Chapter 965: Initial Entry into the Earth Cave

Understanding the gravity of the situation, and as a six-star master teacher and head of the Master Teacher Academy, Zhang Xuan had no reason to refuse. He accepted.

Confucius had also descended into the Subterranean Lair three times in the past. Zhang Xuan was curious to see what this nexus, bordering the foreign tribe's extraterrestrial battlefield, truly looked like.

"Thank you, Principal Zhang," Master Mu said respectfully, cupping his fist.

"It's my duty," Zhang Xuan replied, nodding. He said nothing more and immediately communicated with his true body, which was cultivating outside. Soon, a figure appeared before him – it was his true body. Just as he had been told, he could indeed arrive here by using the Principal's Token. After an exchange of glances, Zhang Xuan's true body quickly understood what had happened and then looked at Master Mu.

"Open the formation. I'll go down and take a look."

"Master Zhang, please be careful. You only need to observe what's happening. If you can't find anything, that's fine too; we can figure out other solutions. Please, do not be overambitious and rush into danger," Master Mu urged. While investigating the cause was important, the safety of this Heaven-Acknowledged Master Teacher was paramount.

"Don't worry," Zhang Xuan smiled. "I've always been cautious; I wouldn't charge into danger knowing full well what I'm doing." With his abilities, even if he couldn't win a fight, he could certainly escape.

"That's good then..." Hearing his assurance, Master Mu breathed a sigh of relief. He returned to his position and, with a grab forward, a crack immediately appeared in the sealed formation. Having studied this formation for tens of thousands of years, it was easy for him to create a temporary crack without compromising its ability to block the Aura of Slaughter.

"I'll be going now..." Without the slightest hesitation, Zhang Xuan's body blurred as he darted straight towards the crack. His figure entered it and vanished in a whoosh.

"He won't be in danger, will he?" No sooner had Zhang Xuan vanished than another principal appeared before Master Mu.

"Don't worry," Master Mu said. "Confucius himself entered the Subterranean Lair when he was merely a Half-Saint and returned unscathed. As another Heaven-Acknowledged Master Teacher, Master Zhang will surely resolve this hidden danger!"

"I hope so..." The other principal nodded, still looking worried. Many peak Saint 1-dan experts who entered the Subterranean Lair rarely returned. Could someone with only Half-Saint cultivation truly emerge unscathed? He was quite concerned.

"Worrying won't help," Master Mu said, shaking his head with a grim expression. "You know the current situation; we can't hold out much longer. The exertion over this period has drained our spiritual willpower to its limits; we could perish at any moment. If we don't resolve this soon, I fear it will lead to an irreparable catastrophe!" It wasn't that he wanted to send Zhang Xuan into danger; there was simply no other choice. Their spiritual wills were not inherently strong, and they had been relentlessly tormented by the Aura of Slaughter for over two years. Had their wills not been exceptionally resolute, they would have disintegrated and vanished long ago. How else could they have persevered until now?

"Becoming a principal means shouldering the principal's responsibilities. Growth is never a smooth journey... This is what it means to be a Master Teacher, and Master Zhang understands this!" Master Mu stated.

"Indeed!" The other principal fell silent.

Yes, being a Master Teacher was not just about honor; it was primarily about responsibility. If one recoiled from their own duties, how could they ever become a true teacher? Although Master Zhang was young, he clearly did what a true teacher ought to do.

"Is this the Subterranean Lair?" Feeling his entire body tense, Zhang Xuan stopped and stood upright. Only then did he realize he had entered a vast underground world. It was pitch-black all around, with no light, and stretched to an unknown depth and distance, seemingly without end. Dense Aura of Slaughter permeated everywhere, chilling to the bone and making it difficult to breathe. Had he not known beforehand, he would have thought he had fallen into an endless hell.

"No wonder no one wants to come here..." At the mere mention of the Subterranean Lair, all master teachers would blanch. Now, it was clear that this was indeed no place for humans. Just the Aura of Slaughter alone could instill fear in those with lower cultivation, causing their state of mind to collapse. It was like when Master Hong brought out a Foreign Tribe member during the four-star master teacher examination, intimidating everyone so much that no one dared to step forward. Here, the Aura of Slaughter was intensely potent, as if countless ferocious beasts were hidden nearby, ready to attack at any moment. A five-star master teacher without specialized training, suddenly entering this place, would immediately be terrified and find it impossible to proceed.

"If this aura were to leak out... at least ninety-nine percent of Hongyuan City's population would die instantly..." His expression turned solemn. Before, he hadn't fully grasped the gravity, but now that he was here, he understood its horror. Such dense Aura of Slaughter could easily cause those with weaker cultivation to lose their minds, lose themselves, and turn into killing machines. If it were to leak into Hongyuan City, a metropolis with over a hundred million residents, it could very likely become a desolate ruin in a short period.

As his Heaven's Path zhenqi circulated, the oppressive feeling from the Aura of Slaughter completely vanished. Only then did Zhang Xuan lift his eyes to survey his surroundings. The scenery was largely the same: an expanse of pitch-black. Even with his Eye of Insight, he could only perceive a few hundred meters. It was difficult to discern direction.

"Following the aura will surely lead to the deeper parts..." The denser the Aura of Slaughter, the deeper into the subterranean palace it indicated. After sensing the surroundings from his spot, Zhang Xuan determined his direction and walked straight ahead.

In addition to the Aura of Slaughter, there were strange demonic sounds all around, bewitching the soul. Those with weaker states of mind, after listening for a while, would likely fall into a trance, unable to extricate themselves, ultimately unaware of their own life or death.

"No wonder master teachers have such strict requirements for their state of mind cultivation. Martial artists of equivalent strength would probably find it very difficult to last long here!" Vigilantly observing his surroundings, Zhang Xuan slowly moved forward. The Subterranean Lair, filled with the Aura of Slaughter, not only caused one's vision to blur but, more importantly, also echoed with special demonic sounds. Those with weak mental fortitude were highly susceptible to becoming immersed in them. To say nothing of others, even Half-Saint experts would go mad if they stayed here for too long. However, none of these had any effect on him. With his Heaven's Path zhenqi circulating, his state of mind was vast and expansive, leaving his spirit completely unaffected.

"Hmm? There are footprints of the Foreign Tribe!" After walking a while, Zhang Xuan frowned. The ground not far away was covered with dense footprints, each about a foot long. He had seen Foreign Tribe members before; they were typically larger than normal humans. These footprints, so deep and so huge in the ground, were likely left by them. But... wasn't there a seal deep within the subterranean palace? How could there be Foreign Tribe members here?

"And human footprints..." Following the direction where the footprints appeared, Zhang Xuan walked for a while and saw sporadic human footprints, along with what appeared to be traces of battle. It seemed that humans and Foreign Tribe members had encountered each other and fought. He had known that there were humans in the Subterranean Lair; they were mostly master teachers who, unable to make further breakthroughs or nearing the end of their lifespans, came here without regard for their lives in pursuit of a higher cultivation level.

"These traces haven't been here long. The Foreign Tribe members are numerous and have the upper hand... If I'm quick enough, I might still be able to save them!" His Eye of Insight flickered as he examined the traces for a moment, and his eyebrows rose. From the marks, it was clear that the Foreign Tribe had a significant advantage, and the humans were likely fleeing while being pursued.

"Regardless, I should go and check it out first..." As a Master Teacher, it was impossible for him to stand by idly when humans were in danger.

Activating the Heaven-Treading Steps, he gently floated into the air and flew straight in the direction indicated by the footprints. Having cultivated the Canon of Conferred Sainthood, his zhenqi was incredibly dense, making the energy consumption for sustained flight negligible.

Concealing his aura completely, Zhang Xuan's eyes gleamed as he flew rapidly. In such a dim place, other six-star master teachers would undoubtedly have to proceed with extreme caution. But for him, the Eye of Insight not only allowed him to discern textures but, more importantly, to see much farther. Even if there were Foreign Tribe members, he would certainly detect them first.

He flew for a full half-hour. Although he still hadn't seen any figures, the traces on the ground became increasingly dense, and the signs of battle grew more intense, indicating that he was drawing closer to the two groups.

After advancing a bit further, he indeed felt a violent aura surging ahead. It seemed a battle was taking place directly in front of him. The closer he got, the calmer Zhang Xuan became. He sealed all his acupoints and slowly flew forward. As he rounded a small hill, he indeed saw a group of Foreign Tribe members standing ahead.

"This..." Zhang Xuan's eyebrow twitched at the sight.

There were over two hundred Foreign Tribe members in this group, every single one having reached Saint 1-dan or above, with several even at Saint 2-dan. He was fortunate to have suppressed his aura beforehand and remained undetected; otherwise, even with the Myriad Ant Hive's nine kings, the Purple Sun Beast, and the Golden Origin Cauldron, he would have been overwhelmed by their sheer numbers. The Foreign Tribe were inherently formidable, a race born for battle. At the same cultivation level, each of them was stronger than a Saint beast. Two hundred of them... not to mention him, even a Saint 4-dan expert would likely be instantly overwhelmed.

"How can there be so many?" His expression was grim. Over two hundred Saint 1-dan foreign tribesmen, plus several Saint 2-dan ones... While they might not be able to sweep through the entire Master Teacher Academy, if they stormed into Hongyuan City, there would likely be no one to stop them. At the very least, the Hongyuan Royal Family certainly couldn't withstand them! Where had so many of these creatures come from?

"It seems the tremors beneath the burial stele are caused by a coordinated attack from this many Foreign Tribe members... Otherwise, there wouldn't be such massive disturbance that even over a hundred principals' spiritual wills across generations, combined with so many Principal's Tokens, couldn't withstand!" Zhang Xuan realized. The spiritual wills of over a hundred principals, combined with a level-seven formation, possessed immeasurable power. More importantly, there were also over a hundred Principal's Tokens, embodying the collective resolve of millions, even tens of millions, of students. Under such a righteous suppression, it was astonishing that the stele could still tremble and be on the verge of breaking! It must be this group of Foreign Tribe members causing the trouble.

"Who are they fighting?" His eyebrows rose as he peered inside. He then saw a group of elders dressed in master teacher robes, standing back-to-back in a circle, covered in blood, with a look of defiance in their eyes.

"They're all peak six-star master teachers..." There were as many as thirty to forty of them.

"Hmm? Lu Feng?"