Too Far
Too Far
"Indeed. The fifth realm of the Eye of Insight is known as Phantasmagoric Construct. An illusory world created through the eye, this technique allows one to plunge even experts surpassing Saint 9-dan into living hell, a nightmare that they will never awake from. Back then, with this very technique, my teacher, Ancient Sage Bo Shang, eradicated over a million Otherworldly Demons with just a single glance, creating an undefeatable legend!
"Under normal circumstances, it's impossible for one to comprehend this realm without being in the Ninth Netherworld Dimension, but in view of the fact that you are leaving in order to save your student, I'll make an exception just for you. As long as you can comprehend the fourth realm, Demon Vanquisher, and decipher the final seal on the Sanctum Head Token, I'll grant you an opportunity to comprehend the fifth realm," Sage Kui said.
"Thank you, elder!" Zhang Xuan clasped his fist and bowed deeply to Sage Kui.
It did not seem likely that he would ever master the Divine Eyes of the Ninth Netherworld, but nevertheless, he was still very appreciative of the kindness and opportunity that Sage Kui had given him.
Lineages were important within the Master Teacher Continent, and those who were willing to go to great lengths for their teacher or students were highly respected.
For his student, Zhang Xuan was willing to give up on this precious opportunity to master the Divine Eyes of the Ninth Netherworld. To a potential sanctum head, this was really a huge sacrifice. Once he left the Ninth Netherworld Dimension, there was a high chance that he would never comprehend the fourth realm of the Eye of Insight, thus missing the opportunity to become the real sanctum head.
"There's no need to thank me. It's not too difficult to leave this area; you just have to return to the round platform that you were on when you first teleported in and will to leave this area with the Sanctum Head Token in hand. You will automatically be teleported out," Sage Kui said.
"Thank you!" Zhang Xuan heaved a sigh of relief. Without any hesitation, he turned around and walked toward the round platform. He took out his sanctum head token and grasped it tightly.
Weng!
A powerful force tugged at his body, and with a slight jolt, he disappeared from the spot.
Watching as Zhang Xuan left without the slightest hint of hesitation, Sage Kui muttered, "A teacher should have a compassionate heart. To be willing to give up so much for his student, perhaps he might just be able to lead the Sanctum of Sages to unprecedented heights…"
Compassion might seem to be of little importance to those in important positions, playing a secondary role to one's capability. However, it was often the mark of a truly great leader as those with great compassion would find it easier to win others over. Given how the young man before him was able to stick unwaveringly to his beliefs, decisively abandoning all else to protect what he deemed to be the most important to him, he would likely rise to a great height in the future.
He might even surpass the many generations of sanctum heads before him!
Hu!
Unaware of Sage Kui's high evaluation of him, Zhang Xuan found himself crashing onto the floor once more.
This time, perhaps because the distance teleported was shorter, he did not feel as much discomfort as before, and the temporal disorientation that he had experienced previously did not come. He shook his head lightly before slowly getting to his feet. When he saw familiar sights in his surroundings, he subconsciously heaved a sigh of relief.
Just as he had thought, he had returned to the Sanctum of Sages.
He was currently in the Inner Sanctum, not too far from Sage Kui's sculpture, which held Vicious' upper body.
Could it be that… the so-called Ninth Netherworld Dimension is actually within Sage Kui's sculpture? Zhang Xuan frowned.
Since he had appeared there, the folded space that he had been in should not be too far away. Could it be that it was hidden within the sculpture, just like Vicious' upper body?
Forget it! I should first look for Chen Leyao to understand the situation regarding Zhao Ya first!
Knowing that this was no time to allow his mind to wander, he quickly took out the Inner Sanctum token and walked over to the exit before swiping it in the air lightly.
Si la!
A rift appeared in space. Zhang Xuan walked into the rift and left the Inner Sanctum.
The sun had already set outside, and the Sanctum of Sages was particularly quiet. This peace felt peculiarly out of place to Zhang Xuan, especially considering what he had just encountered in the Zhang Clan.
He quickly figured out the direction to Chen Leyao's residence and flew over.
"Zhang shi, you…" Chen Leyao was astounded by Zhang Xuan's sudden arrival.
When she sent the message earlier, the young man had still been several million li away. To arrive before her in just a few minutes… even someone as calm as her could not help but be flabbergasted.
"What happened to Zhao Ya?" Zhang Xuan asked anxiously.
"I don't know." Chen Leyao shook her head grimly. "I was in the midst of my cultivation when I suddenly received that message from the young court chief. I knew that you weren't in the Sanctum of Sages, so I could only send her message to you via the formation. Unfortunately, the transmission stopped after she'd barely said a few words."
From the looks of it, it seemed like Chen Leyao was perplexed by the matter as well.
Zhang Xuan pondered for a moment before asking, "Aside from Zhao Ya's message, is there any news from the Glacier Plain Court?"
"As soon as the transmission from the young court chief was terminated, I immediately sent a message to my sisters in the Glacier Plain Court, but the responses that I received were that everything was fine, and the young court chief hadn't left the Glacier Plain Court," Chen Leyao replied. "Could it be a false alarm?"
"Impossible!" Zhang Xuan immediately refuted Chen Leyao's guess.
He knew Zhao Ya well. She would never call for his help unless she was in a truly dire situation.
Something was definitely amiss.
"Then… what do you plan to do?" Chen Leyao asked with a frown.
To be honest, she was more inclined to believe that the young court chief was still safe. After all, the latter's position was second only to the court chief, so there was no way that the Glacier Plain Court would remain idle if the latter was in danger.
Still, given that a cry for help had been sent, it would be foolish to simply shrug the matter off.
Zhang Xuan pondered in silence for a long while before demanding with narrowed eyes, "Bring me to the Glacier Plain Court!"
"You want to go to the Glacier Plain Court?" Chen Leyao was taken aback. "Right now?"
"That's right!" Zhang Xuan nodded resolutely.
"But the Glacier Plain Court is several million li away from here! It will take at least a month even if you ride on a Saint 9-dan beast. If the young court chief is really in danger, it will be too late by the time we arrive," Chen Leyao said.
The distance from the Sanctum of Sages to the Glacier Plain Court was further than the distance from there to the Zhang Clan. It would take more than a month, and if something had really happened to the young court chief, everything would be over by the time they arrived.
"A month?" Hearing those words, Zhang Xuan clenched his fists tightly.
A month was indeed too long.
Since Zhao Ya had sent such an urgent message over, there was no way that she could hang on for that long! However, there was no way for him to cover several million li swiftly, unless…
"Are there any Teleportation Formations in the Sanctum of Sages that lead straight to the Glacier Plain Court?" Zhang Xuan raised his head and asked.
Having used a Teleportation Formation before, he knew that it was possible for it to cover a journey that would usually take a month in just a few breaths. If there was a Teleportation Formation in the Sanctum of Sages that led to the Glacier Plain Court, he would be able to resolve this conundrum.
"I'm afraid there aren't." Chen Leyao shook her head. "The Glacier Plain Court has only constructed Teleportation Formations to a few powers that it is closer with, and this doesn't include the Sanctum of Sages. In fact, my sisters and I had to take aerial saint beasts over back then."
Considering how a Teleportation Formation would allow a cultivator to instantaneously teleport from one place to another, unless the two powers had close ties with one another, there was no way that they would build a Teleportation Formation between them.
Otherwise, the other party could potentially make use of the Teleportation Formation to cause harm.
"Then, what's the closest teleportation location to the Glacier Plain Court from the Sanctum of Sages?" Zhang Xuan asked.
"That would be the Yuan Clan, but still, it would take half a month from the Yuan Clan to get there," Chen Leyao said hesitantly.
She understood how the young man before her felt, but the Glacier Plain Court was located in the frosty lands at the very north of the continent, so there was no way one could get there easily!
"Half a month… That's still too long! Since you know the specific location of the Glacier Plain Court, is it possible for me to just construct a Teleportation Formation to take us there directly?" Zhang Xuan asked with a frown.