After demanding the Premier Immortal Pills from the Ethereal Hall, Zhang Xuan headed over to an empty area above the Ocean of Exiled Stars and waited patiently in case someone came for him.
But just as he expected, no one from the Hall of Gods arrived even after he waited for some time.
He could not help but feel a little downcast.
In the past, Kong shi would sponsor him with pills to eat and bodies to forge, but there was nothing at all anymore…
“If only I’d known this would happen. I would have made sure to squeeze the Ethereal Hall dry before challenging the Hall of Gods…”
Zhang Xuan waited for another two more hours, but there was no trace of anyone at all. In the end, he had no choice but to return to Starchaser Palace.
“I recall Kong shi saying that he has been suppressed for several thousand years and hasn’t fully recovered yet. Furthermore, he used a huge portion of his energy to massacre and seal off the Hall of Gods. So, it’s safe to assume that his true strength is much greater than what he displayed back then. However, just who in the world has the ability to suppress him?”
The fact that Kong shi was able to massacre the Hall of Gods was enough to show just how powerful he was. Even a transcendental organization like the Hall of Gods did not have the capability to deal with him. Given so, it was hard to believe that there was person in the Azure who was powerful enough to suppress him for several thousand years, such that he had only been able to regain consciousness recently.
Zhang Xuan thought about the matter for a while, but he was still unable to make sense of the matter. Eventually, he could only drop all thoughts.
Heading to a silent chamber, he swallowed the thirty Premier Immortal Pills that he had just acquired and managed to advance his cultivation a fair bit. However, he was still some distance away from reaching Heavenly Semi-Divinity realm by the end of it.
Nevertheless, feeling the incredible strength pulsating in his body, Zhang Xuan felt compelled to test his fighting prowess once again.
So, with a vicious glint in his eyes, he summoned his clone once more.
This time, the two of them actually managed to fight on equal ground with one another. His strength was on par with his clone’s.
Furthermore, he had not used his swordsmanship yet.
“It seems like I’m finally stronger than my clone.” Zhang Xuan heaved a sigh of relief.
Ever since he created his clone two years ago, he had been dominated by the latter time and time again. It was only after he created his own cultivation technique that he finally managed to slightly surpass his clone.
“It’s about time for me to head to the Hall of Gods,” Zhang Xuan murmured as he walked out of his room confidently.
He should head to the Hall of Gods to save Du Qingyuan and settle the grudges with Kong shi once and for all.
So, he quickly gathered Zhao Yue, Jiang Yao, and the others before getting Wu Chen to bring out the altar from the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe.
“Sect Leader Zhang, I’m a little worried about this matter. Since you have been able to think of this, it’s likely that the other party has been able to figure it out as well. There’s a good chance that he has laid a trap for you over there, waiting for you to walk right in,” Han Jianqiu said worriedly.
The fact that Kong shi knew of the chants of the ritual meant that he had a deep understanding of what the altar was capable of. At the very least, it was safe to assume that his knowledge surpassed that of every single one of them present.
It was even possible that Kong shi had planned for everything to develop like this! He had intentionally sealed off all routes so that Zhang Xuan would have no choice but to rely on the altar to reach him.
“I won’t be able to save Du Qingyuan if I don’t do this. I can’t afford to continue wasting time here…” Zhang Xuan shook his head.
He had thought of this possibility as well, but he knew that he could not afford to continue waiting.
He had fought with Kong shi before, and the latter already possessed strength on par with his clone when he had not fully recovered. Once the latter regained his full might, the chances of victory would be extremely slim.
By then, it would be one thing if he was killed, but even those around him might fall prey to Kong shi as well.
As such, he knew that he could not back down.
Zhao Ya and the others walked forward and said, “Teacher, we wish to go with you as well.”
“You are still too weak at the moment. I have stored the unique aura you will require to reach the Semi-Divinity realm in here. Cultivate diligently. You’ll be able to help me once you reach the Semi-Divinity realm,” Zhang Xuan said.
With a wave of his hand, he passed the jade bottles over that he had prepared for his direct disciples beforehand.
Zhao Ya and the others had the necessary cultivation techniques and cultivation resources for them to make a breakthrough, but unfortunately, their time in the Azure had simply been too limited. As such, they were still a long way off from reaching the Semi-Divinity realm.
If they followed him to the Hall of Gods, there was a high chance that they would end up being captured and used as hostages to keep him in check.
Since that was the case, it would be better for them to focus on their cultivation so that they could reach the Semi-Divinity realm as quickly as possible.
Knowing that they were not in a position to help their teacher, Zhao Ya and the others clenched their fists tightly in agitation.
They hated the fact that they were weak. It had always been like this. Their teacher would stand at the forefront and brave all kinds of danger whereas they could only stand helplessly behind him. They detested this feeling of helplessness.
After dealing with his direct disciples, Zhang Xuan turned his gaze to Han Jianqiu. “Han Jianqiu, I have developed a deeper understanding of the Gods’ Sword Intent in recent days. I’ll impart it to you now…”
“Thank you, Sect Leader Zhang,” Han Jianqiu replied as his eyes reddened slightly.
He had been studying the method to comprehend the Gods’ Sword Intent that Zhang Xuan had given him a few days ago. He could feel himself coming very close to that level, but he was simply unable to take the final step forward. He had a feeling that the new insights from Zhang Xuan would be the key that he required for a breakthrough.
Once he had comprehended the Gods’ Sword Intent, with his strength as a Semi-Divinity realm expert, even if he was unable to emulate the greatness of the founder, at the very least, he would have the strength to protect the Ascendant Cloud Sword Pavilion from the Ethereal Hall and the Hall of Gods.
It was just that he could not help but feel as if Zhang Xuan was delegating his will, and this made him feel a little heavy inside.
“However, this insight comes from my own comprehension, so it’ll deviate significantly from the Gods’ Sword Intent of the sect. If you wish to study it, you’ll have to come under my lineage and become my student. May I know if you’re willing to do that?” Zhang Xuan asked after a moment of hesitation.
It was not that he was trying to humiliate Han Jianqiu. Rather, he was using this as one final attempt to induce the creation of another golden page before facing Kong shi!
He was going to head to the lair of the enemies very soon. Even though he had raised his cultivation significantly, honestly speaking, he was not confident of victory.
If he could just obtain a single golden page, he would be in a much more favorable position than before.
He was not too certain what the conditions for producing the golden page were, but he knew that one of the key elements was genuine gratitude to him as a teacher.
“It would be my honor to become your student.” Han Jianqiu nodded without any hesitation.
There were many renowned experts in the world who were only willing to pass down their secret arts to those in their lineage. Considering the profoundness and ingenuity of the Gods’ Sword Intent, it was understandable why Zhang Xuan might be reluctant to pass it down to someone who was not in his lineage even if he was the sect leader.
Han Jianqiu had already seen past the transiency of what humans defined as pride and dignity. He did not think that it was a big deal for him to become the student of someone much younger than him.
Seeing that Han Jianqiu had agreed to it, Zhang Xuan tapped his finger lightly and infused a sliver of his will into the other party’s mind.
Upon receiving Zhang Xuan’s swordsmanship insights, he immediately took out his sword and began practicing his swordplay.
He had already reached an extremely high level in swordsmanship, such that it was extremely hard for him to progress any higher. Yet, his swordplay still seemed to be getting much sharper and more unpredictable with each move he made.
Eventually, it came to a point where something seemed to shatter within him. Following that, his energy suddenly surged, and his entire being seemed to have morphed into a cold, sharp sword.
“Finally, I have managed to reach this level…” Han Jianqiu’s hands were trembling.
In order to comprehend the Gods’ Sword Intent, he had devoted more than a hundred years to practicing his swordsmanship, but alas, success had always eluded him. He had eventually come to think that this day would not come in his lifetime.
“Teacher, thank you for fulfilling my greatest wish!” Han Jianqiu kneeled onto the floor and bowed deeply out of respect.
Upon seeing this, Zhang Xuan quickly brought his consciousness to the Library of Heaven’s Path, but even after waiting for a while, there was nothing at all. A golden page had not been created.
He frowned.
The golden page would usually appear after this, especially in times when he really needed it. Why did it have to fail at this crucial moment?
Sighing internally, Zhang Xuan quickly walked forward and helped Han Jianqiu up. “There’s no need to stand on ceremony.”
Following that, he turned his gaze to Jiang Yao, Qin Yuan, and Kui Xiao.
He tried the same method on them as well. He imparted his comprehension of cultivation, beast taming, and battle techniques to them, and the trio benefited greatly from his teaching. They managed to rise to greater heights, and they expressed their deep gratitude to him for guiding them.
Fortunately, a golden page was generated this time around. It came from Jiang Yao.
Just as I thought—gratitude isn’t the only thing that is required. Most likely, it has something to do with the intensity of one’s desire as well, Zhang Xuan thought as he heaved a sigh of relief.
Han Jianqiu, Kui Xiao, and Qin Yuan were grateful toward him as well, but as heads of their respective sects, as well as Semi-Divinity realm experts, their desire for strength had already waned significantly. Even if they were thankful to Zhang Xuan, the feelings they felt were not that strong.
It was similar to how you could treat a cook to a Manchu Han Imperial Feast, and the latter still would not feel too grateful to you. On the other hand, if you gave a lollipop to a little child, they would think that you are the best person in the entire world.
A person who had undergone more turmoil would gradually let go of their desires.
Jiang Yao was not the head of Starchaser Palace, and in the City of Collapsed Space, she had nearly lost her life. Thus, she recognized how desperately she was in need of strength, so the gratitude she felt toward Zhang Xuan, who lent her a helping hand when she was at a loss as to what she could do, was understandable.
There were probably more conditions required for the generation of the golden page, but this was all he could deduce for the time being.
Thinking about it, gratitude is also one of the invaluable emotions that a human has, Zhang Xuan thought deeply.
Perhaps, if he had paid more attention to this trivial detail, he might have been able to come up with the Pathos of Heaven much earlier. He would not have spent so many years wracking his brain to come up with something.
With everything in place, Zhang Xuan turned to Wu Chen and said, “Let’s begin.”
Hu!
With a wave of his hands, Wu Chen filled the altar with tributes. Then, with a snap of his fingers, all the tributes began burning up. At the same time, the altar began rising into the air, emanating an aura that seemed to stop one’s breathing.
Wu Chen began to chant out loud.
The flames on the altar blazed, and the space around it began to distort, gradually forming something reminiscent of a door.
“Teacher, why don’t I head over first to see if there is any danger? If there is a threat on the other side, we can strategize and come up with an appropriate countermeasure!” Han Jianqiu anxiously proposed.
“I’ll do it instead. My strength might not be on par with you, but I have plenty of life preservation means,” Elder Kui Xiao said.
Seeing how worried those two were, Zhang Xuan shot them a confident smile and said, “There’s no need for that. I’ll enter first, and you can follow behind me if you like. Even if the enemy is the Hall of Gods, we still have to show them the price of messing with us!”
“Sounds good!”
The others cheered passionately in agreement.
How long had it been since they barged into the Hall of Gods? Their predecessors had succeeded a long time ago, and perhaps it was time for a new legend to be born.
Regardless of whether they succeeded or not, since the Hall of Gods had already bared its fangs against them, the Six Sects would have to make a stand as well to show that they were not to be trifled with!
Hu!
Zhang Xuan walked up to the door and entered it.
He saw the space around him distorting entirely. With a smile on his lips, he brought out his clone before entering his storage ring.
Just as the others had said, the Hall of Gods was fraught with dangers. There was a good chance that Kong shi had already laid out an elaborate trap for him. Given that his clone was indestructible, there was no one more suited than it to serve as the vanguard.
Driving his zhenqi, the clone took a step forward and walked out of the portal.
“Hmm? Where is this?”
Before his eyes was neither the Hall of Gods nor the exploded headquarters of the Ethereal Hall. Instead, it was a long, narrow passageway that went on and on amid the void.
The altar that he had teleported to was currently right beneath his feet.
