Chapter 1802: Zhang Xuan Unconscious

"Ancient Sage Hongtian..."Looking at the corpse before them, everyone was speechless, their expressions grave. The members of the Master Teacher Pavilion, in particular, were completely silent. They had fought together for ten thousand years and knew this day would come, yet its arrival still filled them with a deep sense of sorrow.

"Even mighty Ancient Sages cannot escape the laws of time!" Ancient Sage Yan Qing shook his head and sighed.

"Haven't Ancient Sages transcended the Heavenly Dao? How can they still be subject to time's judgment?" Zhang Xuan turned his head. "Ancient Sages are beings who have surpassed the Heavenly Dao. If so, how can they be constrained by time, their lifespan not even their own?"

"Ancient Sages have indeed transcended the Heavenly Dao, but... that transcendence applies only to the laws they have comprehended! Take Zhang Hongtian, for instance; the Sword Dao he comprehended surpassed the Heavenly Dao, but he still couldn't achieve the same in terms of lifespan!" Ancient Sage Yan Qing explained.

"Sword Dao? Do you mean... that as long as a portion of the law one comprehends transcends the Heavenly Dao, they can become an Ancient Sage?" Zhang Xuan was stunned. He had heard his father, Xing Jiansheng, speak of how to break through to Ancient Sage, but his father was only a Great Sage, and his knowledge was mere hearsay. Ancient Sage Yan Qing, on the other hand, was a true peak expert among the Hundred Schools of Philosophers, and his information was undoubtedly more accurate.

"Precisely. Only by comprehending a law that breaks through the Heavenly Dao can one achieve Ancient Sage status. Otherwise, how could Ancient Sages possess such power?" Ancient Sage Yan Qing nodded.

"Isn't the Zhang Clan skilled in time? Why didn't they use the law of time to break through?" Zhang Xuan asked again. The Zhang Clan's bloodline inherently contained the law of time. "If that's the case, wouldn't transcending the Heavenly Dao in time control significantly extend their lifespan? Would they escape the shackles of time?"

"The law of time doesn't only flow through the Master Teacher Continent; it also exists in the ancient battlefield where the Otherworldly Demons reside, and in the higher plane where that Spirit God is... At most, you can only comprehend the laws of one world. To truly transcend it... is almost impossible! Even Master Kong didn't achieve it back then, let alone his descendants?" Ancient Sage Yan Qing gave a wry smile. Time is the most fundamental law in the universe. Even if worlds collapse, the Five Elements decay, and space ceases to exist, time still remains. How could something so powerful be easily comprehended by just anyone? Had Master Kong truly comprehended it, he would not have vanished into the long river of history without a trace.

"That's true!" Zhang Xuan realized. While he could manipulate time and even alter the speed of events using his bloodline power, it did not change the essence of time itself. For example, he couldn't create a folded space where the flow of time differed from the outside world!

"The law of time is too difficult. If I could comprehend it, perhaps I could have saved Ancestor Hongtian just now..." He sighed inwardly, pondering the insights he had gained from the 'True Understanding of Time.' As he was deep in thought, a violent tremor suddenly ran through his mind. The Library of Heaven's Path roared as if an earthquake had struck.

"Oh no..." His pupils constricted, and Zhang Xuan felt his vision go dark. Without much delay, he collapsed onto the ground with a thud, completely unconscious.

"Senior Brother..." Yang Xuan rushed to his side.

"It seems his soul has suffered some kind of damage..." After observing for a moment, Ancient Sage Yan Qing also frowned. For a Great Sage-level expert to suffer soul damage and fall unconscious without any ambush or attack, what could have possibly happened?

"I specialize in souls; let me take a look..." An Ancient Sage from the Jiang Clan stepped forward. As his soul energy spread, even before entering Zhang Xuan's body, he involuntarily trembled, quickly retreated several steps, his face pale!

"What's wrong?" Seeing his reaction, everyone looked on in unison.

"His soul is being protected by a special power, and I... cannot investigate it!" The Jiang Clan Ancient Sage clenched his fists.

"Protected by a special power? What kind of power could even block you?" Ancient Sage Yan Qing was puzzled. For an Ancient Sage specializing in souls, it would be difficult for him to resist an investigation at the same cultivation level. Yet, with Zhang Xuan unconscious, what power could resist him and even cause him injury?

"It's..." The Jiang Clan Ancient Sage stiffened. "The Heavenly Dao!"

"Heavenly Dao protection?" Standing rooted to the spot, everyone looked at Zhang Xuan again, too shocked to speak. A mere Great Sage-level junior, protected by the Heavenly Dao... What on earth was going on?

"Master Yang, you guard him. If anything happens, contact me directly. The others and I will go and re-stabilize the surrounding space. Without the suppression of the Spring and Autumn Annals and Master Kong's imprint, the entire Temple of Confucius has fallen into spatial-temporal turbulence. If we don't retrieve them soon, no one will be able to leave!" Glancing at the sky and seeing that the stars had vanished, Ancient Sage Yan Qing said with a worried expression.

"Yes!" Master Yang nodded.

"Alright..." Ancient Sage Yan Qing said no more and turned to leave with the remaining experts. Although the emergence of the Spring and Autumn Annals had severely damaged the Temple of Confucius, and battles had raged one after another, it was, nonetheless, a relic personally left behind by Master Kong and could not be further damaged.

"Senior Brother... what happened to you?" After everyone left, Master Yang looked at the unconscious Zhang Xuan again, his face filled with deep concern.

Unaware of the situation outside, Zhang Xuan was in a hazy stupor, his consciousness seemingly stripped from his body.

"Ruoxi..." The girl's figure seemed to reappear before his eyes, looking at him with deep worry. It was Luo Ruoxi.

"Don't worry, I'm fine..." Zhang Xuan hastily spoke.

"Take good care of yourself. Make sure to wear the item I gave you at all times; don't ever take it off..." The girl's voice resounded.

"You mean that pendant? I'll always keep it with me..." Zhang Xuan nodded quickly. Before entering the Temple of Confucius, Luo Ruoxi had specifically given him a pendant, saying it was a gift from her father and could save his life at a crucial moment. Although he found her actions a bit strange, he had kept it with him ever since and still wore it close to his body.

"That's good. I'm really leaving now. The extra items in the Library are my gift to you. Make good use of them, and I hope we can meet again soon..." Hearing that he always wore it, Luo Ruoxi's delicate form grew increasingly translucent, as if she could vanish at any moment.

"The Library... you know I have the Library of Heaven's Path?" Zhang Xuan's body stiffened. Possessing the Library of Heaven's Path was his biggest secret, one he hadn't told anyone. He had thought Luo Ruoxi didn't know, but to his surprise, she did.

"Goodbye, Zhang Xuan!" With a soft smile, Luo Ruoxi offered no explanation. A hint of reluctance in her eyes, she vanished.

"Don't go..." With a sharp cry, Zhang Xuan abruptly sat up, only to realize it had been a dream.

"Teacher, you're awake..." Zhang Xuan turned his head and saw Zhao Ya, Zheng Yang, and others standing nearby, their eyes filled with worry. Even his parents, Xing Jiansheng and Meng Jiansheng, were present.

"Have we left the Temple of Confucius?" Looking around at his surroundings, Zhang Xuan couldn't help but ask.