Chapter 1783: Mother Talisman Is Also with Me

"What happened?"

Everyone froze simultaneously. Ancient Sage Yan Qing's eyebrows twitched, and he quickly stepped forward.

These were the top geniuses from the Hundred Schools of Thought; how could they be injured before even entering? And it seemed similar to forcing one's way into a palace and suffering a backlash. The main hall was open, and they held the Legacy Mother Talisman... all conditions were met!

Puzzled, he flicked his finger, and several pills flew towards them. After taking the pills, the members of the Hundred Schools of Thought felt somewhat recovered.

The seal outside the Confucius Temple was powerful enough to stop Ancient Sages; if Master Kong had not been unwilling to take lives, they might already be dead. Even Ancient Sages would not have been spared! If it weren't for this deterrent, they would have long since joined forces to break the seal, and there would be no need to stand here wasting time with such discussions. While the Master Teacher Pavilion and the Hundred Schools of Thought abide by rules, the Sempiternal race and Saint Beasts do not necessarily respect such agreements.

"Why were you attacked?"

Seeing them recover, Ancient Sage Yan Qing looked at Yan Xue, who was standing before him, and frowned. As the one involved, he must know what happened.

"Reporting to the Ancestor, it seems... this Legacy Mother Talisman cannot withstand the seal!" Yan Xue said after a moment of hesitation. Previously, he had entered the Apricot Altar, and Yuan Tao's bloodline allowed him to enter easily without being attacked. It felt as if the Legacy Mother Talisman above them was completely useless.

"Cannot withstand?" Ancient Sage Yan Qing frowned. He reached out, and the talisman floating above everyone's heads appeared at his fingertips. He gently squeezed it.

*Crinkle!*

The majestic talisman, under the influence of his power, instantly disintegrated into countless fragments, like burnt paper turning to ashes and vanishing before their eyes.

"This... is fake?"

His eyebrows twitched, and Ancient Sage Yan Qing's face turned ashen. At that moment, even a fool would realize that the Legacy Mother Talisman was fake. Otherwise, how could a treasure specially refined by Master Kong turn to dust with so little force? After all this, they had ended up with a fake talisman...

He felt as if he had been slapped hard across the face, a burning pain. For the dignified Hundred Schools of Thought to commit such a monumental blunder, he truly didn't know what to do.

"Are you certain this talisman was obtained from Baixi Mountain on the Master Teacher Continent?" Unable to restrain himself any longer, he looked at Yan Xue, his voice laced with anger. Yan Xue had found this item; if it was truly a relic left by Ancient Sage Ran Qiu, how could it be fake?

"Absolutely certain..." Yan Xue nodded, but halfway through his sentence, he suddenly paused. "At that time, Zhang Xuan was also competing with us for it. After I obtained it, I immediately left, fearing any unforeseen circumstances..."

"He competed with you?" Ancient Sage Yan Qing looked towards Zhang Xuan, who was not far away, once more. This fellow had already astonished everyone by producing five formation cores at once. Could it be that Yan Xue receiving the fake talisman was also related to him? The Legacy Mother Talisman was indeed in Baixi Mountain; this information left by their ancestors could not be wrong. Since they had obtained a fake one, could the real one possibly be in *his* hands? If that were true, they'd be in deep trouble...

"Master Zhang, do you know what happened here?" Unable to hold back, he asked.

"Well... he's not wrong. At that time, we were all on Baixi Mountain. Brother Yan Xue saw a fake talisman and snatched it, leaving so quickly that we couldn't stop him. So, I had no choice but to take the real one..." Zhang Xuan wore a look of feigned regret. He was certainly going to enter the main hall, so denying it would be pointless.

"You...!" *Pfft!* Hearing this, Yan Xue was so infuriated that he nearly died. His injuries could no longer be suppressed, and he spurted out a mouthful of fresh blood.

'Saw the fake talisman and snatched it and left...''You were far more aggressive than me in snatching it back then, weren't you?''If I hadn't escaped quickly, you might have taken everything from me...''And now, after all this, I'm the one who looks like an idiot...''The most important thing is, he took the real talisman and still said that... Can a Master Teacher truly be so shameless?'

"Are you saying the real talisman is in your hands?" Feeling a sharp pain in his chest, Ancient Sage Yan Qing gritted his teeth and said.

"That's right, it's with me!" Zhang Xuan nodded. "According to the rules we just discussed, possessing the Mother Talisman grants one-third of the slots, which is five. Then, each formation core adds one spot, and each of the four major powers also gets one... So, if I'm not mistaken, I have a total of eleven slots!"

"..." Ancient Sage Yan Qing's body swayed, and he felt as if he might vomit blood. The reason he had set these rules, even using his authority to pressure them, was that holding the Mother Talisman was supposed to grant nearly half of the slots. Now... the talisman was fake, and the real one was in Zhang Xuan's hands. The allocation of slots had instantly reversed, leaving him with only two...

A feeling of having labored only to benefit others lingered in his mind. The intense frustration made him feel as though he would explode. 'He clearly knew it was fake but kept quiet, planning to watch me make a fool of myself...' However, even if Zhang Xuan had said something earlier, he certainly wouldn't have been believed! After all, the talisman was crafted so exquisitely that from any perspective, whether using spiritual sense or the naked eye, it appeared flawless. Only when truly tested by power would its fragility be revealed!

"Since we agreed earlier, it naturally won't be changed!" Though infuriated, Ancient Sage Yan Qing still nodded. Two slots would still work. When it came to understanding the Spring and Autumn Grand Ceremony, the Master Teacher Continent, the Sempiternal race, and the Saint Beasts were far inferior to the Hundred Schools of Thought. As long as they could enter and obtain the item, they were absolutely the most likely to succeed, not anyone else! It was precisely this confidence that allowed them to allocate slots to others; otherwise, by using the Mother Talisman as leverage, they would certainly have demanded more.

"That's good. Please wait a moment; once I've arranged our personnel, I'll lead everyone in together..." Seeing that he did not deny it, Zhang Xuan breathed a sigh of relief and nodded.

"This..." The many Ancient Sages of the Master Teacher Pavilion clearly hadn't anticipated such a turn of events. They exchanged glances, then looked at Zhang Xuan again, filled with curiosity. This young Master Teacher had not only single-handedly obtained the formation cores of five worlds but had also acquired the Legacy Mother Talisman, causing the Hundred Schools of Thought to suffer a silent defeat. When had the Master Teacher Pavilion produced such a genius?

"He obtained so many slots at once; be careful, they might try to trick him..." Master Yang showed a worried expression. Although Ancient Sage Yan Qing and the others, as inheritors of the Hundred Schools of Thought, were unlikely to go back on their word within Master Kong's temple, it was hard to say for sure when the Spring and Autumn Grand Ceremony was involved. Moreover, the Sempiternal race and Saint Beasts were still surrounding them.

"They probably won't act for now... Only Immortal Realm experts can enter the main hall and sub-halls. Even if they obtain the Spring and Autumn Grand Ceremony, they won't be able to refine it!" Knowing his concerns, Zhang Hongtian snorted. "At that point, they will definitely bring the treasure out. The real competition only begins once they leave the main hall! Therefore, these 'slots,' while sounding important, are merely a matter of taking the moral high ground. Who ultimately obtains the Spring and Autumn Grand Ceremony depends entirely on the strength of the Ancient Sages!"