It was no wonder this fellow had not made a move since disappearing back then. Zhang Xuan had thought that the other party was finding a way to recover his full strength, but who could have known that the other party’s goal was to bide his time so that he could acquire the Aura of Divinity!
In fact, the other party might even have known that he would not be able to obtain the Library of Heaven’s Path back then, so he intentionally set this scheme up to bait him.
But why did that fellow not challenge the palace on his own? Was it because he was unable to challenge it or because he was unable to clear it?
Considering how the will on the third floor had been left behind by the real Kong shi, perhaps the latter might have used some means to prevent the fake Kong shi from entering, similar to how his clone was unable to enter the palace.
Wait a moment, could it be that…
A thought surfaced in Zhang Xuan’s mind as his gaze darted toward his clone, who was standing with a smug smile on his face.
His clone did not seem to be embarrassed because the palace had rejected his entry. If anything, he only seemed disappointed that he had not been able to show off.
Zhang Xuan pondered for a moment before retracting his gaze. It isn’t the time for me to be thinking about this right now. I can’t let that fellow escape. Once he absorbs the Aura of Divinity and reaches the level of the gods, I won’t stand a chance against him…
He could not help but be worried about the current situation.
In the first place, the fake Kong shi was no weaker than him. If the other party really made a breakthrough, he would be doomed no matter how many Semi-Divinity realm cultivators he could rally to his side.
The only reason the fake Kong shi needed to lie low was because he was unable to find the catalyst that he needed to make a breakthrough. However, the situation was different now that he had acquired the Aura of Divinity.
No matter what, he had to stop the other party!
It was just that… the other party had already run away.
Even if there was something he could do, he had to find a way to get out of there first!
With the altar destroyed, he no longer had a way to return to the Forsaken Continent. If he had obtained the Aura of Divinity earlier, he would have been able to reach the level of the gods. If so, he could have just returned by breaking apart space.
But now… his route had been completely destroyed.
The only reason Kong shi was able to traverse through space was because of the Paragon Blackmirror and the Evanescent Boots, Zhang Xuan thought as he recalled what had happened earlier.
Even though the Evanescent Boots were not a Semi-Divinity artifact, they granted their wearer the special ability to traverse through space. When used together with the Paragon Blackmirror, Kong shi was able to move at speeds that even Zhang Xuan was unable to do anything about!
This was not a good situation. It meant that if Kong shi attempted to harm his direct disciples, there was not much that he could do.
Even though Zhang Xuan felt a little anxious inside, he was still able to keep a rational head. He quickly ran through everything that had happened over the last few days to figure out the current situation.
“Kong shi snatched the ‘神 (God)’ character from here, and the founder of the Ascendant Cloud Sword Pavilion took half a character away with him. The fact that there are traces of that here means that the palace is likely the real Hall of Gods. In turn, that also means that the place I entered back then was a fake!”
Previously, he had thought that the place where he had been assaulted by the ten Semi-Divinity realm cultivators was the real Hall of Gods, but from the current looks of it, he had been misled.
Most likely, it was a place that the fake Kong shi had specially prepared in order to corner him. That might even have been the real headquarters of the Ethereal Hall!
Thinking back, it was weird how there had been no one to be seen in the headquarters of the Ethereal Hall when he arrived back then. Furthermore, the entire area was even planted with explosive formations…
Who in their right mind would plant explosives in their headquarters, as if expecting that it would be breached by an enemy? That did not make sense at all!
It was likely that the Azure Bridge was linked to the palace that he had been to earlier, the real Hall of Gods, several thousand years ago. Otherwise, how did the real Kong shi and the founder of the Ascendant Cloud Sword Pavilion get there and snatch the ‘神 (God)’ character?
How did they return to the Azure and establish their own sects as powerhouses of the Forsaken Continent?
If this is the real Hall of Gods, it should be connected to the Azure Bridge too, right?
Zhang Xuan began examining his surroundings carefully with his Eye of Insight.
The area where the altar had been destroyed was completely empty, as if it had been floating in the midst of a void. The surroundings were also dark, and there was not the slightest sign of life to be seen.
There was no sign of the Azure Bridge at all.
Was he wrong?
Zhang Xuan circled the palace, but there was still no passageway to be seen. It was as if this palace existed in the midst of a void. Just as he was feeling incredibly helpless, his eyes suddenly fell upon the two pillars that seemed to pin the palace in place.
He had seen them when he first arrived.
They seemed to pierce endlessly through the void, and he had also been unable to analyze what material they were made of. All he was able to conclude was that they were at least Semi-Divinity artifacts, such that he would be unable to destroy them with his current strength.
Could that be the real Azure Bridge?
He had already checked the surroundings multiple times, but there was nothing that came close to resembling the Azure Bridge. Perhaps those two pillars were the key!
Let me take a look!
Zhang Xuan quickly threw the clone into his storage ring before leaping onto the palace. Grabbing tightly onto one of the pillars, he began climbing upward.
He had no idea how tall the pillar was, but he kept climbing on and on, till the palace behind became as small as a dot.
He climbed for four whole hours before he finally broke through an atmosphere. A ray of light suddenly appeared at the end of the dark void.
Right after, Zhang Xuan felt his surroundings disorientating. He had been climbing up a moment ago, but all of a sudden, he was hugging onto the pillar to prevent himself from falling downward.
He had encountered this situation back when he was getting on top of the Azure Bridge from the Heaven Anchoring Boulder. He had stepped from one spatial dimension into another, resulting in the abrupt change in his center of gravity.
He felt like he had been climbing upward all along, which suggested that the Hall of Gods had been at the bottom. However, from his current point of view, it would seem like the Hall of Gods was actually above him.
He quickly climbed back up the Azure Bridge before looking around him.
He noticed that there was a majestic hall right beneath him.
Isn’t that the fake Hall of Gods?
Zhang Xuan recognized it with a single glance.
It was where he had been assaulted by ten Semi-Divinity realm experts simultaneously, only to be saved by the fake Kong shi.
“So, these two places are actually linked to one another…” Zhang Xuan came to a realization.
The two pillars of the palace were linked to the very top of the fake Hall of Gods. He thought that it was only for aesthetic purpose back then, but it turned out that the fake Hall of Gods was actually not the endpoint.
If he had traveled a little further back then, he would have been able to enter the real Hall of Gods.
Kong shi should have returned here…
Zhang Xuan’s eyes lit up, and he quickly concealed his aura before heading into the fake Hall of Gods.
If his guess was not wrong, those Semi-Divinity realm experts that he had encountered back then were all the fake Kong shi’s subordinates. In other words, the fake Hall of Gods was actually the other party’s core base!
It was likely that the fake Kong shi would head there to attempt a breakthrough after obtaining the Aura of Divinity.
Zhang Xuan knew that he had to find a way to steal the Aura of Divinity. As long as he could achieve a breakthrough, the enemy would pose no threat to him at all!
He silently crept alongside the walls of the fake Hall of Gods and entered it.
Perhaps they thought that no one could reach there or that no one would dare barge in, but there were no sentries standing on guard. Zhang Xuan stealthily explored the area.
The place was truly massive. Zhang Xuan swiftly maneuvered around the areas to find where Kong shi was hiding when he suddenly heard two sets of footsteps.
They chatted with one another as they walked over.
“Our hall master has passed down orders for us to put that person to death!”
As there were no outsiders in the area, there was no need for them to worry about their secrets leaking out.
“Put that person to death?”
“That’s right. We needed her previously for her chants to activate the altar and conduct the ritual, but now, as long as our hall master successfully becomes a god, he will be able to do anything even without the altar! It doesn’t matter whether she’s alive or not…”
“Indeed. We’ll surely be handsomely rewarded once our hall master becomes a god. As long as we listen to him obediently, we might even have a chance to reach that level, too.”
“Isn’t that so? Well, let’s hurry up and do it!”
The discussion seemed to be slowly drifting further and further away.
Activate the altar and conduct the ritual? Are they referring to Palace Master Du? Zhang Xuan frowned.
Thinking back, the last time he had seen Du Qingyuan was also in this hall. It seemed like she was still there. However, it was apparent that she was in a precarious position.
I should first save her before doing anything else, Zhang Xuan thought with narrowed eyes.
With a set of swift maneuvers, he appeared before the duo in an instant and swung his Tongshang Sword.
A cold glint flashed across the room.
Puhe! Puhe!
The two Semi-Divinity realm experts collapsed to the floor before they could even react. Zhang Xuan immediately stowed their corpses into his storage ring.
Back when he was still at the Heavenly High Immortal realm, he had been able to slay ordinary Semi-Divinity realm cultivators with a single slash. Since he had achieved a breakthrough and comprehended the complete Gods’ Sword Intent, assassinating opponents of such tiers no longer posed a challenge to him. He was able to do it without even causing the slightest disturbance in the surrounding spiritual energy.
After getting rid of those two, he morphed his appearance into one of them and donned his clothes. With this, his disguise was perfect.
So, he began making his way forward.
Even though the place was extremely spacious, there were not many rooms around. He was able to determine where Du Qingyuan was kept just by where those two Semi-Divinity realm cultivators had been heading.
Soon, he arrived before a locked chamber. With a flick of his wrist, he took out a key that he had looted from those two and opened the door without any trouble.
In there, he saw a middle-aged lady seated at the center of the room. Her hands and legs were tightly cuffed, limiting her movements. Her hair was unkempt, and there was a withered look on her face. The aura she emanated was extremely weak as well.
It seemed like she was severely injured.
Upon his entry, Du Qingyuan looked over with clear eyes. It seemed like she had shaken out of Kong shi’s control.
“Has he ordered you to kill me?” Du Qingyuan asked with an expressionless look on her face.
She had managed to guess what was awaiting her.
Instead of answering the question, Zhang Xuan shut the doors tightly before slowly walking over.
“Since he was willing to destroy the altar, it means that my existence is of no value to him anymore.” Du Qingyuan harrumphed coldly.
The altar was an artifact that she had assimilated, so naturally, she was able to sense its destruction.
He knew that the reason Kong shi had captured her was to make use of her altar, so the only reason she could think of for Kong shi allowing the altar to be destroyed was that he had found a way to achieve his goals even without the altar.
A pawn who had lost its value was bound to be disposed of.
“I never thought that I would meet my end like this…” Du Qingyuan glanced upward with a slight hint of despair in her eyes.
She could not imagine what would become of Starchaser Palace without her. Her direct disciple was not ready to succeed her as the new palace master, and even though Jiang Yao had reached the Semi-Divinity realm, her strength was lacking to the other veterans.
They were in difficult times. The Hall of Gods was colluding with the Ethereal Hall, and it was likely that they would soon root out the Six Sects so that they could establish their dominance on the Forsaken Continent.
Any hint of weakness at this moment would be fatal.
It was for this reason that she had entrusted her hopes to an unknown factor—Zhang Xuan. She hoped that the young man who had created so many miracles would protect Starchaser Palace even in her absence.
But ultimately, she did not know if she had made the correct decision. Would Zhang Xuan even be willing to protect Starchaser Palace?
She hated how she was helpless, and it pained her to think of the possible tragedies that could happen to Starchaser Palace in her absence.
She closed her eyes tightly for a brief moment before opening them once more. Rising to her feet, she tidied up her clothes and smoothed out the creases. After that, she began to comb her hair with her fingers before pinning it in place with a hairpin.
Then, she looked at the person who had just entered the room and said, “Even if I have to die, I will die a dignified death.”
As she waited for the other party to make his move, a calm voice suddenly echoed in the air. “It’s the second time we’ve met, isn’t it, Palace Master Du?”
Right before her eyes, the appearance of the person before her began to morph into that of a young man in his early twenties.
“Zhang Xuan?”
Du Qingyuan’s body stiffened up. Slowly, it started to tremble in agitation.
