“That is the Temple of Confucius?”
Taken aback by Ren Qingyuan’s words, Zhang Xuan took a closer look at the newly risen sun and swiftly realized that the sun was located in a parallel dimension. Despite being within sight, it was actually an unimaginable distance away.
Or to be more exact, the distance wasn’t just limited to spatial displacement but temporal displacement as well. The newly risen sun seemed to exist within the flow of time, and special means were required in order to get to it.
As for the temple within the sun, it was obscured from sight by layers of shadow. Even with the Eye of Insight, Zhang Xuan found himself unable to catch a closer look at it.
“According to history, Kong shi was once trapped by the strongest Otherworldly Demon Emperor in Chen Cai. With his deep understanding of time, he created the Great Codex of Spring and Autumn. When the artifact first came into existence, the seasons of the world were thrown into disarray by its prowess. Spring and autumn intersected one another, causing the plants to blossom at one moment and wilt in the next. Summer and winter clashed with one another, raising storms and tornados here and there. Bizarre phenomenons occurred in the places where the Great Codex of Spring Autumn shone upon. An infant aged into a middle-aged man in the blink of an eye, and an elderly awaiting his death reverted back into an infant in a heartbeat…” Recalling the content written in ancient texts, Ren Qingyuan said.
When the Great Codex of Spring and Autumn was first created, mankind was still struggling against the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe. In truth, the prowess of the Great Codex of Spring and Autumn wasn’t as great as what the legends put it out to be.
After Kong shi freed himself, he used the powers of the Great Codex of Spring and Autumn to lay waste upon the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe. Before long, people came to revere the artifact, resulting in its widespread fame. There was no Otherworldly Demon who didn’t fear the prowess of the Great Codex of Spring and Autumn.
“The Great Codex of Spring and Autumn, the ability to manipulate the seasons… Did Kong shi comprehend the Time Quintessence as well?” Zhang Xuan asked.
This wasn’t the first time he was hearing about the Great Codex of Spring and Autumn, but he had never really understood what kind of capabilities it wielded. Judging by Ren Qingyuan’s explanation, it seemed like it had the ability to manipulate time.
“Un, it should be the Time Quintessence… However, it’s likely that what Kong shi has comprehended goes beyond just time acceleration. Based on the information we have in the records, it’s likely that he has mastered time deceleration and time freeze too!” Ren Qingyuan said.
“Time deceleration and time freeze?” Zhang Xuan widened his eyes in astonishment.
Similar to how there were other Spatial Quintessences aside from the Spatial Quintessence of Sealing, the same applied to Time Quintessences as well. The Time Quintessence comprehended by the Zhang Clan was the Time Quintessence of Acceleration, which allowed a cultivator to accelerate his own time.
Through accelerating one’s time, a second of the opponent’s time could translate into ten seconds of one’s time, thus making it appear as if the movements of the other person had slowed instead.
But other than the Time Quintessence of Acceleration, there were also the Time Quintessence of Deceleration and the Time Quintessence of Freezing!
While the Time Quintessence of Deceleration might not appear to be of much use to most cultivators, it was, in fact, the greatest weapon that human Ancient Sages had at the moment. It was through hibernation in the state of time deceleration that human Ancient Sages were able to lengthen their lifespan and continue fighting for mankind.
On the other hand, the Time Quintessence of Freezing was known to be the most difficult temporal law to comprehend. In terms of prowess, it was even stronger than the Spatial Quintessence of Sealing.
The Spatial Quintessence of Sealing could immobilize a cultivator’s physical body, but the cultivator would still retain his consciousness, allowing him to remain aware of the happenings around him. On the other hand, the Time Quintessence of Freezing would even put one’s consciousness to a stall. If a cultivator were to be killed in such a state, he would be thoroughly dead. He wouldn’t even have a chance to revive himself!
If Kong shi had comprehended the Time Quintessence of Freezing as well, just how powerful could he be?
No matter how powerful Vicious was, he couldn’t possibly have been a match for Kong shi!
“Those are conjectures made by the later generation, so they might not be accurate. However, if one thing was for sure, Kong shi had indeed infused his knowledge of temporal laws into the Great Codex of Spring and Autumn. If we could obtain the Great Codex of Spring and Autumn and acquire his heritage, that would indubitably be a huge boost to the forces of mankind! No matter how formidable the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe may be, we would be able to quell them with ease!” Ren Qingyuan said.
The power and influence commanded by the Master Teacher Pavilion were slowly accrued time. Back in the era shortly after Kong shi’s departure, the Master Teacher Pavilion had only been founded not too long ago, and it was far from its current scale. While it had achieved a victory over the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe, it didn’t have the power or resources to destroy them once and for all. The most it could have done then was to exile them in the otherworldly battlefield…
However, mankind had grown much stronger from back then. If they could just acquire the Great Codex of Spring and Autumn, they might just be able to accomplish what the predecessors had failed at!
“Indeed!” Zhang Xuan nodded in agreement.
Mankind had grown collectively stronger since Kong shi’s era, but its number of top-notch experts was on the decline. No one had been able to reach Ancient Sage ever since ten thousand years ago. What mankind was severely lacking at the moment was fighting prowess in the top echelon.
If they could obtain the heritage of the World’s Teacher, they would be able to resolve this problem and turn the tables on the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe!
“9-star master teachers of the Master Teacher Pavilion headquarters, heed my orders! Other than those who are bound for the Subterranean Gallery, all of you are to head to Qufu right away! Since the Temple of Confucius has surfaced, it won’t be long before it opens completely!” Ren Qingyuan turned around and issued a command.
“Yes!”
The 9-star master teachers replied resoundingly before rushing off.
“Zhang shi. Since that the Temple of Confucius has surfaced, there’s no doubt that the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe will soon make its move. Do you want to move together with our Master Teacher Pavilion headquarters, or do you intend to move independently?” Ren Qingyuan asked.
“I…” Zhang Xuan was just about to give his reply when he saw Luo Ruoxin shaking her head lightly by the side. A perplexed frown surfaced on his forehead as he continued, “I’m thankful for your thought and concern, but I would like to move independently!”
“Alright!” Ren Qingyuan didn’t seem to be too surprised by Zhang Xuan’s decision. With a nod of his head, he said, “Let’s meet at Qufu then!”
After saying those words, Ren Qingyuan turned around and raised his hand. A large group of 9-star master teachers swiftly gathered around him. It seemed like they were going to discuss their plans to deal with the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe after the opening of the Temple of Confucius.
“Let’s head back!” Zhang Xuan beckoned to Luo Ruoxin, and the two of them quickly made their leave.
In the blink of an eye, they were already out of the perimeter of the Master Teacher Pavilion headquarters.
Recalling Luo Ruoxin’s action earlier, Zhang Xuan turned to her and asked, “With the opening of the Temple of Confucius, the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe would surely make its move too. There’s no doubt that they would mobilize their Ancient Sages too… There might be some restrictions being with the Master Teacher Pavilion headquarters, but it would also be safer under their protection. I’m curious to know why you chose to advise me to turn down their offer.”
In truth, Zhang Xuan was also thinking of turning down the offer as well, but he didn’t expect Luo Ruoxin to advise him to do the same too. Thus, he was a little curious to hear her thoughts on the matter.
According to Yang shi, there was a restriction that prevented Ancient Sages from entering the heart of the Temple of Confucius to retrieve the Great Codex of Spring and Autumn. However, make no mistake. The true fight would only begin once the codex was brought out of the Temple of Confucius. As soon as the new owner of the codex walked out of the premises, the different powers would surely make an attempt to snatch it over.
And without a doubt, Ancient Sages would be embroiled in the tussle as well!
It would seem that the Master Teacher Pavilion headquarters only had Great Sages in their ranks, but that was only because they hadn’t brought out their trump cards yet.
Even the Zhang Clan had an Ancient Sage old ancestor still alive, so it would stand to reason that the Master Teacher Pavilion headquarters would have many more! Without a doubt, staying with the Master Teacher Pavilion headquarters would be a much safer option!
“There’s still some time before the Temple of Confucius fully opens, so there’s no point in sticking with them just yet. Furthermore, with the surfacing of the Temple of Confucius, we can expect countless experts to make their way to Qufu as well. Rushing there at this point would bring us no benefit; on the contrary, it would only embroil us in meaningless battles,” Luo Ruoxin replied.
“There’s still some time before the Temple of Confucius fully opens?” Zhang Xuan repeated in confusion.
He thought that he would be able to enter the surfaced Temple of Confucius straight with the Prime Amulet in hand. He didn’t think that there would still be some time before its complete opening.
“Wait, that’s not right… Isn’t it said that only those who possess the Celestial Amulets of Legacy are able to enter the Temple of Confucius? Even if the experts all over the world were to head here, they wouldn’t be able to do anything at all!” Zhang Xuan asked as he recalled another matter.
Only those who possessed the Celestial Amulet of Legacy was able to enter the Temple of Confucius—this was a pre-established fact that no one disputed. Otherwise, the experts of the Hundred Schools of Philosophers wouldn’t go so far as to challenge the Zhang Clan and the Luo Clan.
If they couldn’t even enter the Temple of Confucius, was there any meaning in them rushing over?
“It’s true that the Celestial Amulets of Legacy are required to enter the Prime Hall and the Subordinate Halls of the Temple of Confucius, but what about the outer perimeter?” Luo Ruoxin remarked with a smile.
“The outer perimeter?”
“Let’s use the Qiu Wu Palace as an example. The Qiu Wu Palace itself is an individual entity which requires quite a bit of trouble to enter, but the outer perimeter around the Qiu Wu Palace is accessible to all cultivators,” Luo Ruoxin explained.
Zhang Xuan fell into deep thought.
There were indeed quite a number of formations and obstacles on the outer perimeter of the Qiu Wu Palace. Without the map, it would be nigh impossible for most to reach the Qiu Wu Palace.
If that was the case, it would mean that the Temple of Confucius didn’t just consist of the Prime Hall and the six Subordinate Halls. It was an entire area consisting of an outer perimeter too, and it was likely that there would be formations and the sort on the outer perimeter.
“Kong shi has always believed in impartation without discrimination. Other than the Prime Hall and the Subordinate Halls, he has left many treasures and different heritages around the Temple of Confucius. Those who didn’t have the Celestial Amulets of Legacy would still be able to acquire those items, so it went without saying that they would have to make their way there too,” Luo Ruoxin said.
