“You dare wreak havoc in Starchaser Palace… Are you trying to incite a war?” the young lady roared with a reddened face.
She never would have thought that the newly-inaugurated Pavilion Master Liu of the Sevenstar Pavilion would be so unreasonable, completely disregarding the etiquette between sects and capturing her without any hesitation.
Zhang Xuan’s eyebrows shot up upon hearing those words. He took a step forward imposingly and glared at the young lady coldly. “I don’t think your audacity is anywhere beneath mine. I earnestly sent a request for an audience with Palace Chief Du, but you tried to play me off with a mere substitute. Is this a provocation directed toward the Sevenstar Pavilion? Are you trying to incite a war?”
No matter what, he had come as a representative of the Sevenstar Pavilion, having made a formal request and submitted a name scroll at the entrance. Yet, it was one thing for Palace Master Du not to meet him, but they had even tried to hoodwink him with a fake. Was this not as good as making a fool out of him?
It was no wonder they refused to allow Elder Kui Xiao to come along with him!
It was obvious that they were taking advantage of him for being green and not knowing the real Du Qingyuan!
“You…” The young lady trembled fearfully.
She seemed to have many words on the tip of her tongue, but nothing came out of her mouth.
She knew that Starchaser Palace was at fault.
“Where is Palace Master Du? Get her to meet me right now, and I’ll drop this matter. Otherwise, if this matter blows up, none of you will be able to take responsibility!” Zhang Xuan harrumphed as he swept a threatening gaze across the room.
He was not too sure of the reason, but it seemed like Du Qingyuan was unwilling to meet him. Otherwise, she would not have allowed her subordinates to play such a trick on him. Given so, it was apparent that talking would not suffice, so he chose to put up a strong front in order to force Starchaser Palace to bring out Du Qingyuan.
No matter what, he was determined to acquire information regarding Luo Ruoxin!
The young lady clenched her teeth tightly, but she did not say a word at all.
“Keeping silent, aren’t we? If that’s the case, I won’t be standing on ceremony anymore,” Zhang Xuan said with a wave of his hand.
The four Semi-Divinity realm beasts immediately released their auras, crushing the surrounding cultivators to the ground.
As powerhouses of the Sea of Exiled Stars, these four beasts had their hands stained with fresh blood. Their auras carried frightening killing intent that left the weaker-willed panting for breath.
“Pavilion Master Liu, please quell your rage!”
At this moment, a voice sounded from the distance. Right after, a Heavenly High Immortal realm old lady dressed in a robe flew into the private chamber.
“I am the First Elder of Starchaser Palace, Zhao Yue. This young lady over here is our palace master’s direct disciple, Chu Yin. Please pardon her if she has offended you in any way!”
Zhang Xuan gazed at the old lady intently, indicating for her to go on.
“Palace Chief Du has some matters to attend to, so she isn’t in Starchaser Palace at the moment. We feared that there might be unease if those coming here from the other sects learned of the matter, so we chose to suppress the news for the time being. I beg for pardon for this matter.” First Elder Zhao Yue clasped her fist.
Those words caused a frown to be etched on Zhang Xuan’s forehead.
It should not be anything much for the head of a sect to not be in, so was there really a reason to conceal such a trivial matter?
On the contrary, such a move would only lower Starchaser Palace’s credibility if it was exposed, thus achieving the opposite effect!
Besides, even if the head was not in, there were still many elders to attend to administrative affairs. With the mechanisms driving the daily functions of the sect still present, it was unlikely for any mishaps to occur!
It was not as if other powers would send in their troops to wreak havoc as soon as they realized that the head of the sect was not around!
First Elder Zhao Yue noticed Zhang Xuan’s doubt, and she clasped her fist with a bitter smile. “We have our own reasons for coming up such a flawed solution… I humbly ask for Pavilion Master Liu’s understanding.”
“Reasons?” Zhang Xuan asked.
“Pardon me, but it isn’t convenient for me to speak about this matter. Since our palace master isn’t present at the moment, I would like to ask you to come back on another date, Pavilion Master Liu. Our sect has indeed made a mistake, and you can be assured that our palace master will offer you a satisfactory explanation when she returns!” First Elder Zhao Yue said.
Zhang Xuan looked intently for a moment longer to assess the sincerity of the other party’s response before eventually nodding. “It’s fine, I don’t intend to take the matters that happened today to heart. However, I would like you to inform me as soon as Palace Master Du returns to Starchaser Palace.”
He was just there to inquire about Luo Ruoxin; he had no intention of turning Starchaser Palace against the Sevenstar Pavilion. Since the other party had already lowered their stance, it would only seem petty of him to continue pursuing the matter.
With a wave of his hand, he returned the four Semi-Divinity realm beasts to his tamed beast sack.
“Farewell.”
After that, he turned around and left the private chamber.
As soon as he returned to the guest hall, Elder Kui Xiao immediately stood up and walked over anxiously.
“I felt pulsations of energy coming from where you were earlier. What happened?”
He was afraid that the young man before him had come to blows with Palace Master Du Qingyuan, and this had left him feeling deeply uneasy.
“I’ll fill you in on the details once we return,” Zhang Xuan said instead of explaining on the spot.
With this, the two of them left Starchaser Palace.
However, after they had flown just a short distance away, Zhang Xuan abruptly came to a halt.
“Pavilion Master Liu…” Noticing that the young man’s complexion did not look quite right, Elder Kui Xiao asked in bewilderment, “Just what in the world happened earlier? Did you meet Palace Master Du? What was with that pulsation of energy earlier?”
It could not be that they had really come to blows, right?
Pavilion Master Liu, you promised me that you wouldn’t act recklessly!
“I didn’t meet Palace Master Du.” Zhang Xuan shook his head.
He filled Elder Kui Xiao in on the entire story.
“You said that Palace Master Du wasn’t in the sect, so her direct disciple impersonated her and met you in her stead?” Elder Kui Xiao was stunned by the turn of events.
It was not too rare for a sect leader to be out. The fact that the two of them were at Starchaser Palace at this very moment served as a perfect example.
Was there really a need for them to get someone to impersonate her?
Something really felt amiss!
It did not make sense for a sect with millenniums of history behind it to not know the common protocols and end up making such a foolish move!
“I also think that something is off. Elder Kui Xiao, you should return to the Sevenstar Pavilion for the time being. Meanwhile, I’ll head back to Starchaser Palace to scout the situation,” Zhang Xuan said.
No matter how he looked at it, it was clear that something was happening within Starchaser Palace. The situation that had happened just a moment ago was simply too baffling. It was something that never should have happened in the circle they were in!
Palace Master Du was the only person who knew about the details regarding Luo Ruoxin’s descent, so he had to find her no matter what it took!
“I’ll go with you!” Elder Kui Xiao said worriedly.
“I’m afraid that something might happen while we are away. Someone needs to be there to take charge of the situation in case something occurs,” Zhang Xuan replied grimly.
Hearing those words, Elder Kui Xiao did not insist. “Alright then. You must take care!”
If Starchaser Palace was acting so weirdly in their own headquarters, something major must really be happening. It would indeed be unsafe if there was no Semi-Divinity realm cultivator in the Sevenstar Pavilion to stand guard.
Without any hesitation, Zhang Xuan leaped into a remote alley, and when he walked out once more, his appearance had already changed completely. He was no longer Liu Yang.
After completing his disguise, he quickly made his way back to Starchaser Palace.
This time, instead of walking in through the main entrance, he snuck in stealthily. His concealment would allow him to hide from Semi-Divinity realm experts, let alone the bunch from Starchaser Palace. It did not take him long to return to the private chamber that he had entered previously.
He discreetly flew in and hid among the beams in the ceiling.
The elders whom he had knocked out of the room had disappeared, and even the traces of battle had vanished.
The only ones left around were Elder Zhao Yue and Chu Yin.
“First Elder, this really won’t do! If even Pavilion Master Liu was able to see through my disguise, those people will definitely be able to do the same!” Chu Yin said worriedly. “I am able to put on my teacher’s voice, but I am unable to imitate my teacher’s disposition and aura.”
“I know that it’s impossible for you to imitate our palace master impeccably, but we have no other choice. We can only stall for as much time as possible!” the First Elder said.
“I understand… What should I do then?” Chu Yin bit her lips nervously.
“This is a jade token containing our palace master’s zhenqi. As long as you hold it in your palm and activate it, you’ll be able to bring out the aura of a Semi-Divinity realm cultivator, similar to that of our palace master,” First Elder Zhao Yue said.
“I’ll try my best then.” Chu Yin nodded hesitantly.
She held the jade token in her grasp, and the next moment, her aura changed. It was as if she had turned into another person. Her disposition became extremely cold, keep others a distance away from her. At the same time, a power that the ordinary would not dare think of approaching burst forth from her.
“No matter what happens, you might make sure to rein in your emotions. Don’t worry if you find yourself in a tight spot; I’m there to support you if need be…” First Elder Zhao Yue added.
Before she could finish her words, a powerful aura suddenly materialized in the courtyard just in front of the private chamber.
The First Elder’s voice trailed to a halt as her face darkened. She hurriedly urged Chu Yin to the other side of the veil.
Barely after they were done with that, a calm voice echoed across the courtyard. “May I hear Palace Master Du’s decision?”
A few figures walked over with deliberate footsteps. There were five people in total. The one leading the group was a gray-robed middle-aged man whose cultivation felt like the boundless ocean, making it nigh impossible to gauge the extent of his strength.
“They…” Glancing at the guests outside, Zhang Xuan’s body trembled a little from disbelief as he murmured, “Hall of Gods?”
