Chapter 1922: Sacrifice

The purpose of entering the Kunxu Realm, at an immeasurable cost, was to find a passage to the Firmament and locate Luo Ruoxi's whereabouts.

Could the passage above the high platform, through which "gods" can pass and which is filled with the unique spiritual energy of the Firmament, be the gateway to enter it?

"I don't know!"

Ancient Sage Yan Qing shook his head.

"Then... Master Kong, how did he leave the Kunxu Realm and the Master Teacher Continent?"

"This..." Ancient Sage Yan Qing's face reddened.

When Master Kong left back then, even many of his direct disciples weren't entirely clear on the details, much less a descendant many generations removed like himself.

"Our ancestor first reached the Void Shattering realm and then left this place. Where exactly he went is not recorded in the family scrolls, but I've studied his life, and it should be related to this seal!" Kong Shiyao, standing to the side, suddenly spoke.

Zhang Xuan breathed a sigh of relief.

It seemed that to enter the Firmament, one most likely needs to go through the passage above the high platform. However, to achieve that, one must first possess the power of the Void Shattering realm!

He clearly wasn't strong enough yet!

"Master Zhang, the Kunxu Realm was personally sealed by Master Kong, making it impossible to enter or exit. The last time we were able to leave here and enter the Master Teacher Continent was when the Temple of Confucius appeared, and we borrowed its power. So... how did you get in?" After chatting for a while, Ancient Sage Yan Qing looked over, his face full of questions.

Everyone else also found it strange.

As beings of the Kunxu Realm, they couldn't even leave it themselves; the last time they succeeded was by using the power of the Temple of Confucius. So, how did this person in front of them manage to get in?

There was nothing to hide, so Zhang Xuan said, "I... discovered a seal guarded by the corpse of Ancient Sage Ran Qiu in Tianxuan Kingdom, and then... I broke it open and arrived here!"

"Broke it open? You broke that seal?"

Ancient Sage Yan Qing and the others' expressions changed.

"What's wrong?"

"Let's go see!"

Without waiting to explain, Ancient Sage Yan Qing sliced the air and leaped in, with everyone else following closely behind.

In a short while, they arrived at the place where Zhang Xuan and the others had entered.

The seal still stood before them. The crack they had previously squeezed through was now shaking continuously, with balls of black flame burning within it. It looked as though an immense force was relentlessly crushing it, threatening to give way and completely break open at any moment.

Zhang Xuan was stunned. "What's going on?"

He knew very well how strong the seal was; he had only managed to open a crack with the help of an incredibly powerful Thunder Tribulation of Soldiers. So how could such powerful black flames suddenly appear?

And they were somewhat similar to Heavenly Flames?

Ancient Sage Yan Qing's expression was grave. "This is the backlash from the Heavenly Dao!"

"Heavenly Dao?"

"Although the Kunxu Realm is separate from the Master Teacher Continent, it is still essentially a part of it. Cultivating green sprout wheat, which grants humans the strength of a Grandmaster upon reaching adulthood, violates the laws of life. Ancient Sage Ran Qiu's corpse was left outside, ostensibly as a seal, but it was more to block the Heavenly Dao's detection. Now that you've broken it, the Heavenly Dao knows, and it will naturally attack furiously. It will likely... completely destroy the entire Kunxu Realm!"

Deep worry appeared in Ancient Sage Yan Qing's eyes.

His body stiffened as Zhang Xuan understood.

The Heavenly Dao has its own rules; anyone who dares to break them will be punished.

Just like cultivators breaking through to higher realms or attempting to reach Ancient Sage, they face punishment from the Heavenly Dao.

Not to mention this world, even in his previous life, Wang Mang, as a transmigrator, sought to change the world. As a result, the Heavenly Dao sent Liu Xiu, the Child of the Plane, to easily overthrow him.

Rules cannot be broken, not even by Ancient Sages.

He had thought that the reason no one on the Master Teacher Continent could find the Kunxu Realm was because the Hundred Schools of Thought had transcended. Now, it seemed it was to avoid the Heavenly Dao's detection.

Once its location became known and powerful cultivators arrived yearly, the Heavenly Dao would easily detect it. In the end, let alone the green sprout wheat, it was uncertain whether this world could even be maintained.

"What do we do now?" Knowing it was a disaster he had brought upon them, Zhang Xuan looked over. "Do you have a formation diagram? I'll re-repair the formation to stop its detection!"

"There is a formation diagram, but it's useless now!" Ancient Sage Yan Qing shook his head. "Not only has the seal been broken, but the illusion formation outside has also shattered. Previously, when the Heavenly Dao investigated, Master Kong's figure would appear in the coffin, leading it to believe Master Kong was dead and causing it to cease its investigation. Now that the barrier is cracked and the formation is useless, it means the Heavenly Dao already knows everything... what good would it do to repair it now?"

Zhang Xuan fell silent.

When he came, besides the stone tablet, there were two stone coffins outside. The first contained Ancient Sage Ran Qiu's corpse, used to maintain the illusion formation. The second coffin, when Zheng Yang saw it, contained Master Kong's corpse. However, when Zhang Xuan and the others looked, it showed Zheng Yang's. Only after Zhang Xuan found a way to break through the illusion did he discover the real barrier.

Now that both of these have been broken and the Heavenly Dao of the Master Teacher Continent has "peeped" in here, repairing the seal naturally holds no meaning.

"Are we to simply watch the seal be torn apart, and the Kunxu Realm destroyed?"

"Indeed, there is no good way, unless... we trick the Heavenly Dao, just like in ancient times!"

"Trick?"

"Yes, back when Master Kong created this world, his power leaked, attracting the Heavenly Dao's covetous gaze. Ancient Sage Ran Qiu willingly sacrificed himself to maintain the illusion formation, ultimately concealing it from the Heavenly Dao!" Ancient Sage Yan Qing's expression was grave. "Now, there's only one way to resolve this hidden danger: find a Void Shattering realm expert willing to be struck down by the Heavenly Dao! We need to create the illusion that the entire world has been destroyed. Although the Heavenly Dao punishes those who disobey its rules, it doesn't possess independent intelligence. As long as the method is clever and the plan reasonable, there's a chance of success!"

Zhang Xuan's brows furrowed.

At present, there wasn't a single Void Shattering realm expert in the entire Master Teacher Continent or the Kunxu Realm. Even with the Dragonbone Divine Spear, his combat power only approached that level; his true strength was still far from it. The Heavenly Dao would surely see through it easily!

"I'll do it; I don't have long to live anyway! Even if I can't completely trick it, holding out for a day is better than nothing!" Looking up at the front, Ancient Sage Yan Qing's eyes held determination.

"You?"

"Yes, although I haven't reached the Void Shattering realm, I am extremely close. By self-detonating my soul and body, I should be able to temporarily emit the power of the Void Shattering realm. Perhaps that could temporarily deceive it!" Ancient Sage Yan Qing nodded.

"Self-detonate?" Kong Shiyao asked, full of hesitation. "Once your soul and body self-detonate, you will be utterly beyond redemption, with no possibility of revival..."

Even if one reaches the Blood Rebirth realm and is cut into mere flesh, there's still a chance of revival. But if the soul self-detonates, it truly means complete annihilation, with one's soul scattered.

Even if Ancient Sage power were abundant, there would be no way to return.

"I know!" Ancient Sage Yan Qing nodded. "As long as the Kunxu Realm can be preserved... what does complete death matter?"

As an Ancient Sage of humanity, he had long been prepared for sacrifice. If his death could exchange for the lives of more people, it would definitely be worth it.

"Don't rush to think about sacrifice yet; let me first see if there are other ways!" Seeing that the other party was ready to rush forward at any moment, Zhang Xuan frowned. He walked up to the black flames and extended a finger to touch them.