“Protect the sect leader!” Han Jianqiu cried out.
The High Immortals from the four sects and the aquatic creatures swiftly rose into the air and stood between Zhang Xuan and Kong shi, forming a resolute wall.
“Futile!” Kong shi harrumphed coldly as he raised his hand.
Huala!
Many experts walked out from the warped space behind him. There were two notable figures among the group, namely Citadel Lord Bai Xunsheng from the Blackmirror Citadel and Sect Leader Gu Zhuiyun from the Evanescent Immortal Sect.
On top of that, there were several hundred High Immortals as well. It was a force that could stand against the allied armies of the four sects and the aquatic creatures.
“They are the High Immortals of the other two sects and the Ethereal Hall…”
Everyone felt their hearts tightening a little.
The Ethereal Hall had remained at the top of the continent for the past several thousand years. Considering how they had over twenty Semi-Divinity realm experts, it did not come as a surprise that they had over five hundred High Immortals.
Adding in the High Immortals from the other two sects, it formed a frightening force that should not be underestimated.
After bringing out his army, Kong shi completely disregarded Han Jianqiu and everyone else, focusing his eyes only on Zhang Xuan. With a slight curl of his lips, he remarked, “You must have been eagerly waiting for me to have even prepared an altar here.”
His next goal after reaching the level of the gods was to steal the Heavens’ Imperfection within Zhang Xuan.
With his current strength, he could resort to other means to extract the fragment of the heavens, but it would take a huge toll on his body. Things would be much simpler if he had the altar with him.
“Han Jianqiu, you’ll be leading all of the experts of the High Immortal realm and above to defend against them. As for the rest of you, we’ll be continuing with the lecture,” Zhang Xuan bellowed.
After that, he turned to the hundred thousand True Immortal realm cultivators beneath and continued. “The crux of battle techniques…”
His voice was steady and unhurried. Despite the clashes occurring behind him, the True Immortals found their state of mind slowly calming down as they listened to his words.
Zhang Xuan knew that this decision he made would surely result in massive casualties. There was no one present who stood a chance at subduing Kong shi other than him, so the only way to buy time was through piling up sacrifices.
But he had no other choice. He could tell that he would not be a match for Kong shi in his current state. If they fought as they were, everything would be over.
Thus, he could only carry the burden of this decision and push on.
“Choosing to disregard me, eh? Those who are chosen by the heavens sure are conceited!” Kong shi’s face darkened as he spat coldly.
Boom!
With a raise of his hand, Bai Xuansheng, Gu Zhuiyun, and the few remaining Semi-Divinities of the Hall of Gods charged forward. The High Immortals also made their move.
“Protect our sect leader!” Han Jianqiu cried out as he stepped forward to face the enemy.
Driving the Gods’ Sword Intent, he filled the sky above him with a barrage of sword qi.
Just like that, Semi-Divinities clashed with Semi-Divinities while High Immortals clashed with High Immortals. It was a full-blown war where both sides were determined to tear each other apart.
In just a few breaths after the battle began, High Immortals began dying one after another, causing corpses to rain from the sky.
The lofty and elusive High Immortals of the Forsaken Continent were swiftly dying one after another like ordinary mortals.
In terms of the number of experts, the four sects and the aquatic creatures paled in comparison to the Blackmirror Citadel, Evanescent Immortal Sect, and Ethereal Hall. However, in terms of individual fighting prowess, the four sects clearly had an advantage.
As a result, both sides turned out to be equally matched for the time being. The scales did not seem to be leaning toward anyone yet.
“For our sect leader! For our great continent!”
The ex-first core disciple of the Ascendant Cloud Sword Pavilion, He Jingxuan, charged toward the enemies.
Ever since Bai Ruanqing surpassed him after acknowledging Zhang Xuan as her teacher, he had been cultivating desperately. Even though his cultivation was still only at the Heavenly True Immortal realm, his fighting prowess was already comparable to most High Immortals.
“Kill one, and the scales are balanced. Kill two, and we would have made a gain!”
Another one of the core disciples, Liu Yulian, flew forth as she roared furiously, forming a stark contrast to her usual gentle demeanor.
“For the master of the Three Kings!”
The crabs, crawfish, and other aquatic creatures charged forth, too.
Their fighting prowess was greatly reduced while they were out of the water, but their numbers made up for that disadvantage. Furthermore, most of them had hard shells that granted them natural protection.
With both sides nearly equally matched, it was bound to be a long and gruesome battle.
“It’s our turn…”
Paying no heed to the slaughter behind, Kong shi took a step forward and covered dozens of li in an instant. Before anyone could react, he was already standing right above Zhang Xuan.
But the next moment, the formation that was made up of a hundred thousand formation flags released a slight buzz as a massive barrier of light formed around Zhang Xuan and the hundred thousand True Immortals.
The formation was built not just to prevent spiritual energy from leaking into the atmosphere but to protect those within it as well. Even Semi-Divinity realm cultivators would not be able to breach it easily.
Hu!
With a slight flick of his finger, Kong shi ripped a hole in the barrier and stepped in. The barrier could not stop him for even a second.
Upon entering the formation, he quietly directed his glance at the altar.
This simple gesture immediately caused Wu Chen to lose control of the altar. It began to shake wildly, as if it would fly toward Kong shi at any moment.
Wu Chen immediately bit his finger and splattered his blood all over the altar.
Tzzzzzzzz!
The trembling altar began to calm down under the tribute of the blood. It was still shaking a fair bit, but it was not as intense as before.
“Palace Master Du, I need your help!” Wu Chen cried out with a pale face.
Du Qingyuan, who was fighting a few High Immortals, swiftly got rid of her opponents and rushed over to the altar to infuse her zhenqi into it.
Only then did the altar finally stop shaking altogether.
Paying no heed to this, Kong shi turned to Zhang Xuan and said, “Do you want to take it out yourself, or do I have to do the work personally? Know that things will not end simply if I have to make a move.”
Huala!
Even though it looked as if Kong shi was not doing anything, Zhang Xuan suddenly felt the space around him hardening, forming a barrier that trapped him, leaving him unable to escape.
Despite so, Zhang Xuan continued with his lecture as if nothing had happened.
Even as Kong shi breached the barrier, attempted to steal the altar, and made a move on him, his voice had never stopped at any point in time.
The hundred thousand True Immortals were still completely immersed in his lecture, to the point that they did not seem to have realized that danger was already unbelievably close to them.
“Impartation of Heaven’s Will, Simple Words of Profound Wisdom… Trickery that beguiles the hearts of others and fools one into subservience. That was always the method he preferred and specialized in, and you seem to be pretty skilled in it as well. However, it’s all too late,” Kong shi sneered as he raised his palm against Zhang Xuan.
“Protect the sect leader!”
Horrified, Wu Chen and Du Qingyuan immediately rose up to protect him, but the next instant, several bursts of light gushed forth to block Kong shi’s path.
“If you wish to hurt our teacher, you’ll have to step over our dead bodies!”
The sheer might behind the attack of the eleven youths caused even the sky to tear apart.
They were Zhao Ya, Zheng Yang, and the others!
Zhang Xuan’s eleven direct disciples had all reached the Semi-Divinity realm, and they were all wielding the Semi-Divinity artifacts that their teacher had given them. Through their sharp coordination, they were able to defend against Kong shi’s palm strike!
“Wu Chen, begin the ritual!” Zhang Xuan bellowed.
With a flick of his finger, the Aura of Divinity that he had acquired from the City of Collapsed Space swiftly fell on top of the altar.
“O’ noble gods, I, Wu Chen, humbly offer the earnest loyalty and faith of a hundred thousand souls to plead for the purification of the Aura of Divinity…”
Two voices echoed in unison—Wu Chen and Du Qingyuan. One standing on the left of the altar and the other standing on the right, they raised their forefingers toward the heavens as they scattered their fresh blood over the altar. A brilliant light flickered into the surroundings as immense spiritual energy swiftly embraced all of the hundred thousand True Immortals.
Xiong xiong!
A light yellow flame ignited above the altar, searing the black Aura of Divinity. However, nothing seemed to be happening to the black Aura of Divinity at all.
“Not all of the hundred thousand True immortals have opened themselves fully yet,” Du Qingyuan said with gritted teeth. “The flame must turn golden before it’s able to cleanse the Aura of Divinity of its degeneration properties!”
Having been imparted with the ritual procedures, she knew the conditions required for success.
Only when the wills of all one hundred thousand True Immortals were aligned together would the flame on the altar turn golden. The current light yellow flame indicated that those whose wills were aligned together only numbered half!
“If only I had more time to lecture them,” Zhang Xuan remarked with a shake of his head.
Of the hundred thousand True Immortals, only fifty thousand of them were with him, and that included the forty thousand Heavenly Pseudo Immortals who had achieved a breakthrough earlier. It was not that his lecture did not appeal to them, but the time that he had with them was simply too short!
Trust and credibility needed time to nurture.
Even with a bond as deep as one between a parent and a child, if it was not nourished with care, concern, and accompaniment, their relationship would only remain shallow.
This was even truer for the ties between a teacher and a student.
The bond between a teacher and a student could run extremely deep, but it had to be carefully nurtured over time.
That was the one thing that Zhang Xuan lacked the most at the moment!
If he had just an hour more, he would not have been in such a predicament.
“Is that… the Aura of Divinity from the City of Collapsed Space? That darned black skeleton actually gave it to you? That b*stard! Why? Why?”
Kong shi, who was fighting against Zhao Ya and the others, noticed the happenings below as well and swiftly figured out Zhang Xuan’s goal. His eyes reddened in fury.
As someone who had lived for several thousand years, he knew the secrets behind the City of Collapsed Space.
The two times he had ventured into the depths of the City of Collapsed Space, he encountered a black skeleton. However, that black skeleton was extremely hostile to him, never hesitating to attack him. Not only did he fail to acquire the Aura of Divinity, he even nearly lost his life there!
Due to that, he was left with no choice but to trick Zhang Xuan into challenging the Hall of Gods and obtaining the Aura of Divinity on his behalf.
Why?
The world had hindered him for so long, but it allowed this young man to do everything that he was unable to!
This was unjust!
With a furious roar, Kong shi pulled his palm down.
This single strike was at least two times stronger than the palm strike before. It caused the formation to waver feebly as the surrounding space collapsed inward under the pressure.
“Block it!” Zhao Ya cried out as she dealt out boundless sword qi to hold back Kong shi’s attack, like a pillar propping up the heavens.
Zheng Yang also dashed forward and pressed his spear against the collapsing space, desperately pushing back the destruction.
The same went for Wei Ruyan, Kong Shiyao, Liu Yang, Wang Ying, Dan Xiaotian, Lu Chong, Bai Ruanqing, Zhang Jiuxiao, and Yuan Tao.
His eleven direct disciples had no fear despite the danger they were in. Driving their strength to the limits, they were able to barely maintain the stability of the space despite destruction caving in relentlessly on them.
“They won’t be able to hold on for too long. Concentrate!”
Seeing that Wu Chen had halted out of shock, Zhang Xuan sent an urgent telepathic message to him as he carried on with his lecture.
As the lecture continued, the color of the yellow flame on the altar grew deeper and deeper, gradually making the transformation toward golden.
“Young Master, we’ll still need at least fifteen more minutes in order to achieve perfect unity of wills at this rate. I fear that they won’t be able to hold on for that long!” Wu Chen said nervously.
The yellow flame was already changing at a rapid pace, but it did not seem like they would be able to make it in time.
Given the strength and undying tenacity of Zhao Ya and the others, they were still able to hold on for several breaths against the overwhelmingly powerful Kong shi, but for them to last fifteen minutes…
That was simply too difficult!
No, it would be more accurate to say that it was no different from hoping for a miracle to happen!
“I know that! But we can only try to persevere for as long as we can,” Zhang Xuan replied grimly.
The lecturing continued without a pause. The crowd beneath seemed to be completely oblivious to be living hell occurring around them. They continued driving their zhenqi ceaselessly as they deepened their understanding of battle techniques.
