Chapter 1742: Bodhi Fruit

"That's right. If not for that, there's no way they would have gone through the trouble of bringing Wei Ruyan here!" Luo Qiqi replied.

Hearing those words, Zhang Xuan narrowed his eyes deeply.

He really had to say that the Hundred Schools of Philosophers had a far deeper understanding of the Temple of Confucius than the Master Teacher Pavilion.

First, it was the Canvas of Four Seasons imbued with lingering Aeon of Ancient Sages, and then, it was a Bodhi Fruit that allowed one's Soul Depth to hit 30.0, reaching a level comparable to an Ancient Sage.

It seemed like they had already studied the entire Temple of Confucius thoroughly and had made elaborate preparations for that very moment.

Hong long long!

Under Wei Ruyan's relentless infusion of zhenqi, the Bodhi Fruits on the tree began to sway a little, emanating a deep fragrance.

This was a sign that the fruits had matured!

Hu!

Wei Ruyan finally halted her flow of zhenqi. It was clear that she had overexerted herself trying to hasten the maturity of the Bodhi Fruits. Her face was slightly pale, and she was panting heavily.

"Wei Ruyan!" Zhao Ya anxiously sent a telepathic message over.

"Senior Zhao Ya?" Wei Ruyan was beginning to recover from the trance that she was in. With a dazed look on her face, she scanned her surroundings in search of a familiar face. She swiftly found Zhao Ya, and at the same time, she also noticed the young man standing next to her. Her eyes slowly widened in astonishment as she softly muttered in disbelief, "Teacher..."

"Un!" Seeing that Wei Ruyan was unharmed and that her cultivation had risen a little, Zhang Xuan heaved a sigh of relief.

"Teacher!"

Realizing that it was not her imagination, Wei Ruyan immediately rushed over to Zhang Xuan and Zhao Ya's side. However, barely after taking a few steps, a young man suddenly stepped forward and blocked her way.

"You can't go over yet. You need to pick the Bodhi Fruits for us first!" the young man said.

The irritated Wei Ruyan coldly hissed, "Get lost!"

"Don't forget what you promised us!" The young man's face darkened as he reminded haughtily.

"You dare to threaten me?" Wei Ruyan narrowed her eyes in fury as an imposing aura emanated from her body. She was ready to let all hell break loose if pushed too far.

However, before she could make a move, the voice of her teacher sounded in the air. "My student has helped you hastened the maturity of the Bodhi Fruits, but you still need her help to pick them for you? Ruyan, come here!"

Completely disregarding the Hundred Schools of Philosophers, Zhang Xuan turned to Wei Ruyan and urged her to come over.

"Yes, Teacher!" Wei Ruyan swiftly walked around the young man to go to Zhang Xuan's side.

"You are Wei Ruyan's teacher, Zhang Xuan?" The young man frowned in displeasure.

"I am," Zhang Xuan replied curtly.

"You came at a good time. Since Wei Ruyan follows your orders, I need you to order her to harvest the Bodhi Fruits. Of the six fruits here, we can give you one as a reward for your hard work!" the young man said haughtily.

As if doubting what he had just heard, Zhang Xuan asked incredulously, "Did you say that you'll only give one Bodhi Fruit to Ruyan in exchange for her hard work?"

"That's right!" The young man nodded. "Our Hundred Schools of Philosophers requires the remaining five Bodhi Fruits, so we have to bring them back with us. The only reason that we are willing to spare a Bodhi Fruit to you is in view of the hard work that she has put in all this time. If you don't want the Bodhi Fruit, you can choose something else equivalent in value!"

"Spare?" Seeing the young man putting on airs, Zhang Xuan shook his head wryly. "Since you know that Ruyan has put in plenty of hard work, allow me to speak a few words of fairness!"

"Feel free!"

"You were able to enter this Subordinate Hall due to Ruyan's unique constitution, right?"

"That's right!"

"The Bodhi Fruits are mature and ready for picking because Ruyan has been using her zhenqi to stimulate its growth, right?"

"That's right!"

"Then it's really simple then. Since you have done nothing at all, all six Bodhi Fruits should go to Ruyan. What's there to fight about? Alright, Ruyan, go and pluck all of the fruits!" Zhang Xuan remarked earnestly.

"You... What do you mean by that?" Not expecting Zhang Xuan to snub them in such a manner, the young man widened his eyes in fury.

"I don't mean anything by that. I'm just speaking a few words of fairness!" Zhang Xuan said. "Since you played no part in entering the Subordinate Hall and maturing the Bodhi Fruits, what right do you have to claim possession of the Bodhi Fruits?"

"Audacious! Do you know who you are talking to?" the young man roared furiously, angered by Zhang Xuan's impudence.

Hualala!

The remaining eight from the Hundred Schools of Philosophers quickly surrounded the three of them and released their auras, attempting to pressure them into submission. Just like the group from the Hall of Great Accomplishment, they were all Sempiternal realm consummation experts!

"Teacher..." Wei Ruyan's complexion turned ugly upon seeing that someone dared to threaten her teacher.

But just as she was about to say something, her teacher raised his hand and said, "Don't worry, leave it to me!"

"Yes, Teacher!" Wei Ruyan nodded.

She knew her teacher capability very well. Since her teacher had told her not to worry, it really meant that there was nothing for her to worry about.

Zhang Xuan glanced at the youths surrounding him, and a wry smile crept onto his face. He took a step forward.

These youths from the Hundred Schools of Philosophers were indeed formidable, but the Infernal Blacksaber had just advanced to Ancient Sage tier, and he had many artifacts and tamed beasts with him. If he wanted to, he could easily subdue all of them.

Just as he was about to make a move to teach those arrogant fellows a lesson, Luo Qiqi suddenly spoke. "Allow me to do it instead!"

Without waiting for Zhang Xuan's response, she dived into the crowd.

As soon as she made her move, the incredible strength that she wielded immediately showed.

Just like Zhao Ya, she had actually reached Sempiternal realm consummation!

"..." Zhang Xuan felt his head hurt a little.

Previously, when he unintentionally wreaked havoc at the Luo Clan and left, she had only been at Saint 9-dan.

Yet, within such a short period of time, she had actually managed to advance her cultivation all the way up to Sempiternal realm consummation!

The rate at which she was achieving breakthroughs was ridiculous!

Everyone around him told him that he cultivated extremely quickly, but whenever he looked at his students, he felt like he still had a long way to go!

Weng weng weng!

The Dimension Silencer rotated with a light hum in the air, keeping the surrounding space tightly sealed. Luo Qiqi flitted around the crowd as if a butterfly amid a field of flowers.

There was no doubt that the youths from the Hundred Schools of Philosophers were powerful, but it was painfully obvious that they were no match for Luo Qiqi!

"It seems like her grasp over the Dimension Silencer has improved!" Zhang Xuan nodded in approval.

He had seen the young lady using the Dimension Silencer to halt the elders of the Luo Clan before. Back then, her control over the Dimension Silencer's powers had still been a little unrefined, and it had felt like she was only tapping into its raw strength. However, at this moment, her control felt wholesome, to the point that her movements almost felt like an artform in itself.

In this moment, it was no exaggeration to say that she had become one with the Dimension Silencer!

"Luo Qiqi won't lose to them. Let's harvest the fruits!" Zhang Xuan said with a smile as he turned his sights to the Bodhi Tree.

The Bodhi Tree before him was a little similar to the one that he had seen at the Hongyuan Master Teacher Academy. However, it was far lusher, and the aura that it emanated felt significantly deeper.

They say that cultivating under the Bodhi Tree can enhance one's soul cultivation and state of mind! Zhang Xuan thought excitedly.

Ordinary Saint realm Bodhi Trees had the effect of calming a person's mind and dispelling their inner demons. Considering that the Bodhi Tree before him had reached Great Sage, its effects were likely to be more pronounced!

If I cultivate under this tree, perhaps I might be able to advance my state of mind beyond 30.0!

His state of mind had already reached 29.99, a sliver away from reaching the level of the Ancient Sages. It would be a huge waste for him to ingest the Bodhi Fruit only to advance his Soul Depth by 0.01. As long as he sat beneath the tree and meditated, he should be able to make a breakthrough soon enough!

While Zhang Xuan was pondering over that matter, Wei Ruyan walked up to the Bodhi Tree and reached out to grab one of the Bodhi Fruits.

Weng!

A pulsation of energy burst forth from the Bodhi Fruit. It was a natural defensive mechanism of the Bodhi Tree in order to keep those who intended to harvest its fruits.

However, the pulsated energy was easily neutralized by Wei Ruyan using a secret art.

Kacha!

The fruit was plucked from the branches.

Tzzzzz!

The moment that the fruit was harvested, black smoke gushed forth from the branch that the fruit had been snapped from, and it swiftly shrouded Wei Ruyan.

"That's... poisonous gas?" Zhang Xuan was taken aback.

He did not expect the Bodhi Tree to have such a defensive mechanism as well.

It was no wonder those youths had been unwilling to pick the fruits themselves, insisting that Wei Ruyan do it. If they had really tried to do it by themselves, there was a good chance that they would have ended up being poisoned to death.