1497 Heaven Sealing Lock

"I see!"

Putting together what he had just heard with the conversation between the First Elder and Zhao Ya, Zhang Xuan came to a realization.

Such an art of harvesting would mean treating living humans as mere tools to further one's cultivation, and it would lead to the deaths of many innocent individuals.

For someone as prideful and righteous as Zhao Ya, there was no way she could accept such a course of action.

"My mother was also reluctant back then, which was why she eventually chose to seal her cultivation and flee from the Glacier Plain Court," Zhao Ya said.

Zhang Xuan nodded in response.

As one of the strongest powers in the Master Teacher Continent, the Glacier Plain Court was bound to possess some means to track down their disciples, not to mention that Zhao Ya's mother possessed the Pure Yin Body. Once she exerted her strength, the Glacier Plain Court would be able to swiftly pick it up and find her. The only way she would be able to really get away was to seal her own cultivation!

This was similar to how Luo Ruoxin had to seal her own cultivation in order to get away from the Luo Clan.

However, due to the dire situation that he had been in back at the Qiu Wu Palace, she had chosen to release her seal so as to subdue the Skyleaf King and save him. This had led to the Luo Clan finding her whereabouts, and she had been left with no choice but to leave his side.

And shortly after, he had met with Luo Chengxin in the Qingyuan Empire.

"I also think that such a practice is abhorrent. Don't worry, if you are reluctant to do it, no one will be able to force you into it. I'll bring you away right now!" Zhang Xuan waved his hand with unquestionable dominance.

So what if this is the Glacier Plain Court?

If my student is reluctant to learn your damned arts, no one will be able to force her into it!

Not even the heavens will be able to make her to do something against her will!

"Teacher…" Feeling the deep concern that her teacher had for her, Zhao Ya's eyes reddened.

Her teacher had been several million li away, but as soon as he received her message, he had immediately rushed over and appeared before her within less than two hours. Such actions spoke much louder than any words ever could.

"Alright, let's leave the folded space first before deciding on the next course of action!" Zhang Xuan said.

He reached out to grab Zhao Ya, intending to pull her up and take her away, but contrary to his expectations, he found his Primordial Spirit being dragged down to the ground instead.

"What's going on?"

Considering how Zhao Ya did not possess any cultivation at the moment, he should have been able to lift her up easily with just a finger. But for some reason, no matter how he tugged and pulled, the young lady remained firmly rooted to the spot, as if she was one with the room.

"Teacher, my zhenqi has been sealed by the Heaven Sealing Lock," Zhao Ya uttered weakly as her face abruptly paled and her breathing hastened.

As if some kind of excruciating pain was assaulting her, her body collapsed weakly to the ground and scrunched up together.

"Your zhenqi has been sealed by the Heaven Sealing Lock?" Zhang Xuan narrowed his eyes in utter horror, and in that instant, he nearly exploded from rage. "You are telling that the First Elder fused the Heaven Sealing Lock with your body in order to seal your meridians?"

He had already heard from Elder Bai previously that it was very likely that the First Elder had used the Heaven Sealing Lock on Zhao Ya, but when he saw that there was nothing binding her body, he had heaved a sigh of relief. He had thought that the First Elder was unwilling to go to that extent in view of their relationship, but who would have thought that the latter would be worse than he thought? That wretched hag actually fused the Heaven Sealing Lock into Zhao Ya's body!

The Heaven Sealing Lock was a torture tool that even Saint 9-dan experts were apprehensive of. It could inflict great pain on a cultivator just by using it to bind their limbs, but to go to the extent of fusing it into the body to seal the meridians… the slightest mistake could have led to the utter destruction of her meridians. Her cultivation would have been completely destroyed, turning her into a cripple!

"Yes, that's right," Zhao Ya replied feebly.

Her body twitched uncontrollably on the ground, and her breathing was growing weaker and weaker. It seemed as if the excruciating pain was going to rob her of her consciousness very soon.

"Damn it! I'll take that seal off you right now!" With an awful look on his face, Zhang Xuan hurriedly rushed forward to touch Zhao Ya's body, intending to use the Library of Heaven's Path in order to uncover the flaws of the Heaven Sealing Lock.

However, when there was no jolt in his head, he realized that he was currently only in his soul form!

While he could collect books into the Library of Heaven's Path through his Primordial Spirit's gaze, due to his incorporeal form, he was unable to truly touch an object, so he was unable to compile a book to analyze Zhao Ya's current condition.

Unless… Zhao Ya could stand up and execute a battle technique!

However, given her current circumstances, that was off the table.

As infuriated as Zhang Xuan was, he knew that rage would be of no use to him at the moment. He quickly released his grip and instructed, "Don't try to drive your zhenqi, and if possible, don't exert any strength derived from your cultivation at all!"

Nodding slightly, Zhao Ya quickly halted her flow of energy. Five minutes later, the pain finally receded. By then, her clothes were already soaked with her own sweat.

"I'm fine…" Zhao Ya struggled to her feet weakly.

"The Heaven Seal Lock is fused into your body, sealing your meridians. Not only will you be unable to use your strength, there mustn't be another external force acting on you either, or else it will immediately trigger the punishment, plunging you into excruciating pain!" Zhang Xuan said.

The First Elder sure was callous.

To disallow her from exerting any energy and preventing anyone from saving her… this was really a dead end. Until the Heaven Seal Lock was removed, there would be nothing he could do.

Knowing that the thing he had to do first was to remove the Heaven Seal Lock, Zhang Xuan said, "Try to execute a punching routine for me!"

"Yes!" Zhao Ya nodded as she executed a light punch.

While she did not use much strength in that punch, it still left cold sweat pouring down from her head, and her face turned pale from exhaustion.

Weng!

Fortunately, the effort was not wasted. A book materialized in Zhang Xuan's head.

He quickly flipped it open.

"Zhao Ya, the young court chief of the Glacier Plain Court… Flaws: 1, the Pure Yin Body has only been awakened to the seventh level. 2, her meridians have been sealed by the Heaven Sealing Lock, preventing her from exerting any strength. 3…"

After browsing through the content of the book, Zhang Xuan's face turned even darker.

The book did mention the Heaven Sealing Lock, but it only depicted Zhao Ya's current condition, not the flaws of the lock.

In other words, the book compiled on Zhao Ya only showed him the flaws regarding her cultivation. Even though the Heaven Sealing Lock was mentioned, it was more of a passing remark, containing no useful information as to how it could be removed at all.

It seemed like even the Library of Heaven's Path did not possess the ability to fathom something beyond direct contact with him!

Unless I'm able to find the exact location of the Heaven Sealing Lock in her body and come into contact with it or… get the First Elder to remove it personally, I won't be able to do anything about it! Zhang Xuan thought as his complexion turned more and more awful.

What the First Elder did was no different from planting a bomb in Zhao Ya's body. She was the only one who could resolve it, and if anyone else touched it, it would immediately blow up!

"Teacher…" Zhao Ya turned her gaze over.

"Don't worry. Since I've said that I'll save you, I'll definitely do it. Follow me," Zhang Xuan said before heading forward, and Zhao Ya quickly followed along.

As long as she did not utilize the strength derived from her cultivation, she would not come under the punishment of the Heaven Sealing Lock. In other words, while she did not possess any cultivation at the moment, she was at least able to walk around like an ordinary mortal.

Soon, they arrived at the entrance, where the First Elder had left from. Zhang Xuan gazed at the formation before him and lightly muttered, "Flaws!".

A book materialized in the Library of Heaven's Path.

While it was difficult to find the folded space from the outside, finding a way out from the inside was much easier.

After swiftly browsing through the book, Zhang Xuan found a flaw in the formation and focused his soul energy on that single point.

Kacha!

A crack swiftly appeared in the previously stable space, and it swiftly grew larger and larger before forming a huge crevice.

"It'll mend itself very soon, so we need to leave quickly!" Zhang Xuan instructed before leaving the folded space.

Zhao Ya also quickly followed him.

As soon as the two of them walked out of the folded space, they saw the spatial crevice behind them swiftly closing up and vanishing without a trace.

Seeing that they were finally out of the Chanting Serenity Hall, Zhang Xuan scanned his surroundings, and seeing that no one was around, he heaved a sigh of relief.

"We'll be heading toward Elder Bai's residence…" Zhang Xuan sent a telepathic message over.