Zhong Xiang expressed that he cannot bear this responsibility; it’s absolutely unbearable for him. Even with the backing of the Zhong Family, he’s afraid he would be crushed by such enormous karma.
Zhong Xiang spoke with reason and evidence, leaving the people of the Confucian sect unable to refute him.
The reasoning is sound, but if you actually follow through, it would be wrong! Although the people of the Confucian sect were incredibly angry and unwilling, they were also helpless.
At this moment, the people of the Confucian sect were filled with anger but had nowhere to vent it. One by one, their eyes turned to the black pool and the three people standing on the high platform.
Now that things have reached this point, the only hope to break the curse rests in the possibility of a restraining treasure within the tomb.
"I wonder, what treasure is on that Jade Platform?" someone asked Liu Yang.
Upon hearing this, the three people on the stone platform approached the great tree. At this moment, Liu Lin explained to everyone, "I heard that in Ancient Times there was a Divine Object, the Tree of Life, which could not only lock a person’s vitality but also ensure it would not extinguish, allowing their physical body to remain immortal for eons. Most importantly, the Tree of Life could extend a person’s lifespan. So, during the Ancient Era, certain Divine Beings sought the Tree of Life to create tree coffins and bury themselves in them. However, it is said the Tree of Life is a Divine Object from the Twenty-Fourth Heaven of the Spiritual World, extremely rare and hard to come by. It’s unknown how this Ancient God obtained it."
While speaking, as the three on the high platform approached the stone platform, the tree coffin emitted a green light barrier, blocking the three from getting any closer, no matter what methods they used; they could not move the tree coffin an inch.
The three were merely mortal flesh and bone without even the means for Soul Emergence, so how could they be qualified to touch the Divine Tree?
Seeing the treasure right before them yet unable to get closer, Liu Yang realized the treasure was not fated for him. At this point, he did not dare to hope for the treasure; he just hoped to find a way to break the curse, so he spoke to the people on the shore:
"Everyone, although this pool water is cursed, being affected up to twenty-four lines is its limit. If anyone wishes to obtain the treasure, why not directly cross the water? Everyone’s already caught the curse; is there really a difference between one line and twenty-four lines? Rather than that, why not just boldly cross over and open this tree coffin of the Ancient Divine Demon? Perhaps there might be unexpected gains, maybe even a way to break the curse."
Everyone couldn’t help but turn up their noses at this suggestion. Is one curse the same as twenty-four? He’s joking!
"Actually, I have a better suggestion. Since three have already gotten past, why not cast ropes and let those three tie up the coffin, then we can pull it over with combined strength?" Mr. Wuliu suggested, looking at the three standing before the coffin.
As for crossing the river?
No one was willing to cross the pool, not if their life depended on it. Not touching a single drop more!
This suggestion seemed reasonable, and everyone’s eyes brightened as they hurried to find chains outside.
Before long, someone dragged the chains in, and everyone looked to Zhong Xiang. Unfortunately, Zhong Xiang’s combat strength here was indeed the highest.
But Zhong Xiang was adamantly unwilling to touch that pool water any further; he didn’t want to provoke it any more since he had only been affected by two curses, neither severe. So, before anyone could say anything, he retreated far away to avoid being implicated.
At this point, Liu Lin outright imposed a moral obligation, instructing the three to jump into the pool and drag the chains over, reasoning that they were already completely cursed. They were already like boiled frogs not scared of being scalded.
With Liu Lin’s words, many in the crowd weighed in, leaving the three with no choice but to jump into the pool. Astonishingly, as the three jumped down, the water showed no reaction, and they dragged the chains into the pool, approaching the coffin, intending to wrap it in the protective barrier it emitted.
After all, the tree coffin is a movable object, and the barrier emitted is a tangible energy body, immediately getting entangled by the chains, while the other end was pulled to the shore, held by the Confucian cultivators.
With a command from Liu Lin, all of them exerted their strength to pull the chain taut. The tree coffin shook a little, but the next moment the chain snapped, causing everyone to fall over.
"That tree coffin is extraordinarily heavy; it seems dragging it with chains is infeasible," Zhang Xiaohua observed shrewdly and offered his suggestion, "I do have an idea, though I’m not sure it’ll work."
"What idea? Please share, Crown Prince," Liu Lin turned to Zhang Xiaohua.
"Since the curse is bound to the pool water, why not dig a hole in the mountain to drain the pool? Wouldn’t that nullify the curse?" Zhang Xiaohua suggested.
This statement immediately struck a chord with everyone, even Zhang Chen, who was hiding in a corner, couldn’t help but brighten up his eyes: "Zhang Xiaohua’s brain seems to work well. How didn’t I think of it before?"
Zhang Xiaohua’s words gained unanimous approval. However, everyone agreed that Zhang Xiaohua spoke sense, but the mountains were made of large green stones, making them difficult to dig. Even if there were Divine Martial Artists among them, digging through green stone was not easy.
So at this moment, everyone’s gaze turned to Zhong Xiang, knowing full well his mastery of the Qilin Flame was a widely recognized fact.