“What has become of the love and compassion of humans?”
Seeing how the two groups had returned to tussling with one another over a medicinal herb, Zhang Xuan clutched his chest with a pained look on his face. “Treasures are indeed the bane of mankind. This folded space is already dangerous as it is, but instead of cooperating with one another to survive this ordeal, they opted for infighting instead. I have never felt so embarrassed to be a human!”
“Roar!” The Crimsonfrons White Tiger expressed its agreement.
“I guess there’s no choice then. In order to allow the humans to halt their infighting and unite with one another to overcome this ordeal, I shall go through the trouble of taking away all of the treasures in the area so that they will have nothing else to fight over!” Zhang Xuan said with a benevolent glow on his face.
The Crimsonfrons White Tiger was just about to nod in agreement as well when it suddenly realized that there was something very weird about those words. It tilted its head in bewilderment. “Roar?”
To be able to find such a righteous excuse to plunder the treasures on this land… Its new master sure was shameless!
Did he have no sense of shame?
Unaware of how his image had just crumbled in the mind of the Crimsonfrons White Tiger, Zhang Xuan instructed with an air of righteousness, “You are familiar with the local terrain, and you are able to travel around fairly quick as well. If there are any formidable treasures around the area, bring me to them!”
“Roar!” Knowing that its master had already made up his mind and it would be futile to complain, the Crimsonfrons White Tiger could only nod in agreement before darting forward swiftly.
It had to be said that the Crimsonfrons White Tiger really did know the area well. Under its lead, Zhang Xuan was brought from one rare treasure to another. It would have taken him far longer if he had to scavenge them one by one manually.
In less than four hours, he had already swept away everything good within a radius of several hundred li.
There were ten-thousand-year-old medicinal herbs and rare ores that could not be found on the Master Teacher Continent. Delighted by the returns, he even recruited another five beasts to assist him in the treasure hunt.
With no more treasures remaining the area, the conflicts in the area had visibly reduced.
Seeing that the world had taken a step toward peace, Zhang Xuan smiled in satisfaction. With his noble deed done, he strutted off with his six tamed beasts toward the territory of the Goldspirit Cloudtiger.
Fearing that the intelligence provided by the Crimsonfrons White Tiger was off, he posed the same question to the five beasts that he had just tamed, and their responses were the same. Within this forest, the Goldspirit Cloudtiger was the indubitable sovereign.
“Hide in here for the time being. When I beckon you later on, I want you to launch a decisive strike to take down the Goldspirit Cloudtiger together!”
After traveling for another an hour, they were already nearing their destination. Zhang Xuan flicked his wrist and stowed the six beasts into the Myriad Anthive Nest.
Sempiternal realm consummation beasts were far stronger than master teachers of the same tier. Even with his current fighting prowess, it was likely that he would face trouble dealing with the Goldspirit Cloudtiger.
It was not a coincidence that he had tamed so many beasts. In truth, he was intending to use them as reinforcements!
If he really could not defeat the Goldspirit Cloudtiger, he could set the six beasts on it simultaneously. Even as a Sempiternal realm consummation beast, it would be tied down for a moment.
He would use the time bought to launch his strongest technique and defeat it in a single move!
After stowing the tamed beasts, Zhang Xuan crept amid the tall grasses as he swiftly flitted toward the area pointed out to him earlier.
Before he could reach the lair of the Goldspirit Cloudtiger, he heard footsteps ahead. With a swift maneuver, he climbed onto the top of a tree and observed the situation ahead of him through the leaves.
A short distance in front, a group of eight was advancing warily. Every single one of them was holding their weapon tightly, prepared to engage their enemy at any moment.
“Even the weakest among them is at Intuitive Impulse realm consummation, and there is a Sempiternal realm consummation cultivator among them too… It seems like they have also learned of the existence of the Goldspirit Cloudtiger and have come to subdue it…” Zhang Xuan quickly analyzed the situation.
He could not possibly be the only one who would think of seeking the strongest beast in order to ask about the location of the Temple of Confucius.
It was true that the outer perimeter was suitable for cultivation, and there were many treasures lying around. However, there was no one who did not know that the true treasures lay within the Temple of Confucius.
Opportunities often came with risks. This was a once in a lifetime opportunity to climb to the top, and many would be willing to brave any danger for it!
“Who is it?”
While Zhang Xuan was still deep in thought, the Sempiternal realm consummation cultivator walking at the forefront of the group suddenly turned his gaze to Zhang Xuan’s direction.
The short moment of contemplation earlier had caused a fluctuation in Zhang Xuan’s emotions, leading to some imperfections in the concealment of his aura. It was just a slight leak, but with the entire group on guard, it was inevitable that he would be discovered.
Knowing that he had been exposed, Zhang Xuan chuckled softly as he walked out. “I was just passing by the area…”
The Sempiternal realm consummation cultivator who had spoken earlier was an elder in his sixties. With an authoritative furrow in between his brows, he questioned, “Are you a master teacher?”
Seeing that some members of the group were dressed in master teacher robes, Zhang Xuan replied affirmatively, “That’s right!”
“I am a grand elder of the Beast Tamer Hall, Wu Changping. I am determined to tame the beast ahead of us, so I have to ask of you not to interfere in our affairs!” the elder said imposingly.
“I don’t intend to interfere in your affairs, but would it be fine for me to remain around the area to take a look?” Zhang Xuan asked.
Since the other party had come before him, it would not be appropriate for him to cut right in and snatch their target.
In any case, his goal was to find out the general direction of the Temple of Confucius from the Goldspirit Cloudtiger. With the Prime Amulet in his hand, he should be able to zone in on the exact location easily as long as he had a direction to work with.
Hearing that the young man intended to loiter around the area, a middle-aged man amid the group harrumphed. “I can’t allow that. Please leave right now, or else we’ll be forced to evict you!”
“You intend to evict me?”
“We have already set our eyes upon the Goldspirit Cloudtiger. Your presence here will only hinder us,” Wu Changping replied coldly. “Please seek another beast of your own!”
Seeing that he was not welcome there, Zhang Xuan shrugged nonchalantly and said, “Very well then. I wish you the best of luck.”
After which, he turned around and left.
As soon as he was out of the group of eight’s sight, he flicked his finger and sealed the space around him before making his way back.
“I say, we should have just killed that fellow from earlier. Why do you all even bother to waste your breath with him? We aren’t on the Master Teacher Continent anyway, so there’s no need to abide by those troublesome rules!” the middle-aged man who had bellowed at him earlier grumbled in annoyance.
“I have no qualms about killing a master teacher here, but it would be bad if we alarmed the Goldspirit Cloudtiger in the midst of doing so. That fellow is the Monarch of this forest. Having fought many battles, its instincts are particularly sharp. We have to move with the utmost caution around it and subdue it in a sweep!” Wu Changping said.
“You’re right. I should have considered the matter more carefully!” The middle-aged man nodded in agreement. After which, a frown emerged on his forehead as he asked, “We placed that item in the lair quite a while ago. That fellow should be knocked out by now, right?”
“It should have fainted by now, but based on the intelligence we have gathered, the Goldspirit Cloudtiger is known to possess formidable innate resilience. We mustn’t let our guard down around it. Let’s wait a little longer…” Wu Changping said.
“Un!”
It was apparent that Wu Changping was the leader of the group. Upon hearing his words, the crowd continued to crouch quietly amid the bushes, suppressing their auras and breathing.
Roughly ten minutes later, Wu Changping raised his hand and said, “Alright, it should be about time. Let’s head in and take a look!”
Upon hearing those words, the middle-aged man made his way over to the cavern ahead with silent footsteps. With his movements, Zhang Xuan could tell that he was a Sempiternal realm cultivator too, albeit only at the primary stage.
Nevertheless, his prowess was already enough to make him a powerhouse of the Master Teacher Continent.
Even Sword Saint Xing only had as much strength as him!
Hu!
The middle-aged man entered the cavern.
Hong long!
Shortly after he entered, a deafening explosion sounded. Following which, the middle-aged man flew out of the cavern with an even faster speed, and his back broke several towering trees before he finally skidded to a stop. Blood spewed wildly from his mouth.
“Sh*t! It didn’t fall for our trap. We can only push our way through!”
Wu Changping swiftly understood that their initial plan had failed. With a furious bellow, he took the lead and charged forward.
Hualala!
The remaining members of the group also swiftly advanced toward the cavern. Barely after they got into position, the ground suddenly tremored beneath them. A massive beast was slowly making its way out of the cavern.
