Seeing that words were unnecessary at this juncture, the middle-aged man waved his hand and ordered, “Capture them all!”
The four Heavenly High Immortals behind him immediately marched forward.
“Protect the First Elder!”
In response, more than a dozen Heavenly High Immortal realm elders rushed into the private chamber from all directions.
…
Three minutes later, all the elders from Starchaser Palace were lying on the ground, every single one of them incapacitated.
Despite being fellow High Immortals, the warriors from the Hall of Gods were simply much more powerful than ordinary sect elders. They simply were not on the same footing as one another, so the outcome of the battle was decided right from the start.
At the same time, Chu Yin and First Elder Zhao Yue were captured as well.
“Bring them back. It would be best if we can capture Du Qingyuan, but if they fail, we’ll use these two as hostages to force her to submit!” the middle-aged man ordered before turning around to leave.
Meanwhile, Zhang Xuan slowly drove his zhenqi as he prepared to make his move to save the crowd from Starchaser Palace from the hands of the Hall of Gods.
He had refrained from making a move so far in hopes of seeing what trump cards the group from the Hall of Gods was capable of. After all, this was the first time that he would be facing a Semi-Divinity realm expert from the Hall of Gods, so he knew that he should only make a move when he was confident of victory. Otherwise, not only would he be unable to save the rest, he would also place himself in deep danger.
Unfortunately, the group from Starchaser Palace never managed to force the Semi-Divinity realm expert into making a move.
Despite the uncertainties involved, Zhang Xuan knew very well that he could not allow the Hall of Gods to take away these people. For one, it would put Du Qingyuan in danger, and that would make it difficult for him to acquire the information he required.
Not to forget, he had a grudge with the Hall of Gods. He was not too sure what the Hall of Gods was up to yet, but there was no harm getting in the way of what they were doing.
Zhang Xuan discreetly took out the Tongshang Sword and the other four Heavenly High Immortal-tier swords. He was intending to quickly assassinate the four Heavenly High Immortal realm cultivators from the Hall of Gods before focusing on the Semi-Divinity realm expert.
But before he could make a move, a sharp gust of wind sounded from the distance, and right after, an overwhelming pressure crushed down on the private chamber.
Another Semi-Divinity realm cultivator? Zhang Xuan’s eyebrows shot up.
He quickly halted his circulation of zhenqi and continued concealing his aura.
Who is it?
The middle-aged man from the Hall of Gods also noticed the intruder, and he quickly scanned his surroundings intently.
A warm and soothing voice filled the air. “Friend, don’t you think you are going too far a little? I’ll have to ask you to free those from Starchaser Palace.”
Following that, an old man dressed in green descended upon the entrance of the private chamber before making his way in.
This old man appeared to be in his sixties, and he had a flowing beard that gave him a sagely presence.
Just like what Zhang Xuan had perceived earlier on, his cultivation was at Semi-Divinity realm, and his aura felt incredibly deep, reminiscent of peering into the abyss. It was likely that he was stronger than even Han Jianqiu.
Is he from the Evanescent Immortal Sect? Zhang Xuan frowned.
He had met four heads of the Six Sects thus far, leaving only the faces of Palace Master Du and the sect leader of the Evanescent Immortal Sect a mystery to him.
The only reason Shark One, Shark Two, Shark Three, and the Blackback Tortoise were able to achieve a breakthrough was due to the god blood, and given the nature of the Hall of Gods, it was not too surprising for them to have Semi-Divinity realm cultivators in their ranks.
Other than them, the heads of the Six Sects should have been the only Semi-Divinities in this world.
It was clear that the old man who had just appeared was not an ally of the Hall of Gods, and bewilderment could be seen reflected in the eyes of Chu Yin and First Elder Zhao Yue.
So, the only one that was left was the head of the Evanescent Immortal Sect.
The middle-aged man from the Hall of Gods harrumphed coldly. “You want me to free them? You’ll have to prove yourself worthy of uttering those words first!”
Hu!
Two of the Heavenly High Immortals from the Hall of Gods raised their swords and drove them right toward the old man.
Even though the two of them did not intentionally coordinate with one another, their Sword Intents seemed to fuse together, producing a force that ripped a void in the space before them.
In terms of mastery of swordsmanship, these two would not pale in comparison to First Elder He Tian and the others from the Ascendant Cloud Sword Pavilion.
Sensing the pressure produced by those two, Zhang Xuan could not help but clench his fists tightly.
He had made great advancements in his cultivation recently, making him nearly invincible among all High Immortals. Nevertheless, he had to admit that the might produced by the two of them was indeed formidable. If used well, it could have potentially forced him into a corner.
Even a Semi-Divinity realm beast like the Blackback Tortoise would have some difficulties dealing with it.
Thus, Zhang Xuan focused his attention on the old man, wanting to see how the latter would deal with a situation like this.
Hu!
In his eyes, he could see a hint of a smile creeping onto the lips of the old man as he made a move. The old man raised his palm and waved it lightly.
Peng! Peng!
The two Heavenly High Immortals from the Hall of Gods were immediately sent crashing heavily onto the ground. Their faces turned ghastly pale as fresh blood spurted from their lips.
It was just a single move, but those two had already sustained severe injuries!
Zhang Xuan widened his eyes.
He had thought that the old man was only slightly stronger than Han Jianqiu, but it turned out that he was underestimating the other party a great deal.
It was hard to believe that what had appeared to be nothing more than an ordinary wave of a hand boasted such unbelievable might!
After knocking out the two Heavenly High Immortals, the old man quickly advanced toward the other two Heavenly High Immortals holding Chu Yin and First Elder Zhao Yue before waving his hand lightly once more.
It was a deceptively simple move consisting of innumerable transformations. The two Heavenly High Immortals tried to retaliate, but everything they tried was easily countered.
Peng peng!
With another two hollow thuds, those two were sent crashing onto the ground as well with severe injuries. Judging from their wounds, they would not be able to participate in the battle in the short term.
“There’s no need to worry anymore,” the elder said with a smile as he freed Chu Yin and First Elder Zhao Yue from the energy binding them with a flick of his finger.
“You have our deepest gratitude for saving our lives.” The two of them hurriedly bowed deeply.
“It’s what I should do,” the old man replied with a faint smile before finally turning his gaze toward the middle-aged man standing in the room. “You can make your move.”
“You aren’t too weak after all,” the middle-aged man remarked with narrowed eyes.
He did not expect that the intruder would actually have the ability to incapacitate his Heavenly High Immortal realm subordinates so easily. Even he would have taken some time before he could incapacitate them.
Before he could give this matter any deeper thoughts, the old man before him had already begun charging right toward him.
In response, the middle-aged man darted forward to receive his blows.
Boom boom boom!
The duel between the two Semi-Divinities caused innumerable rifts to appear in the surrounding space. It was fortunate that there was a formation protecting the private chamber, or else the whole of Starchaser Island would have been riddled with innumerable holes by the time they were done with their battle.
Zhang Xuan knew that it was hard to come by a battle involving two such powerful experts, so he activated his Eye of Insight and observed the situation closely.
The middle-aged man’s moves were sharp, forceful, and fatal, but the old man was able to deflect them through ingenious maneuvers.
In a few moments, they were already engaged in an intense fight against one another, and surprisingly, they seemed to be equally matched with one another.
But why do the moves executed by this old man seem so familiar to me? Zhang Xuan pondered with a frown.
The moves of the old man appeared to be simple on the surface, but they were all aimed at the crux of his opponent, making them incredibly hard to defend against. It was clear that the old man lost out to the middle-aged man in terms of strength and zhenqi purity, but as the battle continued, it was the middle-aged man who was forced back again and again.
It was clear who was in an advantageous position by now.
The old man’s battle techniques are a little similar to the simplified Heaven’s Path battle techniques, consisting of the condensation of profound concepts within simple moves in order to draw out greater prowess in battle, Zhang Xuan thought.
Slowly, he realized that the feeling of déjà vu stemmed from the similarities in their battle techniques. His fighting style was also centered around searching for and striking his enemy’s weaknesses.
It looks like he’s going to win… Zhang Xuan nodded.
Barely after such a thought appeared in Zhang Xuan’s head, the middle-aged man from the Hall of Gods was struck squarely in his chest, forcing him to retreat several steps.
“You b*stard! Let’s see how you will deal with this then!”
With a furious roar, the middle-aged man took out a sword and channeled his sword qi into it before charging forward at an incredible speed.
Judging from the momentum, this seemed to be the strongest move that the middle-aged man had in his arsenal. He was determined to bring down the old man with this.
With a grim look on his face, the old man was just about to make his move as well when the silhouettes before him abruptly blurred. The middle-aged man, along with the four Heavenly High Immortals, vanished from view simultaneously.
“I’ll spare you this once. Pray that you never meet me again…”
With those words lingering in the air, the group from the Hall of Gods escaped from Starchaser Palace.
“This…”
Taken aback by the use of such a cheap feint from the lofty Hall of Gods, the old man chuckled quietly beneath his breath before shaking his head lightly. He flew into the air to observe the surroundings a while, and only after confirming that the group from the Hall of Gods had left the area did he return back to Chu Yin and First Elder Zhao Yue’s side.
“Elder, thank you for saving our lives!”
The two of them clasped their fists and bowed deeply.
“There’s no need to stand on ceremony. I only came to lend my aid to Starchaser Palace under the orders of our hall master,” the old man replied with a smile.
“Hall master?”
The two of them glanced at one another in confusion for a moment.
The First Elder clasped her fist once more and asked, “May I have the honor of knowing your name and the sect you are from?”
As the First Elder of Starchaser Palace, Zhao Yue knew all the top experts from the Six Sects. Yet, she did not recognize the old man before her. Furthermore, despite being a Semi-Divinity realm cultivator, the other party still was not the leader of the power he was in.
Just how formidable would the organization behind him be?
“Of course! I am Fu Chenzi,” the old man said with a hint of pride as he stroked his beard. “I am an elder from the Ethereal Hall!”
“The Ethereal Hall?”
Chu Yin and First Elder Zhao Yue were taken aback.
Despite all their guesses, they did not think that the old man would actually be from the Ethereal Hall!
Zhang Xuan was taken aback as well.
He knew that the Ethereal Hall founded by Kong shi was filled with many experts, but who could have known that the Semi-Divinity realm experts in their ranks would actually be this powerful?
As expected of a power that had received an entire ‘神 (God)’ character.
“Indeed.” Elder Fu Chenzi nodded. “Hall Master Kong has been keeping a close eye on the movements of the Hall of Gods, and noticing that it was intending to lay its hands on Starchaser Palace, he sent me here as support. It is truly fortunate that I came in time, or else the consequences would have been dire…”
“It’s indeed a huge relief. Elder Fu, I’ll have to trouble you to relay our gratitude to Hall Master Kong as well.” First Elder Zhao Yue clasped her fist.
“You are too courteous,” Fu Chenzi replied with a nod.
Switching to a more serious look, he looked at First Elder Zhao Yue and said with a hint of confusion, “The Hall of Gods has always steered clear of secular affairs. Pardon me, but may I know the reason they have chosen to approach Starchaser Palace at this juncture?”
“This…” First Elder Zhao Yue hesitated a little.
Noticing the look of difficulty on the other party’s face, Fu Chenzi added, “Treat it as if I never asked that question if it’s not convenient for you to speak. It’s just that I’m a little worried about Palace Master Du. It’ll be hard for me to make a move without knowing the exact details of the current situation.”
“First Elder, Elder Fu is our savior…” Chu Yin looked at First Elder Zhao Yue.
Their current priority should be to save their Palace Master. There was no way they would be able to do it with their current strength, so they could only rely on the old man before them.
Thus, Chu Yin could not understand why First Elder Zhao Yue was still hesitating at this moment despite their current plight.
“… I guess we have no other choice.” First Elder Zhao Yue nodded with a wry smile. “Since Elder Fu is an expert from the Ethereal Hall, there’s no harm in filling him in on the details.”
Even though the Ethereal Hall was a mysterious entity on the Forsaken Continent, it had always moved with the interests of the continent at heart. There had never been any rumors about it being affiliated with the Hall of Gods, and it had never acted improperly.
As such, it should be safe to assume that the other party was trustworthy.
“In truth, the Hall of Gods has approached our Starchaser Palace in hopes of obtaining our greatest treasure.”
“Your greatest treasure?” Fu Chenzi asked with a frown.
“Indeed. It’s the altar that Starchaser Palace uses for its rituals,” First Elder Zhao Yue explained.
Millman: 2048, what a game that was
