Chapter 1573: Just Who Could It Be?

While Yang shi was unable to pull off a palm strike that could blast a hole right through the Yuan Clan's Guardian Formation, Zhang Xuan felt that he should be able to do it with the power of the Pavilion Master Seal. Could this mean that the culprit wielded strength comparable to him even in his enhanced state?

But he was already making use of Kong shi's blood essence! Did the culprit have something on par with that?

"But that's impossible!"

The fact that the Pavilion Master Seal containing three droplets of Kong shi's blood was considered one of the strongest artifacts of the Master Teacher Pavilion headquarters was enough to show how valuable and rare it was. It did not seem too probable for there to be a second artifact in the world that could compare to it.

Even if the other party had Kong shi's blood droplets in their possession, based on what he knew, only Celestial Master Teachers should be able to utilize the power within them. So, it should not be possible for them to utilize the power within the blood droplets.

Unable to make sense of the situation, Zhang Xuan asked, "Could it be an Ancient Sage intentionally lowering his cultivation?"

"That isn't too likely... If an Ancient Sage was truly here, the Ancient Sage of our Yuan Clan would surely have sensed his presence and awoken" replied the deputy clan head, shaking his head.

Zhang Xuan widened his eyes in realization.

If the Yuan Clan had a hibernating Ancient Sage, it would make sense for him to awaken upon sensing the presence of other Ancient Sages.

The fact that their Ancient Sage remained motionless despite the assault from the culprit showed that even though the culprit wielded incredible strength, he had yet to achieve a breakthrough to Ancient Sage.

"To wield such strength despite not being an Ancient Sage... just who could it be?" Zhang Xuan's complexion was turning worse and worse.

It might have been better if the culprit was a real Ancient Sage so that the Yuan Clan's Ancient Sage had awoken and stopped him or, at the very least, found out who the culprit was. However, that was unfortunately not the case, and that effectively left them with no clues to work with.

All of a sudden, Zhang Xuan recalled something and asked anxiously, "Yuan Clan, do you know where the Spirit Awakener Guild headquarters is located in?"

"I have a map over here!" The head of the Yuan Clan flicked his hand and passed a jade token over.

"Are you worried that the culprit might make a move on Wang Ying too?" Sword Saint Meng immediately understood Zhang Xuan's intentions.

"That's right!" Zhang Xuan nodded in response.

Zhao Ya, Wei Ruyan, and Yuan Tao... Three of his direct disciples had been kidnapped just like that. If the culprit was intentionally working against him, Wang Ying was likely to be the next victim!

As for Zheng Yang, he should be safe with the Combat Master Hall. Even if the culprit really wielded prowess invincible beneath Ancient Sage, the culprit was still unlikely to provoke the powerful Combat Master Hall easily, so Zheng Yang should be in a considerably safer position.

"Let's quickly head over!"

Zhang Xuan quickly set up a Teleportation Formation, and before long, they were already in the Spirit Awakener Guild headquarters.

After having expended her energy in activating three Teleportation Formations and using her zhenqi to protect Zhang Xuan from the spatial turbulence, Sword Saint Meng was starting to show signs of exhaustion.

"Teacher, why are you here? We were just planning to head over to the Luo Clan to celebrate your engagement!" Wang Ying was delighted by Zhang Xuan's arrival, but a slight hint of bewilderment could be seen in the depths of her eyes.

She knew that her teacher would not come to visit her all of a sudden without any reason, especially since they were soon going to meet in the Luo Clan.

"Wang Ying... Zhao Ya, Wei Ruyan, and Yuan Tao have been kidnapped!" Zhang Xuan explained grimly.

"They have been kidnapped?" Wang Ying's eyes dilated in disbelief as her body trembled in shock. "But... who could possibly have the strength to kidnap them?"

"I have no idea either. I was worried that something might have happened to you, so I rushed over to check on you," Zhang Xuan said.

"Teacher, you suspect that the person might make a move on me next?" Wang Ying swiftly understood what was going on. She turned around and instructed, "Elder Qin, inform all spirit awakeners to prepare themselves. A battle could be coming very soon!"

"Yes!" Understanding the severity of the situation, Elder Qin quickly left the area to make preparations.

After making arrangements, Wang Ying turned to Zhang Xuan worriedly. "Teacher, do you how Senior Zhao Ya and the others are doing at the moment?"

"I don't know that either. The culprit didn't leave behind any trail, so even I'm unable to track the other party down..." Zhang Xuan shook his head with a deep frown. "For the time being, I'm thinking of lying in wait here. As long as the culprit strikes once more, we'll be able to apprehend and interrogate him!"

"I understand!"

Realizing her teacher's intentions, Wang Ying nodded before falling silent. She arranged a place for the two of them to rest before sitting down to cultivate, not wasting any time at all.

She was unable to match up to Zhao Ya and the others in terms of talent, so she could only make it up with her diligence. Along with the ample resources that she had as the head of the Spirit Awakener Guild, she was still able to improve considerably quickly.

As they waited, the day soon went by. Before they knew it, the sun had already risen once again.

However, there was still no movement from the culprit. It was as if the culprit knew that they were there and had chosen to lie low for the time being.

Unable to wait patiently any longer, Zhang Xuan stood up and asked, "Do you have any long-range Communication Formations here? Send a message over to Zheng Yang to check if he's alright."

"Alright, Teacher!" Wang Ying replied before leaving the room.

Not too long later, she returned. "Teacher, Senior Zheng Yang has already arrived in the Luo Clan. It doesn't seem like he has met with any trouble along the way..."

"Nothing happened on his end either?" Zhang Xuan frowned.

As the culprit had made a move on Zhao Ya, Wei Ruyan, and Yuan Tao one after another, he figured that the culprit meant him and his students harm. That was the reason he had chosen to camp in the Spirit Awakener Guild for an entire day, waiting for the culprit to appear. Yet, it turned out that nothing had happened during this duration. Could he have mistaken the intentions of the culprit?

All of a sudden, Zhang Xuan's body stiffened as he exclaimed in horror, "Unique constitutions!"

Previously, Yang shi had said that in order to obtain the Great Codex of Spring and Autumn, other than gathering all six Celestial Amulets of Legacy, one could also break the seal through substituting the amulets with the blood of those possessing specific unique constitutions.

Zhao Ya, Wei Ruyan, and Yuan Tao's unique constitutions happened to be the few unique constitutions that could be used to substitute the amulets.

On the other hand, Wang Ying and Zheng Yang did not possess a unique constitution, which might explain why they had not been targeted.

Could that be the reason why the three of them had been targeted?

If that was the intention of the culprit, in a sense, this could be considered good news as the three of them should not be in any danger for the time being.

After all, the purpose for the culprit capturing them was to open the seal to the Temple of Confucius and not to kill them. In order to ensure that nothing went wrong, it was unlikely for the culprit to harm them until the seal was finally deciphered.

"From this moment onward, Wang Ying, you should follow me around. Try not to stray too far away!" Zhang Xuan pondered for a moment before instructing.

In the end, the matter about unique constitution was just speculation on his part. It would still be best for him to be careful.

"Where do you intend to head to now?" Sword Saint Meng asked.

After a day of rest, she had recuperated from her exertion the previous day. Her aura had regained its usual sharpness, reminiscent of a keen edge that could slice the heavens in two.

"Let's return to the Luo Clan!" Zhang Xuan said.

"Right now?" Sword Saint Meng was surprised to hear those words.

She could tell that there was a deep bond between her son and his students, so she had thought that her son would want to further investigate the issue.

"There are some things that I would like to ask Yang shi. Also, if the culprit is really searching for unique constitutions, I suspect that he might go for the little princess next. If that's the case, there's a chance that he might wreak havoc during the engagement ceremony!" Zhang Xuan said.

There was also one more thing he had neglected to mention, and that was that the Zhang Clan and the Luo Clan each possessed a Celestial Amulet of Legacy!

If the culprit had really captured Zhao Ya and the others for the sake of opening the Temple of Confucius, there was no way he would pass on the real Celestial Amulets of Legacy. Furthermore, today was the day of the engagement between him and the little princess of the Luo Clan, so nearly the entire upper echelons of the two clans would be around.

From such a perspective, it could be an ideal opportunity for the culprit to strike if he wanted to acquire the real Celestial Amulets of Legacy!

Thus, the most effective move that he could make at this moment was actually to return to the Luo Clan!

Besides, if he could learn from Yang shi how the unique constitutions could be used to decipher the seal in the Temple of Confucius, he might be able to uncover some useful clues that would help him track down the culprit.

"Let's go then!"

Seeing that Zhang Xuan had made up his mind, Sword Saint Meng decided not to say too much. They swiftly constructed a Teleportation Formation and warped back to the Luo Clan.