Chapter 1193: Are You Looking for Me?

"Oh no, this soul is going to possess Master Zhang!"

"Stop it!"

Sensing the soul rushing straight toward Zhang Xuan, Master Wu and the others' pupils constricted as they struck out.

Although the soul of Emperor Qingtian had undergone a lightning tribulation, it still carried a yin-cold aura, easily detectable with divine sense.

Swish!

Power rained down like a storm.

"Hmph!"

After taking several blows, Emperor Qingtian narrowed his eyes.

He had been on the defensive earlier because the opponent had possessed his physical body, making him hesitant to unleash his full strength for fear of harming it. These masters, though formidable, couldn't stop him if he only wanted to escape.

"Seal!"

In midair, he pointed forward.

Whoosh!

A ripple swept outward, and the space within the underground palace seemed locked by a tremendous force. In an instant, everyone felt as if they were trapped in a swamp, their movements and attacks restricted.

"It's a cultivator at the Incarnation Realm..."

Zhang Jiuxiao's face changed as he shouted anxiously.

To unleash such power and restrain all their attacks, this soul had clearly undergone a lightning tribulation and reached true Incarnation!

Such a powerhouse couldn't be defeated by sheer numbers.

"Dragon-Swimming Formation!"

Knowing this opponent was not easy to deal with, Master Wu bellowed.

The Dragon-Swimming Formation was a battle array practiced by every master in the Qingyuan Empire's Master Teacher Hall, used to counter dangers.

Whoosh!

The formation took shape as soon as the command was given. Over twenty masters formed the array, instantly filling the underground palace with immense energy. With a slight tremor, the earlier restraints shattered like ice.

The Incarnation Realm's seal wasn't a true spatial lock but a powerful force that sealed the surroundings. When the force exceeded its limit, it naturally couldn't hold.

Unexpectedly, the masters reacted so quickly, breaking the seal with the formation in an instant. Emperor Qingtian didn't hesitate; his soul surged forward, reaching Zhang Xuan and drilling into his brow!

"Haha!"

Once inside the opponent's body, Emperor Qingtian couldn't help but laugh loudly.

Didn't you want to kill me?

Now I've entered your body—let's see how you kill me!

"Master Zhang..."

Seeing that the soul had indeed possessed Zhang Xuan, Master Wu and the others' eyes turned red with anxiety.

Though they knew little about souls, they understood that once possessed, one's own soul would be erased, and the person would be dead!

Master Zhang was cultivating, and with all of them guarding him, such a disaster had still occurred—it was unforgivable!

Whoosh!

In an instant, they surrounded him, murderous intent radiating.

"What? Want to fight? Come on! I'll kill your genius master first..."

Controlling Zhang Xuan's body, Emperor Qingtian shouted excitedly. But before he could finish, his pupils suddenly contracted as if he'd seen a ghost: "Ah... what is this? No..."

"Thud!" He fell to the ground, convulsing, his screams piercing the sky.

"Huh?"

Master Wu and the others, who were about to attack, exchanged bewildered glances, unsure what to do.

He was so arrogant just a moment ago—how did he end up like this?

"No, I don't want to possess him anymore! Let me out... Let me out..."

With a miserable cry, Emperor Qingtian's soul struggled frantically to escape Zhang Xuan's body, only to find all the acupoints sealed, trapping him inside.

"Don't kill me! I don't want to harm each other anymore, I really don't! Just let me go, please..."

Sizzle!

The screams grew louder, as if Emperor Qingtian had encountered the most terrifying thing.

The sound gradually faded and then disappeared.

Whoosh!

The altar flickered, and Zhang Xuan appeared.

That Emperor Qingtian was powerful—if he caused trouble, it would be a huge problem!

As soon as he appeared, he looked for Emperor Qingtian but instead saw a crowd of masters before him.

"Another one! Beat him to death!"

Someone shouted.

Before he could react, Zhang Xuan felt a storm of power raining down on him.

Though the soul cultivated through the Heaven's Path Technique lacked yin-cold and was invisible to the eye, it could still be detected by divine sense.

Normally, divine sense isn't constantly active, so slipping away or arriving unnoticed was possible. But now, with the altar reactivating and the precedent of a soul cultivator, everyone's divine sense was focused there. The moment he appeared, he was caught!

Crack!

A frenzied assault struck, and Zhang Xuan's scalp tingled.

What the hell was going on?

He'd only been gone a moment—how had so many masters shown up?

And why were they attacking him like mad?

Had they lost their minds?

Where was Emperor Qingtian?

Most importantly, he couldn't explain now. If he did, his identity as a soul cultivator would be exposed, causing an uproar in the Master Teacher Hall and endless trouble.

Frustrated to the point of vomiting blood, Zhang Xuan's body shrank again, barely dodging the attacks.

He leaped, rushing toward his physical body.

"Still coming? You're asking for death!"

"Kill him..."

Everyone went berserk.

They had failed to protect Master Zhang earlier, allowing a soul to possess him. Now this newcomer was even more audacious, trying to charge in—this was utterly intolerable!

Whoosh!

Attacks rained down again, completely blocking the area around Zhang Xuan's body.

"..."

Zhang Xuan was losing his mind.

Instead of dealing with Emperor Qingtian, these guys were fixated on him!

"Dingding, come here!"

He urgently called out to the Gold Origin Cauldron nearby.

It had submitted to him, so they could communicate mentally.

"Master..."

Hearing the call, the Gold Origin Cauldron quickly flew over.

"Quick, send me to the altar..."

The attacks were too dense; he couldn't break through. His only option was to rely on it.

"Alright!"

With a response, the cauldron "whooshed" to Zhang Xuan's physical body.

"Everyone, move aside..."

Roaring, it slammed into Zhang Xuan's "corpse," sending it flying forward.

Crack!

The sound of bones breaking.

"..." Zhang Xuan clutched his forehead.

Couldn't you be gentler?

He knew the Gold Origin Cauldron was unreliable, but this was too much...

Frustrated, he knew this wasn't the time to dwell on it. Seeing his body approach, his soul moved and drilled into it.

Circulating his true energy, his injuries slowly healed. He opened his eyes and looked at the crowd.

"Emperor Qingtian came earlier—did you notice..."

Before he could finish, he saw everyone radiating murderous intent, ready to strike.

"What are you doing?"

He narrowed his eyes.

"Who are you? Even if you've possessed Master Zhang, do you think you can escape?"

Master Wu barked.

With their divine sense, they had "seen" the newly arrived soul drill into Master Zhang's body and possess him. They were all furious.

One possession was bad enough, but two in a row...

Did they think the Master Teacher Hall was a pushover? Were they treating Master Zhang's body like a playground?

"I'm Zhang Xuan. I was cultivating just now and just woke up..." Knowing they were worried about him, Zhang Xuan shook his head.

"Do you think we'd believe that?"

Master Wu shook his head.

No one believed him.

The soul had just entered, and now he opened his eyes claiming to be Master Zhang—impossible!

"You don't believe me?" Zhang Xuan frowned. "Master Wu, in your attack just now, you used the seventh move of the Six Harmonies Sword Technique, which has eight flaws: imprecise sword energy, impure aura, improper power, insufficient essence..."

Knowing explanations were useless, he cut to the chase, pointing out the flaws in Master Wu's technique.

This ability was unique to master teachers, making it the best proof.

"This..."

Hearing the unbroken stream of words that laid out his flaws clearly, Master Wu staggered.

"The last flaw is due to soul damage from the demonic sound in Qiuwu Palace, which hasn't fully healed yet... Am I right?"

"Uh, yes..."

After a pause, Master Wu nodded.

"Then... am I Zhang Xuan?" Zhang Xuan raised an eyebrow.

"Yes..."

Master Wu quickly nodded.

Being able to point out so many flaws and mention the Qiuwu Palace incident, this was undoubtedly Master Zhang.

"What happened? Why were you attacking me?"

With his identity confirmed, Zhang Xuan sighed in relief but frowned in confusion.

He had been careful, yet he was discovered as soon as he appeared and nearly beaten to death. What had happened?

"It's like this..."

Master Wu quickly recounted what had just occurred.

"You say... a soul drilled into my body and then... screamed in agony?"

Zhang Xuan's brow twitched in disbelief.

Was Emperor Qingtian stupid? His body was filled with Heaven's Path true energy, the bane of souls. Charging in was like a sheep walking into a tiger's den!

He had thought it would be hard to catch him if he escaped, but instead, the man had walked to his death...

"It seems he saw me possessing his body and wanted to try mine..."

Zhang Xuan rubbed his brow.

A sovereign of the Qingtian lineage, a super powerhouse at the Incarnation Realm, had done something so foolish. Now, he had likely been ground to ash by the Heaven's Path true energy, vanishing from the world.

"I'm fine. I was cultivating a special technique earlier and was unconscious... If I'm not mistaken, the two souls that entered my body have been eradicated!"

Waving his hand, Zhang Xuan didn't explain further.

"Yes!" Seeing this, the others didn't ask more.

Others might not understand, but Master Wu knew the truth.

As a Heaven-recognized master teacher, if his body were so easily possessed, Confucius would have died long ago and never become the Teacher of Ten Thousand Ages.

"Thank you all for protecting me..."

Knowing they had acted so fiercely for his sake, Zhang Xuan cupped his fists in gratitude.

"You're too kind, Master Zhang!"

Everyone nodded.

After exchanging pleasantries, Zhang Xuan said no more and curiously looked inside his body.

Even if Emperor Qingtian had been killed by the Heaven's Path true energy after entering his body, such a powerful being should have left something behind, not nothing at all!

"Hehe, are you looking for me?"

As he was examining his interior, a sinister voice suddenly echoed in his mind, like a ghost, chilling to the bone.