Chapter 944: News of the Congenital Fetal Toxin?

He was the 104th dean; the 103rd was naturally the previous one, the former owner of the Purple Yang Beast.

That missing old dean of the Master Teacher Academy!

According to what he knew, this dean had never entered this place, and after his disappearance, his fate was unknown. How did a grave suddenly appear here?

Full of doubt, Zhang Xuan looked closely.

The tomb before him, built of ordinary bluestone, was no different from any other grave outside, utterly lacking the status and dignity befitting a Seven-Star Master.

After circling around, he quickly noticed something amiss. Frowning, he approached the tombstone and gently brushed it, triggering a mechanism. Then an aged voice slowly sounded.

Like the one in the underground palace, it was a device that stored sound via springs.

“I am Zhang Yinqiu, the 103rd dean of the Master Academy. This time when I go out, I fear it will be hard to return, so I have been selfish, telling no one, and quietly entered here to build my tomb in advance. Inside are my everyday clothes—a cenotaph, so that after death I may have a place to stay…”

The spring-recorded voice spoke as calmly as still water, but Zhang Xuan could hear deep helplessness within.

It is easy to die for a cause, but hard to face death calmly.

Knowing full well that death was certain, how desolate it must be to make preparations in advance?

I had always heard of the old dean's many deeds, and from You Xu I learned the details of how he was framed. I had always thought he had simply misjudged the danger of the trial and thus became trapped.

Now it seems that was not the case.

Coming to the Dean's Mausoleum in advance and building a tomb for himself—he must have already known the danger of going there and prepared a contingency.

"Not leaving behind a thought to guard the academy is a regret of my life! It's not that I didn't want to, but what I had to do was even more important, and it didn't allow any loss or defect to my soul. Even if a treasure that splits the soul could reduce the damage, there was no time left for me to split my soul!"

The voice continued.

A treasure that splits the soul can enable a non-sorcerer to successfully divide their consciousness, but success requires a long period of nurturing.

Otherwise, it would still cause considerable damage to the soul.

Only someone like Zhang Xuan, who has cultivated the Heavenly Dao Soul and possesses an immensely vast soul, can do it with ease and without harm. Otherwise, even a Seven-Star Master Teacher could not.

"Being able to come here and activate the mechanism means you are the new dean. Perhaps we are old acquaintances. I hope you will treat the Purple Yang Beast well. Tell it that I died for humanity, gloriously and nobly, with no grievance or reluctance, and it need not worry. Also, beware of the Sacred Beast of Cloud Mist Ridge..."

With a sigh, the voice continued.

It seemed that the old dean, once he disappeared, had only a few people in the academy who could succeed him. This was his way of making final arrangements in advance.

In his dreams, he never imagined that the new dean, whom he had never met, had already completed the two tasks assigned to him ahead of time.

"What are you going to do?" Though he knew the trap and that there was no way to answer, Zhang Xuan still asked.

From the other's tone, he knew it meant certain death, yet he had to go, even going so far as to build a cenotaph in advance... What exactly was he doing?

Wasn't it just an ordinary trial?

"What you might know is that I am merely undergoing an ordinary trial, but in reality, it is not so. This matter involves a secret from Teacher Kong's youth, and it seems to be related to the Poison Master profession as well. I do not know the details; only by seeing it with my own eyes can I confirm! Moreover, it concerns the Teacher of Ten Thousand Generations; I cannot speak recklessly, only keep silent!"

The voice said.

"A secret from Teacher Kong's youth? Related to the Poison Master profession?"

Zhang Xuan was startled, then his body stiffened: "Could it be... congenital fetal poison?"

According to what he knew, Teacher Kong in his youth, like him, also suffered from congenital fetal poison, and only by successfully冲击 the Nine-Star Master Teacher before the age of thirty could he perhaps resolve the fatal situation.

For this reason, he had always cultivated diligently, never daring to rest.

The old dean's message actually said it involved a secret from Teacher Kong's youth and was related to the Poison Master—how could he not be excited?

"If you really want to know, you can go to the Poison Hall of the Hongyuan Empire. But this place has always been secretive, especially reverent toward Master Teachers. Its exact location, even after many years of investigation, I am still unclear. However, based on speculation, it should be near Jingyuan City. There would be a detailed map of the trial grounds, but unfortunately, time does not allow me to investigate thoroughly and make comprehensive preparations; I can only go ahead..."

"Detailed map?" Zhang Xuan was puzzled, then understood.

The place the old dean was going to was extremely dangerous.

And if he could find a detailed map in the Poison Hall, it would surely be much safer. Unfortunately, something urgent forced him to go, so he took the risk and never returned.

Leaving these matters behind was clearly intended for future deans to take ample time to prepare before making a decision.

"Alright, this is all I can say. How to choose is up to you."

The voice slowly faded, as if it had never existed.

"Thank you!"

Knowing it was just a recording, not a real person, Zhang Xuan still bowed respectfully.

Not in gratitude for revealing the news about congenital fetal poison, but out of respect for the attitude of knowing certain death yet going without hesitation.

Knowing this journey might mean no return, he had the Ziyang Beast stay behind in advance, even left a cenotaph to warn future generations... yet he still went, leaving not even a trace of his consciousness!

This was just like those Master Teachers who died generously at Cloud Mist Ridge, disregarding even their lives for the sake of their convictions.

Perhaps this is the true charm of a master teacher, drawing countless followers to sacrifice themselves!

The truly respectable aspect.

Shaking his head, the Eye of Clarity squirmed, and finding no other mechanisms or prohibitions, Zhang Xuan continued forward.

On both sides of the path stood the tombs of other deans, each inscribed with their life stories and experiences. After reading for a while, Zhang Xuan couldn't help but sigh.

A large portion of these powerful deans had not died of natural causes but had perished in battles against the Otherworldly Clan.

For instance, Dean Mo Liuzhen, reputed to be the most talented, had entered the underground cavern and never returned.

"Aren't the Otherworldly Clan members rare? How could they all have died at their hands?" Zhang Xuan fell silent.

Since leaving Tianxuan Kingdom, nearly a year had passed. In that time, he had encountered only one living Otherworldly Clan member, about twenty puppets, and the shattered ruthless man...

Hadn't this race been completely driven away?

Why did it seem, from the deans' situations, that almost all had died fighting them?

"First, retrieve the Thunderstone! Whether or not I fight the Otherworldly Clan, I need strength as a foundation..."

After examining over a dozen more tombstones without any explanation, Zhang Xuan knew he couldn't figure it out for now and continued forward.

Mu Kai, the first patriarch, lay at the innermost part of the Dean's Mausoleum. After about ten minutes, Zhang Xuan finally arrived before his tomb.

This tomb looked as simple as the others. He kowtowed respectfully a few times, then took out the special token given by the puppet, flicked it with his finger, and sent it flying forward.

Crack!

As the token reached above the tomb, it triggered some prohibition. With a rumble, a storage ring slowly rose from the ground.

With a flick of his finger, the ring fell into his palm. Zhang Xuan channeled his true energy into it and looked inside.

"So many treasures!"

The ring contained many rare ores and treasures, including the Thunderstone he needed.

These were likely all collected by Patriarch Mu Kai during his lifetime.

Buried in his tomb after death, left for those in need, asking nothing in return—the noble character of a master teacher was evident.

"Thank you!"

Putting away the token and ring, he bowed respectfully to the tomb once more before heading out.

With the Thunderstone in hand, it was time to cultivate and attempt to reach the Saint realm.

Before long, he returned to the tombstone at the entrance.

With a flick of his wrist, he took out the Green Soul Bell from before.

At this moment, the Green Soul Bell was still continuously nourishing his soul. Although the effect was not great, if used for a long time, it would inevitably form an independent consciousness.

"Use the method of separating the witch soul..."

Knowing that separating his consciousness in this way would take an unknown amount of time, Zhang Xuan shook his head, sat cross-legged on the ground, and with a thought, his witch soul left his body.

The enormous soul, over ten meters tall, followed the method that Mo Hun Sheng had comprehended back then, gently writhing until soon a soul identical to his physical body appeared before him.

"Separating the soul really does cause great damage to the origin..."

After splitting off a new soul, his soul body shrank back to about ten meters. Zhang Xuan felt intense fatigue and couldn't help shaking his head.

Although he had only separated a small part, less than a tenth of the original, it was still somewhat unbearable for him.

With a flick of his wrist, the remnant soul of the Green-Horned Dragon Beast obtained from Cloud Mist Ridge appeared before him, turning into warm currents that slowly nourished him.

He dared to directly use soul separation, not fearing damage to his origin, precisely because he had this as his support.

This remnant soul had already had its own consciousness erased by the ruthless man, so it could be absorbed at any time without fear of backlash.

While he absorbed the remnant soul to recover from the damage and consumption, the separated soul flickered and plunged into the Green Soul Bell.

This soul, having no place to reside, would consume its origin, undergo the five declines of soul power, and eventually dissipate.

The Green Soul Bell was precisely the place to preserve consciousness, and the successive deans had done the same.

"The two merge, enter the tomb stele, and it's done..."

As the soul merged with the Azure Soul Bell, the strand of consciousness that Zhang Xuan had separated let out a sigh of relief. With a stir of his mind, he slowly rose into the air and flew straight toward the tombstone before him.

Hum!

The moment his body made contact with the tombstone, he immediately felt a tremendous suction force surging toward him. Then, with a flicker, he vanished from his spot and reappeared in a sealed room.

It was more like a cave than a room. Immediately, a peculiar consciousness surged into his mind, causing his scalp to tingle uncontrollably.

"This... is the killing intent of the Heterodox race?"

His pupils contracted, and Zhang Xuan's consciousness stiffened involuntarily.