked back at the Inherited Heavenly Talisman and produced a small token. He lightly touched it to the seal. The moment the token made contact with the sealing light barrier, the barrier visibly dissipated.

*Whoosh!*

With a gentle stretch of his hand, he grasped the Heavenly Talisman in his palm.

"Let's go!"

Having secured the item, the fair-skinned young man breathed a sigh of relief. He then summoned a jade talisman from thin air. He crushed it with force.

*Whoosh!*

A spatial rift appeared, and he vanished from the spot in the blink of an eye.

"Let's go!"

The thin young man and the dark-skinned young man also breathed a sigh of relief. They pulled the tall Spirit Race member, who had reverted to his true form, and simultaneously retrieved and crushed their own jade talismans.

"Where do you think you're going...?"

Unforeseenly, the opponents possessed such an escape method. Zhang Xuan swiftly pointed his finger. The surrounding space immediately solidified.

The Seal of Truth could suppress spatial energy fluctuations. The opponents' jade talismans appeared to be a type of teleportation array, which meant they could be sealed, preventing escape.

Indeed, the three individuals who were tearing open space to escape were instantly frozen in mid-air, unable to flee.

"Quickly, tell me, where have you taken Zhao Ya and the others?"

His gaze sharp as lightning, spear in hand, Zhang Xuan's entire being radiated boiling killing intent.

"Zhao Ya? Are you referring to the one with the Pure Yin physique?" the thin young man inquired.

"Precisely!" Zhang Xuan's eyes narrowed, his spear poised in the air.

"If you wish to find them, meet us at the Confucius Temple!"

With a cold sneer, the thin young man, who at some point had conjured another talisman in his palm, crushed it again.

*Whoosh!*

A streak of sword light tore through the air, shattering the sealed space in an instant. As the sealing effect vanished, the three figures instantly blurred, on the verge of escaping.

"If you refuse to speak, then die..."

His eyes bloodshot, Zhang Xuan abruptly shook his spear and thrust it directly towards the three.

He had been holding back until now, hoping to extract information about Zhao Ya and the others from them. But now that he knew they had been captured, he could no longer contain his fury and intended to slay them all in one fell swoop!

Even if these three were powerful, they were still no match for him when he wielded the Dragonbone Divine Spear and the power of Confucius's blood.

*Whoosh!*

The spear's power surged as it struck forward.

"Hmph!"

The thin young man snorted, then pointed his finger, and another streak of sword light rapidly pierced towards Zhang Xuan. Just as he was about to parry with his spear tip, Zhang Xuan felt his body tighten as he was rapidly pulled backward.

*Whoosh!*

Wherever the sword light passed, space was annihilated, leaving a dark, gaping void.

His pupils contracted, and Zhang Xuan was drenched in cold sweat. If he hadn't been pulled back, that single strike would likely have cleaved him in half, resulting in his immediate death.

Having narrowly avoided the attack, the thin young man and the others stepped into the spatial rift, vanishing just like the fair-skinned young man before them.

He quickly turned his head and saw Luo Ruoxi standing nearby, her delicate brows furrowed and her expression grim. "That was a talisman left by an Ancient Sage," she explained, "containing one-tenth of an Ancient Sage's power... you wouldn't have been able to withstand it!"

"One-tenth of an Ancient Sage's power?"

Zhang Xuan's face turned pale. No wonder it was so formidable; even a tenth of an Ancient Sage's power was beyond his current ability to contend with.

"Indeed, I didn't expect them to possess not only Ancient Sage talismans but also Void Escape Talismans!" Wu Chen walked over, his expression complex, as if deep in thought.

"A Void Escape Talisman?"

"It's a special talisman crafted by an Ancient Sage proficient in spatial arts," Luo Ruoxi explained. "When crushed, it acts like a teleportation array, instantly transferring a person a million kilometers away! The fact that they possessed such an item suggests they've been planning this for a very long time..."

"Transfer a person a million kilometers away?"

Zhang Xuan's fists clenched tightly. If he had known they possessed such an item, he would have struck to kill from the very beginning! If their cultivation had been crippled, they would surely have been unable to use it, even if they had it! After all, even if the talisman allowed for spatial escape, entering it would be like using a teleportation array; if one's cultivation was too low, they would be directly crushed to a pulp.

"After all that effort, the Inherited Heavenly Talisman was still snatched away..."

Wu Chen shook his head, a bitter smile on his face.

"It's fine. No matter who obtained it, they will certainly need to enter the Confucius Temple. As long as we wait there patiently, they will eventually appear!"

Luo Ruoxi shook her head. Although disappointed that it had been stolen, she could only console herself with this thought.

"Don't be disheartened. Although they escaped, the Inherited Heavenly Talisman was not actually taken!"

Shaking his head and dismissing his gloom, Zhang Xuan looked toward them.

"Not taken?"

Luo Ruoxi and Wu Chen simultaneously looked at him, their expressions puzzled and slightly confused.

"Heh heh."

Instead of directly addressing their confusion, Zhang Xuan turned and looked at the stone child statue nearby. "Tell me, am I right or wrong about this… Inherited Heavenly Talisman!"