Chapter 1716: World of Ice and Snow

Calling it a spirit beast was not accurate.

Having accepted the other's consciousness, Zhang Xuan understood.

This thing was indeed a tree, not a sacred beast.

It was obtained by Confucius from beyond the heavens and left here to guard a world, called the [Sandstorm Tree]. As long as its power was sufficient, it could turn everything it touched into sand and awaken them to serve itself.

Not only humans, but weapons and sacred beasts as well.

It sounded formidable, but limited by its soul power, it could only control a few sand giants.

With its current ability, two Immortality Realm pinnacle beings were its limit.

After submitting, Zhang Xuan, as its master, could also mobilize this power, but even so, he could control at most three more Immortality Realm pinnacle beings.

In other words, including himself, they could control five Immortality Realm pinnacle beings, but forming an army was certainly impossible.

However, as his strength increased, his control would surely grow stronger, and perhaps it would become a great aid in dealing with the alien spirit race.

Overall, if used well, this thing was even more powerful than the five kings. After all, as long as the dead did not exceed its own strength, they could be turned into sand. This alone was enough to terrify countless people.

Although the sand giants were not as strong as they were in life, they feared no injury or death. As long as there was a continuous supply of awakening power, it was equivalent to endless life... Encounters at the same level would definitely cause a headache.

"I can give it to Wang Ying..."

His heart stirred.

This artifact was not very useful for him to keep, but if given to Wang Ying, it could definitely advance her combat strength further, and if used well, might even surpass Zheng Yang.

Speaking of which, Zheng Yang, Wang Ying, and the others, accompanied by the War Master Hall and the Awakening Master Guild, should have entered as well, but he didn't know which world they had been teleported to.

"There should be an exit here. Where is it?"

Pushing these thoughts aside, Zhang Xuan looked at the Sandstorm Tree before him.

This creature had not killed many people before; those they had dealt with were reawakened.

If it were truly bloodthirsty, Confucius probably wouldn't have let it survive.

"It's right under the tree..."

As it spoke, the jade-like roots of the Sandstorm Tree twisted.

Rumble!

The ground shook, and all the sand disappeared at once, as if taken away by something. Then everyone saw that where the tree had been, a seal like a portal appeared, spinning continuously.

"So the entire desert was under your control. No wonder the roots could spread to every corner..."

Relieved, Zhang Xuan put all the beasts into his ring and turned to the crowd: "I am going to enter this portal. If you are willing to follow, come in together. If not, stay here and cultivate. Without the sand, cultivation here should be much better than outside!"

With the sand gone, the air no longer had the previous heat. The spiritual energy was as rich as in the jungle, and the aura of 'teacher wind' had returned.

If the crowd was unwilling to face danger, staying here to cultivate would surely allow them to progress quickly and make the trip worthwhile.

"I am willing to go with the senior!"

"I want to stay. It's too dangerous. Opportunities are great, but only if you live to enjoy them..."

Soon they split into two groups, some wanting to stay, some wanting to leave.

"Think carefully before deciding. The passage is always here, so you can leave anytime. I'll go first..."

Without further ado, Zhang Xuan leaped and disappeared into the portal.

These people were only chance acquaintances; there was no deep bond. He could save them once, but he couldn't take care of them forever. To gain more benefits here, they had to rely on themselves, no one else.

Moreover, he still had to find Luo Ruoxin. With the Confucian Temple opening, Zhao Ya, Yuan Tao, Wei Ruyan, and the others who had been captured would surely enter as well. So he had to go rescue people, and had no time to help a group of strangers go on adventures.

Seeing Zhang Xuan leave, the whim-awakened expert couldn't help shaking his head: "If we had been more decisive just now and followed that senior, we might have gained a great harvest... What a pity, the opportunity is missed!"

That young man was not old, but he was decisive and methodical. Even if the Confucian Temple ruins were full of dangers, he would surely have great opportunities.

Following behind, even with fewer gains, would surely have boosted their cultivation far more than what they had now.

But... missed, and never again.

...

Ignoring the thoughts of the crowd, Zhang Xuan felt the space around him twist again, and the next moment, he appeared on an ice field.

With experience from the previous two times, he was not flustered. He flew up and looked around.

Similar to the jungle, the higher he flew, the greater the pressure. Even with his current strength, thirty meters was the limit.

"Colder than the Ice Field Palace..."

Ice and thick snow covered everything. The cold surged in waves, making even Golden Body realm cultivators feel the urge to put on more clothes.

"This is not the Confucian Temple... I still need to find the exit!"

He shook his head helplessly.

He had thought that when the ruins opened, he would directly find the location of the Confucian Temple and enter it. Now it seemed it wasn't that easy.

He had already gone through three different worlds, and who knew how many more lay ahead.

"The jungle had five kings, the desert had the Sandstorm Tree... Here there must also be a core thing. Find it, and that's the exit..."

He chose a direction and flew straight ahead.

The urgent task was to find life, whether it was beings unique to this ice world or experts from the Master Teacher Continent who had entered. Only by finding them could he determine his bearings and find the exit smoothly.

After flying for half an hour, he indeed saw a group of people moving slowly.

"They are alien spirit race experts!"

Just as he was about to approach and ask about the peculiarities of this ice field, his heart stirred and he stopped.

The group before him numbered more than twenty, but the one at the front and the two at the back were tall and exuded a strong killing aura, clearly members of the alien spirit race.

These three had auras like dragons, all reaching the Immortality Realm. Although far inferior to Wumu and Boxin, they were definitely experts among cultivators.

The rest were all humans, but they seemed to be controlled, not daring to object, expressionless, walking slowly forward.

"Hurry up!"

The alien spirit race member at the front shouted, and the crowd followed.

"It should be a special treasure that controls souls..."

Seeing the humans being escorted, expressionless as if pulled by a thin thread, Zhang Xuan frowned.

This situation could only mean one thing... their souls were controlled. Otherwise, they would never be so obedient, following step by step.

"Hu Yaoyao?"

Then, Zhang Xuan saw a familiar figure among the crowd.