Chapter 1006: City Lord's Mansion

Attacks on the primordial spirit are terrifying; they can easily shatter or even devour an opponent's soul. No matter how strong one's defense or power, such attacks are impossible to guard against. This is precisely why those with a strong primordial spirit are so formidable and feared. They are far more powerful than cultivators in the Embryonic Infant Realm.

Subdued by his opponent, King Shuiye knew his death was inevitable. Without hesitation, he used a secret technique, abandoning his physical body with his primordial spirit. He intended to devour his opponent's soul in a final act, ensuring they perished together. To his surprise, the moment he entered his opponent's body, he saw the soul trapped within—a sight that almost scared him to death on the spot.

The soul was over ten meters tall, and a vast aura emanated slowly from it, like the will of the Heavenly Dao itself. It exerted such pressure on his spirit that he felt it could collapse at any moment.

"This... how is this possible? How can it be so enormous?" King Shuiye was utterly frantic. A normal cultivator at the From-Saint level, even if they had cultivated their soul, could only mobilize the rules of heaven and earth, and their soul would be extremely weak, not even comparable to an infant's. What in the world was this? It was over ten meters tall, like a towering mountain. Most critically, it had none of the usual spectral chill of a soul; instead, it radiated a bright, thunderous intent. Forget devouring it—he would be fortunate if *he* wasn't devoured by *it*... Could it be... that this individual wasn't a From-Saint, but rather a super expert at Saint Domain fifth or even sixth level? Otherwise, how could their soul be so immensely powerful?

He had thought that by sacrificing himself, he could at least make his opponent pay a significant price. He never dreamed that the opponent's soul would be even stronger and more condensed than his own. There was simply no way to fight it. What a predicament...

"Escape!" Knowing he couldn't devour it, King Shuiye turned to flee without hesitation. But before he could get far, his body stiffened. A massive palm seized him by the waist, and no matter how much he struggled, he couldn't break free.

"Soul search!" Zhang Xuan, having seized him, let out a cold snort. As his opponent was a Primordial Spirit Realm expert, killing him would have been nearly impossible if his primordial spirit hadn't entered Zhang Xuan's body. Now that he was inside, it was simple. Zhang Xuan's body contained surging Heavenly Dao True Qi, and the library suppressed everything within, meaning even the Ruthless Man couldn't escape. What kind of trouble could a mere primordial spirit cause? In an instant, the opponent was like a creature thrown into a pot of boiling oil, screaming miserably.

"Young Master, don't kill him! Leave his primordial spirit for me; I have a use for it..." Just as Zhang Xuan was about to perform the soul search, he heard the Ruthless Man's voice.

"Leave him for you?"

"Yes, devouring the primordial spirit of an Otherworldly Demonic Tribe king can accelerate my recovery," the Ruthless Man quickly explained. "Don't worry, Young Master," he hastily added, "I'll handle the interrogation. I'll get all the information you want!"

"Very well!" Hearing the Ruthless Man's guarantee, Zhang Xuan nodded, released his grip, and left King Shuiye's primordial spirit to him.

Disregarding the interrogation, Zhang Xuan's consciousness returned to his physical body. Letting out a breath, Zhang Xuan realized he was covered in cold sweat. It seemed he needed to be more careful when facing Primordial Spirit Realm experts in the future. If King Shuiye hadn't tried to quickly kill him by entering his body, and instead had used his primordial spirit abilities from the outside, the outcome would have been uncertain. Although his own Witch Soul was over ten meters tall, it was still clearly a significant step behind a true primordial spirit. The two were different levels of life forms and couldn't be compared directly. It was only by being inside Zhang Xuan's body that he had gained such a significant advantage.

He looked down at King Shuiye's corpse nearby, and with a flick of his finger, a storage ring flew into his palm. Peering inside, he immediately saw countless treasures piled high, along with thousands of high-grade spirit stones. "Like King Jinye and King Qingye, he must have been on some kind of mission to carry so many spirit stones..." Zhang Xuan's eyes lit up. Regardless of his opponent's objective, this many spirit stones was an immense gain for him.

He also glanced at the other items. This individual, like the other two kings, possessed numerous secret manuals concerning the soul, but they were all vaguely written and not very clear. He finished reading all the books and was about to dismiss them when a thought suddenly struck him. "Correct!" All the soul cultivation methods he had acquired over the past few days immediately coalesced, forming a new book. He casually flipped it open and read through it. A moment later, his eyes lit up. "It can actually form..."

He had initially thought that due to the fundamental differences between the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe and humans, their soul cultivation techniques would be useless to him. To his surprise, after merging multiple manuals, a perfectly correct Heavenly Dao cultivation technique had formed. The previous versions had seemed chaotic simply because the number of manuals was too few. "It seems the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe's methods for cultivating the soul, though different from humans', ultimately lead to the same destination and have similar effects..." He couldn't help but nod.

He hadn't been able to comprehend the opponent's cultivation techniques before; they were utterly bizarre. He had even speculated that it would be a miracle if one didn't suffer qi deviation while practicing them. Now, it was clear that they belonged to an entirely different system, a cultivation method fundamentally distinct from that of humans. Regardless of their apparent correctness, as long as one followed them step-by-step, they would eventually lead to the same outcome. Of course, for him, the prerequisite was always having a sufficient number of cultivation techniques; if he hadn't collected enough, they would have been useless.

"Merge!" He then retrieved the Mortal Transformation Nine-Tier Witch Soul Art that Mo Hunsheng had left him and merged it with this new manual. A moment later, a new book appeared before him. After reading for a while, a smile played on Zhang Xuan's lips. This cultivation technique was now perfectly complete and ready for practice. Previously, his Witch Soul had only cultivated to the eighth tier of Mortal Transformation. With this new technique, he could now attempt to break through to the ninth tier, further increasing his power.

"I'll do it later!" Suppressing the urge to cultivate immediately, Zhang Xuan knew it wasn't the right time. He properly handled King Shuiye's corpse, then removed the surrounding restrictions and headed towards Moyun Xuan. Having been delayed for so long, the auction must have already begun. His top priority was not cultivation, but finding traces of the poison master.

As he entered the auction hall, before he could even assess the situation, Hu Yunsheng rushed up to him. "Senior, just now... the City Lord left!"

"Left?" Zhang Xuan was momentarily stunned.

"Yes. The auction for the Earth Treasury Flower hadn't even started, but he suddenly turned and left his private room. I initially thought he had some urgent matter to attend to, but then... he never came back. He headed straight for the City Lord's Mansion, looking as if he had no intention of continuing to bid!" Hu Yunsheng was utterly perplexed. Before this, the City Lord had been determined to acquire the Earth Treasury Flower, practically itching to snatch it. Yet, just as its auction was about to begin, he turned and left... It left him utterly bewildered.

Zhang Xuan also found it very strange. This was quite illogical! He had just met the City Lord, who had seemed desperate enough to seize the item regardless of his status. Having attended the auction, why would he abandon it midway? "Could there be some conspiracy?" he couldn't help but ask.

"I don't think so. Seeing that he headed towards the City Lord's Mansion, I guess... something unexpected must have happened that forced him to return," Hu Yunsheng mused.

"Alright, you continue to keep watch here, and I'll go see what happened," Zhang Xuan said after a moment of thought. The City Lord's interest in the Earth Treasury Flower, an item typically sought by poison masters, was already suspicious. His sudden, urgent departure meant it certainly wasn't a simple matter. To find out what was going on, Zhang Xuan had to go himself.

"Understood!" Hu Yunsheng nodded. "The City Lord's Mansion is heavily guarded and very dangerous... Senior, please be careful!" He wasn't actually worried about Zhang Xuan's safety, but rather that if something happened, his own poison wouldn't be curable.

"Don't worry," Zhang Xuan waved his hand. While he might struggle against an Otherworldly Demonic Tribe expert at the Primordial Spirit Realm, the "shrimp soldiers and crab generals" of the City Lord's Mansion were no match for him, even if they all charged at once. They were nothing to worry about.

"Right!" Remembering that the middle-aged man before him was not only terrifyingly powerful but also a formidable poison master, Hu Yunsheng relaxed. He said no more, instead pointing out the direction of the City Lord's Mansion and giving a detailed explanation of its layout. Although Hu Yunsheng hadn't visited the City Lord's Mansion many times, Moyun Xuan had collected extensive information, so he was quite knowledgeable about the defenses of this local overlord. Now that "Sun Qiang" intended to go to the City Lord's Mansion, Hu Yunsheng naturally dared not conceal anything, meticulously recounting every detail.

Soon, having gained a good understanding of the place, Zhang Xuan turned and swiftly flew towards the City Lord's Mansion. The City Lord's Mansion was located in the very center of Jingyuan City, only a dozen li from Moyun Xuan. Flying through the night sky at high speed, it wasn't long before a vast, sprawling mansion appeared before him. Following the directions Hu Yunsheng had provided, Zhang Xuan's Eye of Discernment flickered, and he indeed found flaws in the mansion's formations and defenses. "It seems this fellow's information was quite accurate!" He chuckled softly, and with a blur of his body, he slipped inside.

While Hu Yunsheng wasn't very reliable regarding information about the Poison Hall, he certainly knew a lot about other matters. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to find the Earth Treasury Flower so quickly and arrive here smoothly. With prior intelligence and his Eye of Discernment, Zhang Xuan quickly bypassed the City Lord's Mansion's layers of defense and reached the main hall where the City Lord was located. With a shift of his body, he concealed himself within a large tree in the courtyard and stealthily peered inside.

He then saw the City Lord, the same one who had threatened him earlier, standing in the spacious room with an anxious expression, seemingly waiting for something. The two guards from earlier also stood with serious expressions, constantly looking left and right.

"Alright, you two may leave for now!" The City Lord waved his hand.

"Yes, sir!" The guards exited, and the room immediately fell silent.

The City Lord paced back and forth for a while. Just as he was about to speak, a unique aura suddenly descended. Immediately, a figure abruptly appeared in the hall of the room.

"Greetings, my lord..." Seeing this person, the City Lord visibly relaxed and hastily clasped his fists. It seemed this was the individual he had been waiting for all along.

"Mm," the figure, with hands clasped behind his back, nodded faintly.

"My lord, you asked me to bid on the Earth Treasury Flower, and its auction is about to begin..." The City Lord looked at him, full of confusion. The other party had told him to bid on it, yet just as it was about to start, he was urgently called back. A profound sense of strangeness filled his heart.

"Something has happened..." Without answering him, the figure's brows furrowed.

"Something happened?" the City Lord asked, puzzled.

"Yes." The figure waved a hand, about to speak, when suddenly his eyebrows shot up. He looked in Zhang Xuan's direction and asked, "Who's there?"