Chapter 1605: Ran Qiu Ancient Sage

He only knew the exact location of this place from the painting of the bronze mask. He had no idea what was inside the hidden space or if there were any dangers.

Since the Otherworldly Demons were going in first, it was an ideal opportunity to let them scout the way. He could make his move later. With Confucius's Blood, he was confident he could kill or capture all of them, provided they weren't Ancient Sages.

"Where is it?"

As his group remained still, the four individuals opposite them also scanned their surroundings, seemingly searching for the precise location of the folded space.

"Let me check!"

A slightly thin young man stepped forward, pointed into the air, and a book materialized, quietly hovering and emitting a faint blue light.

"It's somewhat similar to the one you have..."

Seeing the book, Zhang Xuan glanced at the girl beside him.

This book was almost identical to the one she had acquired in Qiuwu Palace.

It seemed the saying was true: if he could find fortuitous encounters, so could they.

No wonder the Otherworldly Demons were able to oppress humanity, rendering them unable to resist until Confucius appeared and brought relief. It was clearly not that simple.

After all, even the Master Teacher Pavilion had failed to locate such a book, used for detecting Legacy Heavenly Charms, yet the Otherworldly Demons possessed one.

The book flew slowly, sweeping over the entire flat area on the mountain peak. Suddenly, it vibrated sharply, emitted a soft hum, and came to a stop.

"It's here!"

The thin young man nodded.

"Understood!"

The young man who had given the first command had a fair complexion and a scholarly demeanor, appearing vastly different from the Otherworldly Demons Zhang Xuan had encountered previously. If he hadn't appeared here, it would have been unimaginable that he would casually attack and effortlessly crush Zhao Ya and the others.

He had long heard that the Otherworldly Demon royalty could disguise themselves as humans, making them difficult even for Master Teachers to identify. Now, it seemed this was indeed true.

"Open!"

Stepping forward, the fair-faced young man moved his fingers rapidly, and a powerful surge of energy immediately flowed into the space the book had just pinpointed.

*Creak!*

With a harsh, grating sound, a small light portal materialized before them. The energy within it continuously swirled, its destination unknown.

"Everyone, be careful. This was personally left by him back then, so we must be extra cautious!" The fair-faced young man didn't rush in but turned to explain.

The others nodded in unison.

"Ancient Sage Ran Qiu?" Zhang Xuan drew a deep breath.

He was one of Confucius's seventy-two direct disciples, famously known as the "Seventy-Two Sages."

The ten most powerful among them were known as the 'Ten Sages,' and he was one of them, on par with, or even surpassing, Ancient Sage Bu Shang in strength, widely regarded as the strongest among the Ten Sages.

During the great war against the Otherworldly Demons, he had charged into enemy ranks wielding a long spear, personally leading the charge. With just himself and his spear, he had slain countless Otherworldly Demon Emperors.

The Combat Master Hall was founded by him!

If this place was indeed left behind by him, it was likely fraught with peril.

"Let's go!"

After giving the instructions, the fair-faced young man said no more. With a slight sway, he stepped into the light portal and vanished from sight in a ripple of energy.

The remaining three followed closely, disappearing in the blink of an eye.

"Let's go in too!"

Seeing them enter, Zhang Xuan was about to reveal himself and follow, but before he could step out, Luo Ruoxi grabbed his arm.

"Wait!"

Zhang Xuan paused, then understood. "You mean... they've discovered us?"

"Not necessarily discovered, but it's better to be careful!"

Luo Ruoxi said nothing more.

After waiting in place for about the time it takes to brew half a cup of tea, the light portal suddenly wavered. The fair-faced young man who had just entered stepped back out, scanned his surroundings, and, finding nothing amiss, breathed a sigh of relief. He then re-entered the portal, which this time quickly dissolved.

"How cautious of them! They were actually hiding just behind the portal. If we had gone in just now, we could have been ambushed!"

Zhang Xuan's expression darkened.

He was usually the one to scheme against others, and he hadn't expected that, if Luo Ruoxi hadn't held him back, he would have been outmaneuvered by these individuals this time!

If he had rushed in then, even with Confucius's Blood activated—making him invincible below the Ancient Sage realm—being suddenly besieged by four masters or stepping into their trap would have made escape very difficult.

Otherworldly Demons are indeed cunning!

"Hmph, you dare to play games with me? If I don't play you to death, I'm not Zhang Xuan!"

He snorted coldly, his eyes narrowing.

Previously, even when his strength was limited, he had managed to outwit and defeat all the experts of the Qingtian clan. Now that he had reached the peak of Saint 9-dan and possessed Confucius's Blood, he certainly wouldn't suffer such a loss.

"Let's go in!"

Luo Ruoxi removed the surrounding concealment seals and led the way to where the others had disappeared.

Taking a step forward, the young attendant Wu Chen took a deep breath, opened his palm, and pressed it sharply downwards.

Just like the fair-faced young man earlier, as he infused power, a light portal slowly materialized in the seemingly empty space.

Once finished, the young attendant entered first, vanishing from sight.

Zhang Xuan and Luo Ruoxi exchanged glances, then entered together.

With a soft hum, Zhang Xuan found himself in a vast grassland. The sky was clear and bright all around him. At first glance, it felt as though he had been teleported to a different realm entirely, making it impossible to discern that he was actually within a folded space.

"This space is incredibly stable..."

He was filled with surprise.

Ordinary folded spaces, even like Qiuwu Palace, were quite crude, prone to collapse if too much power was exerted. Yet this place was exceptionally stable; had he not known beforehand, he might have doubted if he had truly entered a folded space.

"The more stable the space, the more dangerous it tends to be. Let me first check where they went. The path they took should be considerably safer!"

The young attendant Wu Chen cupped his fists.

Luo Ruoxi nodded in agreement.

Wu Chen turned and scanned his surroundings, his eyes flashing with light, his brows furrowing more deeply.

"This place is extremely perilous, riddled with arrays and spatial rifts everywhere. Even a slight misstep could lead to falling in, making escape impossible. We must..."

Just as he was about to caution them, he saw the young man beside him take a step and stride boldly forward.

As he walked, he beckoned to them, "Hurry up and follow, go this way..."

"You..." Wu Chen was exasperated by his rashness. "This place is too dangerous. I haven't even found any traces of their path yet, and you're just charging in like this? It's very risky..."

Just as he was about to rush forward and pull him back, he saw the girl also follow without a word.

"Miss, it's dangerous..."

Wu Chen quickly spoke up.

It was one thing for Zhang Xuan, with his lower cultivation, not to understand the dangers, but why was Miss being so reckless as well?

"He possesses the Eye of Discernment; just follow him!"

Before he could finish, he heard the Miss's voice calmly reply.

"The Eye of Discernment? The Eye of Discernment that can see through all illusions?"

Wu Chen froze, his body involuntarily swaying.

The Eye of Discernment, such powerful mastery over space... Was he the expert, or was he?

How was it that... his own sense of superiority as a super expert seemed to vanish completely in front of that person?