Chapter 1730: Desert Space

"Of course I've seen him; Master Kong hasn't been gone for long..." The massive dragon head nodded, the Qiongmu Green Dragon looking as if it was stating the obvious.

"Not long?" A strange thought emerged, and Zhang Xuan couldn't help but ask, "Master Kong, how long ago did he leave here?"

"Around four hundred years, I suppose!" The Qiongmu Green Dragon pondered for a moment before replying.

"Just as I thought!" Zhang Xuan's body trembled.

Just now, when this creature mentioned being captured by Master Kong, Zhang Xuan had suspected that the flow of time here might be different from the outside world. Otherwise, it would have surely turned into a pile of bones long ago.

Hearing this now, he finally confirmed his suspicion.

Master Kong left the Master Teacher Continent approximately 40,000 years ago, according to calculations. If it has only been a little over 400 years here, doesn't that mean the flow of time here is 1:100 compared to the outside world?

In other words, one day here would be equivalent to one hundred days outside?

Such a slowed passage of time, if applied to an ancient sage, could significantly extend their lifespan, removing the need for them to rely on slumber to survive.

"No, wait... I have comprehended the True Understanding of Time. If the time here genuinely differs from the outside, I should be able to perceive it... Why do I not sense anything at all?"

His brows immediately furrowed.

His understanding of time was no longer what it once was; he was not completely ignorant. If the rate of time here were vastly different from the outside world, he would certainly detect something amiss. Yet, he felt nothing at all. How could this be?

"I'll put this aside for now... Perhaps I'll only find answers once I locate the Temple of Confucius!"

After pondering for a moment and failing to find a reason, Zhang Xuan shook his head, no longer dwelling on it. "Take me to see the entrance!"

The Qiongmu Green Dragon led the way.

The cave was vast, with a massive opening in the center where molten lava churned, giving the impression that anything could be melted within.

"This is... the entrance?" Zhang Xuan was startled.

It looked exactly like a volcanic crater. Was the Temple of Confucius inside it?

"I'm not entirely sure myself. Back then, Master Kong instructed the five of us to guard this place, so it should be a passage to the Temple of Confucius!" the Qiongmu Green Dragon explained.

Master Kong's actions were as elusive as an antelope's horns, leaving no trace; they were not something ordinary sacred beasts like them could fathom.

Frowning, Zhang Xuan activated his Eye of Insight, scanning around but seeing nothing out of the ordinary. He could only nod. "You all should enter the folded space first. We'll know if this is a passage once we go inside and check!"

Knowing that waiting here would never yield any answers, Zhang Xuan waved his hand, collecting the beasts into the folded space. Then, with a leap, he plunged straight in.

His physical body was immune even to heavenly flames, so despite the scorching heat of the lava, it had no effect on him whatsoever.

After swimming downwards for a while, a cave-like seal appeared before him. He gently shimmered through it and entered.

Whoosh!

The next moment, Zhang Xuan felt dizzy and found himself in a completely different place.

The previous location of the five sacred beasts was a lush jungle with dense vegetation, but this place was a desert. The ground radiated heat, and it stretched endlessly, with no end in sight.

With a flick of his wrist, the Qiongmu Green Dragon appeared before him.

"This is the entrance you spoke of?"

Zhang Xuan was filled with helplessness.

This desert before him was likely another folded space, completely unrelated to the Temple of Confucius.

Could it be that he had taken the wrong path?

"This..."

Seeing the scene before them, the Qiongmu Green Dragon also seemed stunned and full of doubt.

It appeared that it had never been here before and had no idea that such a landscape lay beyond the entrance they had been guarding.

"Master, I've searched the entire forest, and there was only that one entrance... Could this also be a trial deliberately left by Master Kong? To find the Temple of Confucius, we might have to keep searching for another entrance?"

The Qiongmu Green Dragon pondered for a moment before speaking.

"That seems to be the only possibility..."

Zhang Xuan shook his head resignedly.

This desert, like the previous forest, likely required finding an entrance to proceed to the next layer. The true Temple of Confucius was probably hidden deep within multiple layers of space.

However, he had known before coming that the Temple of Confucius would not be easy to find. So, he simply chose a direction, sat on the Qiongmu Green Dragon's back, and proceeded quickly.

The desert was dry and scorching hot, with not a single person in sight. After flying for less than an hour, both Zhang Xuan and the beast began to feel dizzy, and their lips cracked.

"Something's strange..."

Standing on the scorching sand, Zhang Xuan's brows were tightly furrowed.

Given their strength, let alone a desert, they wouldn't have shown any changes even if they lay in lava for an hour, much less experienced excessive dehydration.

After observing for a while, he realized that the space here was different from the outside world. Even with his power, he was constantly losing water and expending energy. Zhang Xuan took flight again. "It seems this isn't an ordinary desert. We must find the entrance quickly, or we might actually die here!"

He took out the spiritual liquid he had stored in his ring, took a sip, and felt considerably relieved. Zhang Xuan continued forward.

After flying for another half an hour, he suddenly saw footprints on the ground.

"These are human footprints. Has someone already entered from the entrance?"

He was full of doubt.

He had only entered this place after dealing with the five great kings, and the lava's location was extremely hidden. Normally, no one should have been able to discover or find it... Yet, here were footprints so far from the entrance, and they looked quite recent.

Could it be... that someone had already entered before him?

"Let's catch up and see..."

Growing more and more puzzled, his Eye of Insight flickered as he swiftly flew forward, following the trail of footprints.

It wasn't long before he indeed found a group of people ahead. Their True Qi raged, their aura like dragons, seemingly fighting against something.

There were about seventeen or eighteen people, dressed in various attires. The strongest among them had reached the 'Heart's Impulse' realm, while the weakest were in the Golden Body realm.

Their faces were pale, and their lips were cracked. They looked considerably more disheveled than he was.

What they were fighting against was a giant made of sand, without a discernible face but with a powerful aura, comparable to an early-stage Immortal realm expert.

Because of this, despite their numbers, they were no match for it and were unable to defeat it even after a prolonged fight.

"Break!"

Being of the same human race, Zhang Xuan couldn't just stand by. The Bone Dragon immediately appeared in his palm, and he focused all his strength, thrusting it forward.

Whoosh!

His True Qi, like a sharp sword, surged forward. Upon colliding with the sand giant, the latter was immediately pierced through, its life force rapidly diminishing. With a "whoosh!", it collapsed to the ground, transforming back into yellow sand.

"Many thanks, senior, for saving our lives!"

Seeing him dispatch the sand giant, which they couldn't defeat, with a single strike, everyone breathed a sigh of relief and looked at him with utmost respect.

"How did you all... get here?" Seeing their disheveled state, indicating they had been there for at least several hours, Zhang Xuan asked curiously.

"We were enveloped by a beam of light shot from the Temple of Confucius and woke up here... Senior, why do you ask?"