Chapter 1723: Besieging the Cloud Tiger

"Oh, human nature!" Zhang Xuan lamented, heartbroken, as he watched the crowd, whom he had just left, once again fiercely battling over a single herb. "Treasures truly are the root of all evil. The Confucius Temple ruins are so perilous, yet these people, instead of uniting, are still fighting and killing each other. It's utterly disgraceful!"

"Roar!" The Red-Browed White Tiger nodded.

"Well then," Zhang Xuan announced, a sacred glow appearing on his face as he sat on the tiger's back, "to stop them from fighting and to foster better unity, I've decided to first gather all the treasures in this vicinity. Once there's nothing valuable left, they'll have nothing to quarrel over!"

The Red-Browed White Tiger was about to nod when it suddenly understood, its head freezing. "Roar???" To portray stealing as such a righteous act... this new master of his was utterly shameless! Where was his sense of dignity?

"Alright," Zhang Xuan commanded with a righteous expression, ignoring the tiger's surprise, "you're familiar with the terrain and quick. Quickly lead me to search for any powerful treasures nearby!"

"Roar!" Knowing its master had made a decision and that objection was futile, the Red-Browed White Tiger reluctantly agreed and quickly moved forward.

It must be said that this creature was indeed very familiar with the terrain. Under its guidance, many hidden herbs and special ores were easily found, making the treasure collection process infinitely faster than if Zhang Xuan had searched alone.

In less than two hours, he had single-handedly collected all the valuable items within a radius of several hundred kilometers. This included herbs that had lived for tens of thousands of years and rare ores from the Master Teacher Continent. During this period, he also tamed five more Saint Beasts, who then joined the search.

With no treasures left, the various alliances that had been fighting indeed ceased their struggles. Zhang Xuan, a satisfied expression on his face, then swaggered off in the direction of the Golden Spirit Cloud Tiger, accompanied by his six Saint Beasts.

Fearing that the Red-Browed White Tiger might have made a mistake, he carefully questioned the other recently tamed Saint Beasts. All their answers were identical: the Golden Spirit Cloud Tiger was indeed the undisputed king of this forest. Only then did Zhang Xuan breathe a sigh of relief.

"You all, hide for now," Zhang Xuan instructed. "When I need you, emerge all at once!" After walking for a little over half an hour, seeing that they were nearing their destination, Zhang Xuan made a grasping motion with his hand, storing all six Saint Beasts into his folding space.

Saint Beasts at the Immortal Great Perfection realm were more formidable than Master Teachers of the same level. Even with his significant progress, he might not be able to defeat them on his own.

Thus, taming so many Saint Beasts, while seemingly incidental, was actually a strategic move, providing him with a powerful trump card. If he truly found himself unable to win a battle, unleashing all these creatures at once would surely tie down even an Immortal realm pinnacle expert for a crucial moment. This would then allow him to unleash more powerful techniques for an instant kill.

After storing the Saint Beasts, Zhang Xuan's body flickered, and he concealed himself among the tall vegetation, darting straight towards the direction his beast companions had indicated.

Before he even reached the Golden Spirit Cloud Tiger's cave, he heard footsteps approaching from ahead. He lightly leaped onto a tree branch and peered forward through the leaves.

Eight people were slowly advancing, each carrying weapons and with vigilance etched onto their faces.

"Even the weakest among them are Impulse realm pinnacle experts, and there's also an Immortal realm pinnacle one..." Zhang Xuan's eyes flashed as he realized, "It seems they also know about the Golden Spirit Cloud Tiger and intend to kill it..."

If he could think of capturing the strongest Saint Beast to inquire about the Confucius Temple's whereabouts, others surely could too.

Although this place was suitable for cultivation and abounded with treasures, who wouldn't want to search for the Confucius Temple after entering here? That's where the greatest opportunities truly lay!

"Who's there?" Just as he was musing that the heroes of the world should not be underestimated, the Immortal realm pinnacle expert leading the group turned his head and looked in his direction.

He had just felt a surge of emotion, and his aura wasn't perfectly concealed. Though only a trace had leaked, it was still detected by the other party.

"I was just passing by..." No longer concealing himself, Zhang Xuan offered an awkward smile and stepped out.

"A Master Teacher?" The leading Immortal realm expert, an old man in his sixties, asked, an air of dignity about his brows.

"Yes!" Zhang Xuan replied, seeing that some of the group were wearing Master Teacher robes, and thus having no reason to deny his identity.

"I am Wu Changping, a Grand Elder of the Beast Tamer Guild," the old man said, raising an eyebrow. "I am determined to obtain the Saint Beast ahead. I hope you will not interfere!"

"I... I won't interfere," Zhang Xuan immediately replied, feeling awkward about taking something the others had already set their sights on. "But may I watch from here?"

He only wanted to ask the Golden Spirit Cloud Tiger for the precise whereabouts of the Confucius Temple. Once he had the general direction, he believed he could find the exact location using the Inherited Mother Talisman.

"Leave immediately, or don't blame us for being impolite!" a middle-aged man snorted, raising an eyebrow, upon seeing Zhang Xuan's intention to watch.

"Leave?" "Exactly," Wu Changping said, waving his hand, his voice now unkind. "This Saint Beast has already been claimed by us. If you're looking for one, go find another!"

"I'll leave now..." Seeing that they clearly didn't welcome his presence, Zhang Xuan, feeling helpless, turned and departed.

Once out of their sight, he lightly tapped his finger, sealing the surrounding space, and then stealthily circled back.

"In my opinion," the middle-aged man who had previously rebuked him said, "we should have just killed that guy. Why waste words with him? This isn't the Master Teacher Continent; there's no need to adhere to so many rules!"

"Killing a Master Teacher here is indeed nothing," Wu Changping replied, "but disturbing the Cloud Tiger would be problematic. This big fellow is the king of this vicinity, battle-hardened, and extremely vigilant. We must be cautious and ensure success in one swift strike!"

"Yes!" The middle-aged man nodded, then looked at him doubtfully. "Enough time has passed since that item was placed in the cave. This big fellow should be unconscious by now, right?"

"Under normal circumstances, it should be unconscious," Wu Changping replied, "but according to our information, this Cloud Tiger is naturally powerful, so we cannot afford to be complacent. Let's wait a little longer..."

"Understood!" The others, deferring to his judgment, stopped their chatter and quietly hid in the jungle, holding their breath.

"Alright, let's go inside and see!" After another ten minutes or so, Wu Changping snorted and gestured with his hand.

Hearing his words, the middle-aged man who had spoken earlier darted out, moving silently towards the cave.

Until he made a move, Zhang Xuan hadn't realized that this middle-aged man had also reached the Immortal realm, albeit only at the initial stage.

Even so, such strength would certainly command a great reputation on the Master Teacher Continent. Even Sword Saint Xingmeng possessed only similar power.

The middle-aged man entered the cave. *Boom!* No sooner had he stepped inside than a thunderous roar echoed. Immediately, he was sent flying back out at an even greater speed, his back slamming through several trees before he finally came to a halt, continuously spitting out blood.

"Damn it, it didn't fall for the trick! We'll have to fight it head-on. Attack!" Seeing this scene, Wu Changping immediately understood what had happened. With a loud shout, he charged forward, leading the way.

*Crash!* Everyone rushed to the mouth of the cave. Just as they got into position, they felt the ground continuously shaking, and a massive Saint Beast slowly emerged.