Chapter 1770: Apricot Altar

"How much has your strength recovered after refining the sternum?" Zhang Xuan asked, seeing its spirit improve as it absorbed power from the Saint Remains Stone.

When it refined the finger bone, its cultivation recovered significantly. It made further progress after refining the skull. This time, with such a massive sternum, its improvement should be even greater.

"Reporting to Master, I am now comparable to a newly advanced Ancient Sage, possessing the combat power of an Ancient Sage!" Ruthless replied.

"An Ancient Sage?" Zhang Xuan's eyes lit up.

He had previously speculated whether this fellow would possess Ancient Sage combat power after refining, and it turned out to be true!

Though both were Ancient Sages, Ruthless, with its past combat experience, was certainly much stronger than the Ancient Sage corpse.

Combined with the Ethereal Sword, it was absolutely equivalent to having a true Ancient Sage constantly guarding him, ensuring his safety was no longer a concern.

"Yes, and the sternum was suppressed by Saint Li with the help of the Saint Son Hall for tens of thousands of years. Its murderous aura has long since vanished, leaving only pure power. Now, if I use my techniques to impersonate a Master Teacher, no one will be able to tell!" Ruthless continued.

"That's excellent…" Zhang Xuan clenched his fists.

He had just been thinking that even if Ruthless possessed the power of an Ancient Sage, it wouldn't dare to use it easily on the Master Teacher Continent. Otherwise, the charge of colluding with the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe alone would be indefensible. Now, however, this hidden danger was completely eliminated.

That was right. Saint Li, though not a direct disciple of Master Kong, was his grand-disciple. Using a statue and the scholarly qi of the Saint Son Hall to suppress the sternum for tens of thousands of years had indeed cleansed it of all murderous aura.

It seemed he could use Ruthless without worry from now on, no longer needing to explain himself.

"First, recover your soul and strive to reach your peak strength!" Knowing he had a stronger reliance, Zhang Xuan breathed a sigh of relief and walked out of the stone forest.

With the Temple of Confucius open and an unknown number of Ancient Sages arriving, every bit of increased strength for Ruthless meant an additional guarantee of safety.

He had to be careful.

After putting away various weapons and saint beasts, he returned to the previous hall. He also collected the many portraits hanging on the walls into his ring, then gave a slight shake and walked out.

Outside, many Master Teachers were still standing outside the Saint Remains Hall, studying the cultivation techniques and secret manuals carved on its surface.

"Yuan Tao isn't here, so where is he?" Zhang Xuan frowned.

There were only members of the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe here, indicating that the Hundred Schools of Thought hadn't arrived. If that was the case… where had Yuan Tao gone?

Just as he was about to return to the stone forest world to continue his search, he flipped his wrist, and a communication jade token appeared in his palm.

A line of text appeared on it: "Zhang Xuan, come quickly to the Apricot Altar!"

"It's Luo Ruoxi's message? The Apricot Altar… where is the Apricot Altar? Can messages be sent across worlds now?" Zhang Xuan was stunned.

When he first arrived, he had tried, and communication jade tokens were only effective within the same world. Yet now, he had received a message from Luo Ruoxi… Since when could messages be transmitted across worlds? If that were truly the case, why hadn't it been possible before?

"The Apricot Altar is the sub-hall corresponding to the desert world; I'll wait for you in the desert world!" Knowing his confusion, Luo Ruoxi's message continued.

"The desert world?" Frowning, Zhang Xuan didn't hesitate and returned to the stone forest world.

Having passed through it once, the previous entrance was easy to find. Before long, he was back in the desert world.

At this moment, the world no longer had sand or scorching heat. The spiritual energy was abundant, and although there was no vegetation, it somewhat resembled the previous jungle world.

The cultivators who had entered this place were all cultivating where they stood, each making great progress.

The powerful intuitive expert he had previously encountered had actually broken through to the Immortal realm after only a few hours. His appearance even seemed much younger.

Knowing this was the marvel of the Confucius Temple remains, Zhang Xuan said no more. He set his direction and swiftly flew towards where the oasis had been. Before long, he indeed saw the girl and Wu Chen.

"You're here…" Luo Ruoxi smiled, seemingly having perceived his confusion. She explained, "The many worlds within the Temple of Confucius have been connected, so transmitting messages is nothing strange!"

"Connected?" He was momentarily stunned, then immediately understood.

He had found the exits of various worlds and passed through them, effectively linking the major worlds together. And it wasn't just him; many Master Teachers were now also traversing through these worlds, so it was no surprise that messages could be transmitted.

"How did you know this world corresponds to the Apricot Altar?" Understanding this point, Zhang Xuan was still a little confused.

Before entering a sub-hall, no one knew its name. Since Luo Ruoxi knew, why hadn't she mentioned it before?

"Someone has already gone there, so it's not surprising to know," Luo Ruoxi said. "And not just this one, the other sub-halls have also been figured out."

She continued: "The six major sub-halls of the Temple of Confucius are: the Kuiwen Pavilion, the Apricot Altar, the Two Corridors, the Hall of Great Accomplishment, the Sleeping Hall, and the Saint Remains Hall! The people from the Hundred Schools of Thought possess the Heavenly Talisman to open the Kuiwen Pavilion and have already entered, taking all the books left by Master Kong. The Master Teacher Pavilion has the Heavenly Talisman for the Two Corridors. The Luo Clan, Zhang Clan, and the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe correspond to the Sleeping Hall, the Hall of Great Accomplishment, and the Saint Remains Hall, respectively. People have entered these locations, effectively activating them. Only the Apricot Altar remains unopened… The core of this formation, if I'm not mistaken, must have been taken by you! Let's explore it together and activate this sub-hall along the way!"

"The formation core you mentioned, is it that tree root?" Zhang Xuan asked.

"Yes!" Luo Ruoxi nodded. "Let's hurry. Many people have already gone there, and the Hundred Schools of Thought have also brought Yuan Tao, seemingly wanting to use his Dragon Rhino bloodline. I'm not entirely sure what they intend to do!"

"Alright!" Hearing Yuan Tao was there, Zhang Xuan breathed a sigh of relief.

"Let's go!" With that, Luo Ruoxi turned to look at Wu Chen.

"Okay!" The seemingly young boy nodded, then abruptly pointed his finger upwards. *Rip!* A crack appeared in the space above the oasis, and a passage opened before them, with a hall vaguely visible above.

"Tearing open space with a single finger?" Zhang Xuan frowned.

He had been to the desert world before and knew how sturdy its space was; it would require at least Ancient Sage level power to tear it open. Yet Wu Chen pierced it with a mere touch, seemingly with more ease than even the Ethereal Sword… Could it be that he had already found his opportunity and reached such a realm?

"Let's go up!" Seeing his surprise, Luo Ruoxi offered no explanation. She flew upwards first, with Zhang Xuan following closely.

Just like previous times, they passed through space and arrived at a flat area. After walking a short distance, they indeed saw a tall building appear before their eyes, with two large characters shimmering with light… Apricot Altar!

Indeed, many people had gathered before the hall: members of the Hundred Schools of Thought, Otherworldly Demonic Tribe members, and numerous saint beasts. All were watching intently, seemingly awaiting the opening of this, the last sub-hall of the Temple of Confucius.

Faintly powerful auras lay dormant all around. Clearly, for these factions to coexist peacefully, there must have been Ancient Sages holding each other in check.