Chapter 2072: Master Kong Turns Dark

"Strip away the library?"

"Indeed. The Heavenly Dao cannot be controlled by human power. If you don't find a way to strip it away and let it remain in your body, sooner or later you'll become its puppet!" Master Kong said. "For instance, you clearly comprehend 'The Heavenly Dao Has Flaws,' yet why is the cultivation technique you practice flawless? This is obviously the biggest flaw!"

Zhang Xuan was stunned.

Indeed!

If the Heavenly Dao clearly has flaws, why was the technique he practiced flawless?

This was clearly a false proposition.

"No... being flawless now doesn't mean it will be flawless later, or flawless in other worlds..."

A thought struck him.

He had once gone berserk over this, and it was the pendant Luo Ruoxi gave him that saved his life.

So-called perfection was only limited to one world. When advancing to a higher world, the laws differed, and naturally, the flaws would be different.

Thus... the perfect technique he practiced was not truly perfect; it merely aligned more closely with the Heavenly Dao in this world.

Without voicing these thoughts, Zhang Xuan asked, "Could it be... Master Kong, you have already stripped the 'Heavenly Dao Has Order' from your body?"

"Indeed, I have stripped it from my body, just as I once abandoned the title of Heaven-Ordained Master. Only by letting go can one gain; only by abandoning can one step into a higher realm!"

Master Kong's gaze was distant as he looked over again. "So, what is your choice? You should understand by now."

Zhang Xuan fell silent.

If he hadn't abandoned the title of Heaven-Ordained Master back then, he couldn't have successfully broken through to ancient sage, stepped into a higher realm, and attained his current strength.

Could it be that the other party was telling the truth?

Only by abandoning the library could he go further and not be restricted by the Heavenly Dao?

Zhang Xuan asked, "The library is connected to my spirit. How can I abandon it?"

The Library of Heaven's Path was fused with his soul, so even his soul avatar could use the library to detect flaws... The soul could be split, but the library would still exist. How could he abandon it?

"I have gone through abandonment and know how to do it."

Master Kong smiled. "It sounds difficult, but it's actually very simple... It requires a sacrificial ritual!"

"You mean... the same method as that leader of the Divine Hall?" Zhang Xuan said.

"Yes." Master Kong nodded. "This method was used when I separated from the 'Heavenly Dao Has Order.' The people of the Divine Hall must have learned of it, which is why they want to take the 'Heavenly Dao Has Flaws' from you..."

"Since the Heavenly Dao has such great loopholes and flaws, why does he want to seize mine?" Zhang Xuan said.

Master Kong had said that keeping the Heavenly Dao in one's body would eventually cause one to lose oneself and become part of it. They were all eager to escape it, so why was this leader of the Divine Hall willing to pay such a price to obtain it?

"What one cannot obtain always seems good, and besides... everyone's pursuits differ! You and I seek the true Great Dao of Heaven and Earth, to enter the Divine Realm and become a sovereign ruler, while he only hopes to be the master of the Divine Hall. Different horizons lead to different mindsets."

Master Kong explained.

"That's true."

Zhang Xuan nodded.

A person's vision determines their future achievements.

With a grand vision, one's achievements will grow ever greater; with a narrow vision, one will ultimately be limited by oneself and unable to go further.

"Stripping the Library of Heaven's Path requires an altar, but the altar is currently in the hands of the Divine Hall... I'm afraid it won't be easy to accomplish."

After his reflection, Zhang Xuan frowned.

If he used the same method as the leader of the Divine Hall, he would need the altar of the Star-Seeking Palace and Palace Lord Du Qingyuan to perform the ritual.

Now that both were under the control of the Divine Hall, the so-called separation seemed impossible for the time being.

"Don't worry about that. Look at this..."

With a light smile, Master Kong flicked his wrist.

Whoosh!

An altar instantly appeared in the hall, floating quietly in the air.

"You... brought the altar?"

Zhang Xuan was full of disbelief.

The other party had not only blocked the attacks of eight pseudo-god powerhouses and saved him, but also taken the altar in passing... Such strength was terrifying!

"Having the altar alone isn't enough. Without Palace Lord Du's ritual, it still can't be done."

"I once specifically studied Palace Lord Du's sacrificial method, and I am even more proficient than she is!" Master Kong laughed.

"Then let's start now!" Zhang Xuan nodded.

"Mm."

Responding, Master Kong gently waved his hand, and a pile of treasures landed on the altar. Through obscure sacrificial language, a ball of flame suddenly emerged, just like in the Divine Hall.

"Go ahead..."

After doing this, Master Kong said.

Zhang Xuan nodded and flew straight toward the altar. He had only flown a short distance when Master Kong's voice rang out: "Wait, give me the pendant on your chest..."

"Pendant?"

Zhang Xuan stopped.

"During the Divine Hall's ritual just now, I noticed that your pendant is strange. It seals the library, preventing it from leaving your body. Let me keep it for you first. After you separate from the library, I will return it."

Master Kong said.

"Alright..."

Without much hesitation, Zhang Xuan unfastened the pendant and tossed it over.

Taking the pendant, Master Kong's eyes flickered, and he smiled slightly before storing it in his ring. He then gestured, "Please."

Taking a step forward, Zhang Xuan stopped again, showing a hint of worry. "Will I be all right without the library?"

The library had fused with him, and despite the other's confident assurances, he was still uneasy.

"Look at me now, and you should know it will be fine."

Master Kong said, "I lost the 'Heavenly Dao Has Order,' and I'm still alive and well, aren't I?"

After a pause, Zhang Xuan set aside his concerns and lightly flickered to the top of the flame.

"To prevent accidents, I will fix you in place. Don't worry, it's just to prevent the Heavenly Dao from backlashing..."

Seeing him land, Master Kong breathed a sigh of relief and grabbed in the air.

Boom!

A powerful force descended from the sky, and at the same time, chains similar to those in the Divine Hall enveloped Zhang Xuan, locking him tightly to the altar so he couldn't move an inch.

Unexpectedly having to be locked up, Zhang Xuan frowned.

"It begins!"

With a light smile, Master Kong drew a line forward, and another altar appeared beneath his feet. A ball of flame burst forth, enveloping him.

"No... you're trying to seize my library into your body..." Seeing the other's actions, Zhang Xuan understood and tensed up, unable to help saying.

"It's too late to realize now..."

With a cold laugh, Master Kong muttered to himself, and the obscure incantation sounded again. The flame on the altar grew increasingly dazzling.

"Why? Didn't you say the Heavenly Dao would affect oneself and eventually turn one into a puppet?"

Struggling a few times and finding himself completely trapped with no escape, Zhang Xuan's eyes blazed with fury.

"It does affect oneself, but... without this thing, how can one achieve a higher realm? Do you really think that relying on personal talent alone can make you a true god? Break through the boundaries of the realm and enter the Divine Realm?"

Master Kong sneered. "Stop dreaming!"

Zhang Xuan was speechless.

Master Kong snorted. "Hand over the 'Heavenly Dao Has Flaws' obediently. Back then, I left a strand of consciousness in Qiuwu Palace, intending to capture you and strip it away. At that time, you were very weak, and it would have been easy. Unfortunately, that Luo Ruoxi ruined it..."

"Qiuwu Palace?"

Zhang Xuan was startled, and memories flooded back.

Back in Qiuwu Palace, inside the crystal ball, he had encountered the consciousness left by Master Kong, who gave him a warning but didn't finish before raising his hand... Luo Ruoxi called out to him, causing the consciousness to collapse.

At the time, he felt she had done it deliberately, but out of trust, he didn't ask further.

Now it seemed she was saving him!

If she hadn't called him awake, he would likely have been stripped of the Library of Heaven's Path by the person before him... After all, with his consciousness inside the crystal ball, stripping it would have been easy.

If that had happened, the outcome was predictable.

With his cultivation at that time, he might have been utterly destroyed, doomed for eternity.

(For those who forgot, please see Chapter 1087, Master Kong's Warning, where there is a detailed foreshadowing. A foreshadowing spanning a thousand chapters—I almost forgot it myself, haha.)

"Speaking of which... that ancient sage fourth-realm immortal envoy who crossed space from the Kunxu Realm was your man?"

Understanding this, memories surged into his mind, and Zhang Xuan couldn't help saying.

In the Kunxu Realm, within the folded space of the Hundred Schools of Thought, an ancient sage fourth-realm immortal envoy had crawled down from the upper realm. At that time, what he said was 'Sect Leader.'

Later, knowing about the six great sects, he had always suspected it was someone from the Lingyun Sword Pavilion, but later found it had nothing to do with them. He later suspected the Star-Seeking Palace, but found it was also unrelated. Only now did he realize it was most likely someone from the Divine Hall!

Because Master Kong came from the Master Teacher Continent and must have known where this passage was!

That was also why this immortal envoy wanted to obtain Kong Shiyao's bloodline.

The latter possessed Master Kong's purest bloodline. Once obtained, his talent would become extremely high, and he would be valued by the person before him!

"Indeed, I have been guarding that passageway..."

Master Kong did not deny it.

"On the other side of the passage are all your students and descendants... Don't you care about their lives?"

Zhang Xuan still couldn't believe it.

This person before him, on the Master Teacher Continent, to prevent the mercury true qi from the upper realm from descending and causing massive harm, had not hesitated to use his students' corpses to suppress it, and had even ordered the Hundred Schools of Thought to guard the folded space, forbidding them to leave...

He did this for the better development of humanity...

Why, after arriving in the upper realm, did he send people down, even going so far as to kill Kong Shiyao?

Dealing with him was understandable—after all, the 'Heavenly Dao Has Flaws' combined with the 'Heavenly Dao Has Order,' even if not a complete Heavenly Dao, would be close!

If the person before him gathered both, he would surely be able to break through to a higher realm, perhaps even directly shatter the shackles of the upper realm and enter the Divine Realm...

But to disregard his own descendants and the descendants of his many disciples?

The Master Teacher Continent's compassionate, broad-minded teacher of ten thousand generations—how had he changed so much after coming to the upper realm?

He seemed like a completely different person!

"You... are not Master Kong!"

Eyes narrowing, Zhang Xuan said.