Chapter 1667: Secret of the Witch Soul (Part 2)

"The Soul Imprint of the Spirit Awakener Guild Master?" Zhang Xuan's pupils narrowed.

No wonder this item was so heavy; without comprehending the Soul Unraveling, even a Spirit Awakener couldn't move it. He hadn't expected it to have such a profound origin.

"What exactly happened? How did the Jiang family obtain the Spirit Awakener inheritance, and why would they serve someone who controls the Soul Imprint as their master? Weren't Spirit Awakeners traitors to humanity, long since annihilated by the Master Teacher Pavilion?"

Zhang Xuan was utterly confused.

He truly couldn't understand.

As one of the Three Great Clans, the Jiang family's status as Spirit Awakeners would surely be easily discernible under the strict supervision of the Master Teacher Pavilion. Being skilled in soul secret arts was completely different from being a Spirit Awakener; how could they be inheritors of the latter?

"This matter is the Jiang family's most core secret, and it's not convenient to discuss it in detail here. Master Zhang, would you be able to return to the main hall with us?" Jiang Fangyou said after a moment of hesitation.

Although the clan's protective formation prevented outsiders from prying, what needed to be discussed was simply too confidential, so caution was still necessary.

"Mhm!" Zhang Xuan nodded.

"This way, please!" Jiang Fangyou sighed in relief, then flew forward, with the other elders following closely behind.

Zhang Xuan didn't hesitate either. Not long after, they arrived at a spacious main hall.

Holding the clan leader's token and controlling the clan's protective formation, he wasn't worried about any surprises.

Upon entering the main hall, Zhang Xuan sat in the principal seat. Only then did the others sigh in relief.

Activating a formation to seal off the surroundings, Jiang Fangyou then looked over. "I heard that Master Zhang once taught a student named Lu Chong, who mastered the Spirit Awakener arts and achieved Great Sage-level strength... Is this true?"

"Indeed!" Zhang Xuan nodded.

When Lu Chong fought vigorously against the Master Teacher Pavilion to save him in the past, the matter had already become widely known. So, it was no surprise that the other party knew.

"In that case... Master Zhang is also a Spirit Awakener?"

"Yes!" Zhang Xuan replied.

"Then there's no mistake..."

Seeing him admit it, everyone sighed in relief. Jiang Fangyou also looked over, his eyes filled with excitement. "Might I ask... where does Master Zhang's Spirit Awakener inheritance come from? Have you met any other Spirit Awakeners?"

"My inheritance... comes from an ancient soul that survived. I haven't met any other Spirit Awakeners!" Zhang Xuan shook his head.

Mo Hunsheng was merely a remnant soul that survived. Strictly speaking, he no longer counted as a true Spirit Awakener.

As for others, he truly hadn't met any, so it wasn't a lie.

"You haven't met any?" Jiang Fangyou was startled.

"That's right!" Zhang Xuan looked over with confusion. "Aren't Spirit Awakeners a taboo existence to everyone? On the Master Teacher Continent, their inheritance was severed long ago, wasn't it?"

"Taboo?" Hearing this, Jiang Fangyou fell silent for a moment, then looked over again. "It seems... Master Zhang, you don't know about those matters!"

"What matters?"

"Actually..." Jiang Fangyou said, "Spirit Awakeners did not betray humanity back then!"

"Didn't betray?" Zhang Xuan was full of doubt.

This matter was recorded in all the Master Teacher Pavilion's records; it was something everyone on the Master Teacher Continent knew... Could it be false?

"The Soul Oracles were too powerful. Back then, even Master Kong, leading his seventy-two direct disciples, couldn't resist them... In fact, Master Kong was trapped in the Land of Chencai by their strongest expert, unable to escape..."

Sighing, Jiang Fangyou slowly said.

Zhang Xuan nodded.

He had heard the Enigmatic Expert mention this matter once.

Even Master Kong had suffered greatly at his hands.

"The situation at the time was that the Soul Oracles knew us inside out, while we knew very little about them. Especially their murderous aura, which almost no one could resist... Numerous experts, whose strength was comparable to theirs, would become disoriented, surrender, and be killed on the spot once they encountered this aura!" Jiang Fangyou continued.

Zhang Xuan fell silent.

The first time he encountered the Soul Oracles, this was exactly the situation.

The murderous aura directly pierced one's heart, affecting the soul. Many people couldn't even stand steadily; even Master Teachers couldn't manage it, let alone ordinary people.

"To ensure humanity's victory, Master Kong decided to have cultivators skilled in soul arts infiltrate the Soul Oracles and investigate the mysteries of their souls..." Jiang Fangyou's expression dimmed. "Spirit Awakeners, at a critical juncture, accepted the mission! However... for the Soul Oracles to believe them, they had to completely break ties with humanity and the Master Teacher Pavilion! And so... the later records emerged, stating that Spirit Awakeners, having cultivated heretical arts, defected to the Soul Oracles, were massacred by the Master Teacher Pavilion, and their inheritance was destroyed..."

"This..."

Zhang Xuan's body trembled.

If what the other party said was true, then... the Spirit Awakeners' sacrifice was far too great!

They were clearly heroes of humanity, yet they had been slandered for tens of thousands of years...

"At that time, humanity lived a life worse than cattle and horses under the oppression of the Soul Oracles. Their lives and deaths were not their own. Being able to drive them out was the hope of all humanity. What did a little grievance matter!" Knowing what he was thinking, Jiang Fangyou continued, "To make the Soul Oracles believe, the Master Teacher Pavilion mobilized a large number of Master Teachers to encircle and annihilate Spirit Awakeners. This profession was almost eradicated overnight. The Guild Master at the time, after being captured, committed suicide before the Master Teacher Pavilion, dying on the spot."

"Committed suicide? Then..." Zhang Xuan was utterly incredulous.

If the person died, how could they infiltrate the Soul Oracles?

"The Guild Master at the time appeared to commit suicide," Jiang Fangyou continued with a sigh, "but in reality, his spirit did not die. Instead, he left behind a line of inheritance, which is our current Jiang family, while he himself went to the Soul Oracles! The tragic state of his spirit was personally witnessed by that expert of the Soul Oracles, so they had no doubts about this Guild Master, who was reduced to merely a soul body. After a long period of interaction, the Guild Master gradually understood the mysteries of the murderous aura... He then found a way to transmit the information out and even designed a method to ambush and kill that peerless expert of the Soul Oracles!"

"Not only that, but he also created many soul cultivation techniques specifically targeting their characteristics! However, these were flawed; while they seemed fine for ordinary cultivation and would even enhance soul power, over time, the murderous aura would become weaker and weaker, leading to various problems and ultimately making their combat strength progressively weaker!"

"Flawed techniques?" His body trembled, and Zhang Xuan's mind reeled.

Back then, the first time he entered the Subterranean Tunnel and strategically killed King Qingye and others, he obtained many soul cultivation techniques. But he found that they contained many flaws... At the time, he found it strange why the Soul Oracles, who supposedly had the assistance of Spirit Awakeners, would cultivate techniques with so many flaws. Only now did he understand... that the Guild Master had intentionally left them behind!

The purpose was to weaken the very characteristic the Soul Oracles excelled at!

Enduring humiliation and heavy burdens, infiltrating an enemy race, and deliberately passing on flawed cultivation methods — this meritorious act...

Zhang Xuan clenched his fists, his shock beyond words, when he suddenly remembered something. His pupils narrowed. "Do you know... who the peerless expert of the Soul Oracles they were going to ambush was?"