Chapter 1231: Boil, Spirituality!

"I don't care who your master is; a prince's crime is the same as a commoner's! Take him away!"

With a wave of his hand, Master Song gave him no chance to refute.

Sun Qiang wanted to say something more, but a force sealed his cultivation, rendering him speechless. Then two renowned masters came forward and directly escorted him away.

"Mmph..."

Furious to the point of exploding, Sun Qiang could do nothing.

He was the master's steward, yet a mere quasi-eight-star master dared treat him like this—it was outright rebellion!

"Arrest all those poison masters who released the toxins, keep them under strict watch, and make sure none escape..."

Ignoring the furious fat man, Master Song continued giving orders.

Soon, the entire Master Hall mobilized. Half a day later, Elder Xu and the others were once again imprisoned in the dungeon.

Then, they continued searching, but after scouring the entire Qingyuan City, they found no trace of Liu Yang, as if he had vanished into thin air.

...

Zhang Xuan was unaware of what had happened here; instead, he stared at the enormous face before him.

"Sending Chu Tianxing to invite Liu Yang and then imprison him to blackmail me—truly a good plan... But I still don't understand: why would Chu Tianxing, an emperor, pledge allegiance to you?"

In fact, this puzzled not only Zhang Xuan but also the many masters present.

Chu Tianxing, an emperor of a nation, held a revered status and had everything he could want. Why would he betray the Master Hall and humanity to collude with the alien spirits?

After all, once discovered, such an act would result in immediate execution without mercy.

"Why?"

The ruthless man sneered: "You should ask your Master Hall!"

Zhang Xuan frowned.

"He is an emperor, who by right should command the realm with no one disobeying... But with your Master Hall around, what is this emperor? No matter what he does, he must defer to you. Frankly, he has long been fed up!"

The ruthless man snorted: "With this inner demon, and my control over it, do you think it's hard to subdue him and make him serve me?"

"This..."

Zhang Xuan stood frozen, unable to speak.

What the other said was true.

To become a ruler of a nation, one must be exceptionally talented... Yet such a person must be constrained by the Master Hall in everything, like having a sword hanging over his neck, ready to strike at any moment... Who wouldn't feel resentful?

Clearly an emperor, yet forced to follow others' orders... The discontent grew until it could no longer be suppressed.

Zhang Xuan shook his head.

This Chu Tianxing only saw his own power being suppressed, but had he ever considered that without the Master Hall, the Qingyuan Empire would have long been carved up by other empires or annihilated by the alien spirits?

When the skin is gone, what can the hair adhere to?

Without the Master Hall, how could an empire prosper?

However, though the other spoke simply, Zhang Xuan knew the truth was far more complex... This Chu Tianxing must have experienced something that gave rise to an inner demon he couldn't dispel, allowing Emperor Qingtian and the ruthless man to exploit him, leading to this grave mistake.

"Enough, my patience is limited. Reply quickly, or not only will your students and family die, but these people, including you, will all perish here!"

Too lazy to continue, the ruthless man's thunderous voice rang out again.

A violent torrent of air surged down, knocking everyone off balance, powerless to resist.

"Though I dote on my students... using them as leverage to make me submit to the alien spirits... you underestimate me!"

Shaking his head, Zhang Xuan's voice grew louder: "As a master, I lead by example and teach by action! If I surrender, how can I better educate my students? How can I be a role model? I have taught them what I should... If, after all this, they cannot discern right from wrong and end up harmed, it only means their skills are lacking! Even if they are killed, there is nothing to be done..."

Though he did not wish for his students to come to harm... as a teacher, he was even more unwilling to set a bad example that would lead them astray.

If he did, what difference would there be between living and dying?

A man must do some things and refrain from others!

Otherwise, how is he different from an animal?

This was his conviction, and the conviction a master should have!

"Very well, then die!"

Seeing that even threatening his students did not move him, the ruthless man knew Zhang Xuan's resolve was firm and subduing him was nearly impossible. Without further words, he roared.

Boom!

A tremendous force surged forth. Master Wu and Hall Master Xing, who had erected an energy barrier to withstand the pressure, turned pale and spat blood.

The opponent's strength far exceeded theirs; they could not hold out.

"Master Zhang, flee quickly..."

Gritting his teeth and holding on with all his might, Master Wu shouted.

"No need to flee. He's stalling for time, and so am I..."

Smiling, Zhang Xuan looked again at the enormous face before him: "Do you think you've already won?"

"What do you mean?"

Seeing no trace of worry or fear in the other's expression, but instead intense confidence, the ruthless man's brow twitched, and a sense of foreboding arose.

"Nothing much. Just as you spoke so much to fully control this island, I spoke so much to buy time..."

Zhang Xuan's voice was calm.

If not to buy time, even with questions, he wouldn't have bothered to say so much!

"Buy time? What use is buying time? Stop bluffing..."

The ruthless man raised his eyebrows.

This head was forged by Qingtian Emperor with countless master artisans and artifact refiners, at an incalculable cost, and he had fully mastered it. Though it was only at the peak of the Out-of-Body stage, even ordinary Domain-stage experts found it hard to contend with!

This group was merely at the early or middle Out-of-Body stage. What use was waiting any longer?

They would only end up dead!

"Of course it's useful... Alright, I won't waste words with you... It's been this long, and you still won't come out?"

Too lazy to continue bickering, Zhang Xuan's voice carried a peculiar seductive intent, echoing all around.

At his words, everyone hurriedly looked around, only to find a sky full of stars and not a single ghost.

"I thought you really had help, but it's just a bluff..."

The ruthless man sneered.

This guy had used this trick before, causing Qingtian Emperor to be pierced through the anus with a sword, and now he was trying to bluff again!

If he really had help, they would have come long ago. How could they wait until now?

"Die!"

With another cold snort, a ferocious force came crashing down.

But before it could land, everyone saw the massive head in the sky involuntarily tremble.

Then, the island became uncontrollable, shaking incessantly.

"What's going on? You... what did you do?"

His pupils contracting, the ruthless man shrieked.

"Nothing much, just... awakened the spirit of this island!"

Zhang Xuan said with a faint smile.

When he and his clone were at the lowest level of the island, he had used the library to examine the surrounding walls.

He had made the astonishing discovery that the entire island was a single entity.

Knowing this, he then mapped out all the paths he had taken in his mind, and it became clear what was going on.

Thus, he spent an hour quietly awakening the spirit of this heavenly artifact.

His actions were very secretive, and at the time, the ruthless man's consciousness was trapped by the altar, so he didn't notice.

Later, when the ruthless man was released, his consciousness delayed time to spread across the entire island and take control of the head!

The other party was stalling, which suited Zhang Xuan perfectly, because the more the ruthless man merged with the island, the more he merged with the awakened spirit...

Eventually, they would be intertwined, like Discipline Master Xing and Zhang Jiuxiao before, inseparable.

"Awakening the spirit? Awakening the spirit of such a huge island?"

The ruthless man screamed, looking as if he had seen a ghost, unable to believe it.

He knew about the profession of spirit awakeners. Even a nine-star spirit awakener could at most awaken the spirit of a longsword or a cauldron, and each awakening consumed immense energy, requiring a long rest...

This puppet crafted by the heavenly artisan had a diameter of two or three kilometers... To awaken its spirit... how many sparks would need to be lit?

How could anyone possibly do that?

"It seems Qingtian Emperor didn't tell you about me awakening the Spirit Awakener Guild..."

Zhang Xuan shook his head.

Earlier, he had been worried that the other party would know he had awakened an entire guild and take precautions. Now it seemed he had overthought it!

Qingtian Emperor and this ruthless man were at odds; how could he possibly share such crucial information?

That was good too. Without precautions, he could succeed in one move.

Otherwise, it wouldn't have been so easy.

"Even if you awakened its spirit, I can still kill you..."

With a roar, the ruthless man howled as the head suspended in the air struggled to fly back and slay the young man before him. But then he saw the young man shake his head, extend his hand, and raise it abruptly.

"Boil... spirit!"

Boom!

At his words, the island, shaped like a human face, instantly seemed to enter spring. In the blink of an eye, countless vegetation grew.

Cacti, dog-tail grass, various flowers... dense and countless.

"Ah..."

Disturbed by the spirit, the ruthless man's consciousness began to fall into chaos, as if suffering from split personality, no longer able to control his power.

"This..."

Looking on again, Master Wu, Discipline Master Xing, and the others swallowed their saliva.

Spirit awakeners had always been synonymous with weak combat strength, an auxiliary among auxiliaries... They never imagined it could be used like this!

This alien spirit clan member, under normal circumstances, would surely be unbeatable and would kill them, but now... he was being driven mad by the spirit awakener's methods, on the verge of collapse.

"Do you think these spirits can assimilate me? They're just ordinary spirits. After I annihilate them, I can still kill you..."

The head in the air roared again.

No matter how strong the other party's spirit awakening ability, it was only ordinary spirits, at most making him unable to control the island and fall into chaos for a short time. Given time, with his ruthless strength, he could completely wipe them out.

"Annihilate them, you can do that, but..."

Zhang Xuan shook his head: "There's no chance..."

Whoosh!

A book appeared in his palm, faintly depicting a finger and a heart.