Chapter 1888: Meeting Yan Qing Ancient Saint Again

"Could it be that the Kunxu Realm where the Hundred Schools of Thought reside was not created by Confucius?"

Zhang Xuan's heart stirred.

The Hundred Schools of Thought had left the Master Teacher Continent and lived in a small world created by Confucius—he had known this before arriving. Thus, when he broke the seal and entered the Tianxuan Kingdom, he hadn't found it strange. But seeing the relief before him, he now realized... it seemed otherwise.

This small world appeared to have existed since ancient times, not created by Confucius.

Confucius's records vanished from here. Could it be... related to his entry into the Upper Firmament?

He continued forward.

Beyond the relief was an even larger room, its walls covered in murals depicting the many powerful figures of the Hundred Schools of Thought who had emerged after arriving in this small world and made great contributions.

As he had guessed, Qingya Wheat was indeed cultivated by an ancient saint—not Zichi Ancient Saint, but one of his descendants. After tens of thousands of years of improvement, it had achieved its current effect: even without cultivation, upon reaching adulthood, one could attain the Grandmaster realm.

Those with higher talent also cultivated faster.

After viewing the murals, Zhang Xuan grew even more puzzled.

There was no further record of Confucius's disappearance here, as if he had left completely, with no news thereafter.

At the end of the room, there was nothing else. After wandering for a while, Zhang Xuan felt helpless.

He had found no further clues here.

Just as he was about to leave the ancestral hall to search for other clues, his body suddenly swayed. He hid behind a side door and quickly set up over a dozen seals around himself. In an instant, his figure vanished from the spot, as if he had never been there.

Swish!

No sooner had he hidden than footsteps sounded, and several figures walked in.

Through the side door, Zhang Xuan peeked out.

The leader was an old acquaintance—Yan Qing Ancient Saint!

The people behind him were also familiar: those who had besieged Chenyong Emperor at the Confucian Temple.

With his current strength and his understanding of space, as long as he didn't actively release his aura or communicate with others, he could hide well enough that even these ancient saints wouldn't detect him.

"They seem to be in a bad state..."

Unlike what he had seen before, back at the Confucian Temple, each of these individuals had exuded overwhelming power, with the strength and majesty of an ancient saint that could not be challenged. Now, their qi was waning, and both their appearance and true energy gave the impression that they could collapse at any moment.

This feeling was somewhat similar to Zhang Hongtian earlier, as if their lifespans were at an end.

"What happened?"

He was utterly perplexed.

At the Confucian Temple, they had besieged Chenyong Emperor. Though the battle was fierce and many were injured, none of the injuries were too severe. Given enough time, they could easily recover without leaving major hidden problems. How could they all look like this after just a few months?

Especially Yan Qing Ancient Saint, who appeared aged, his eyes dimmed, on the verge of death, as if he could die at any moment.

"Cough, cough!"

Just as he was wondering, a coughing sound rang out, and blood trickled from the corner of Yan Qing Ancient Saint's mouth.

"Yan Qing..."

An ancient saint behind him looked over with concern.

"I can still hold on!"

Shaking his head, forcibly suppressing his injuries, Yan Qing Ancient Saint turned around: "After the worship, let's begin!"

"Are you sure you want to do this?"

"Yes, it has to be this way. This is the mission and responsibility of our Hundred Schools of Thought."

Shaking his head, Yan Qing Ancient Saint's face showed neither sorrow nor joy. He said no more, bowed to the statue of Confucius before him, and began his worship.

"Supreme Sage and Teacher, I, Yan Qing, the seventy-third generation descendant of Ziyuan Ancient Saint, follow the ancient teachings and fulfill my duties without a single day of slack. Now that the Confucian Temple has opened, we have reached the critical point passed down orally by our ancestors. There is no room for retreat. We are willing to dedicate our lives to this. May the Teacher receive word in the Upper Firmament and bless his descendants!"

Kneeling on the ground, his demeanor was reverent.

The statue of Confucius seemed devoid of any consciousness, remaining still and silent.

After the worship, everyone stood up. Yan Qing Ancient Saint appeared even weaker: "Let's go."

"Yes."

Everyone's eyes showed helplessness, but they said nothing and turned around together.

"Critical point? Dedicate their lives?"

Seeing them leave, Zhang Xuan removed the seals around him, utterly confused.

Under normal circumstances, these ancient saints should be in slumber. Why had they come here to say these things? And what about their injuries?

Hadn't he heard that they were repairing the Confucian Temple? Could repairing the temple cause injuries?

Full of curiosity, he followed closely behind.

"Dragon Bone Divine Spear, help me conceal my aura!"

With a flick of his hand, the divine spear turned back into a belt, enveloping his entire body. In an instant, he seemed to shrink, with no trace of aura leaking out—even a peak Blood Rebirth expert couldn't detect him.

Although Zhang Xuan's combat strength was comparable to Blood Rebirth, he hadn't yet broken through to ancient saint. His control over power was still somewhat lacking. It was fine to remain undetected as an Immortal Realm Great Perfection expert, but tracking these peak experts of the continent would easily be noticed.

The Dragon Bone Divine Spear had devoured dragon blood and was only one step away from breaking through to Shattering Void. Its actual combat strength was even greater than Yan Qing Ancient Saint's. With its help, no matter how sensitive the other party was, they couldn't detect him.

Leaving the Sage Ancestral Hall, he saw Yan Qing Ancient Saint and the others flying straight into the sky. He tore through space and followed closely.

After flying for who knows how long, they arrived at a high platform.

Above it was empty, with nothing at all.

"The space here... flows so fast!"

Landing on the platform, Zhang Xuan frowned.

To the naked eye, it looked very quiet, but with his understanding of space reaching the level of True Solution, he could easily sense that the sky here was flowing rapidly, constantly changing, as if it might collapse at any moment.

Most importantly, behind the space, there was a hair-raising sensation, like a special power originating from the soul.

"Let's begin!"

Taking his position, Yan Qing Ancient Saint said.

Everyone nodded and gritted their teeth. Just as they were about to unleash their power, a gust of wind howled in the distance, and two figures flew straight over.

Seeing someone coming at this time, everyone stopped and looked over. Zhang Xuan also turned his head.

Whoosh!

The figures landed.

The first was a girl with a slender figure, jet-black hair flowing to her waist, giving an ethereal impression. She looked about twenty years old, with a pair of beautiful eyes filled with urgency.

Behind her was a young man in his twenties, dressed in green. Zhang Xuan recognized him—it was Yan Xue, the Hundred Schools of Thought expert who had competed with him for the Legendary Mother Talisman in the Ran Qiu Ancient Saint's relic.

"Why are you here?"

Seeing the two, Yan Qing Ancient Saint's face darkened.

"As a descendant of Confucius, how could I not come when this situation arises..."

Stepping forward, the girl's voice carried an undeniable tone.

"Descendant of Confucius?"

Zhang Xuan was startled: "Could it be the legendary... Kong Shiyao?"