Chapter 1294: Chaos in the Imperial Palace Maze

Creak! Creak! Under immense pressure, Ma Minghai's bones groaned, seeming as if they would shatter at any moment. His body could no longer endure it and began to turn red.

The other party hadn't intended to target him and was even too lazy to act. But since he was looking for trouble, there was no need to hold back.

"Let go... I'll give you the jade token!" Feeling that continuing would only lead to death, his teeth grinding together, Ma Minghai endured his nearly exploding body and hurriedly shouted.

"Alright!" Withdrawing his hand, Zhang Xuan put his hands behind his back and stood still.

Thud! He dropped from the rock wall, Ma Minghai panting heavily.

"Die!" A fierce glint flashed in his eyes. He roared, and two long swords suddenly appeared in his palms. With a flick of his wrist, he immediately lunged at Zhang Xuan.

Both swords were Mid-tier Sacred Artifacts, and combined with his Half-True Understanding Sword Intent, their speed was even greater than before.

According to the rules, weapons were not allowed in the retest, but without weapons, he was no match for Zhang Xuan. He would be eliminated immediately, so he couldn't care less about the rules now.

Swish! The two long swords tore through the air, and before the naked eye could even see them, they were already in front of Zhang Xuan.

Just as he thought he would surely kill the guy, he heard the other party's somewhat helpless voice ring out.

"Sigh, it's a good thing I have a good temper. If it were anyone else, you'd probably be dead by now for doing that!" Boom! Before he could react, Ma Minghai's body was plastered against the rock wall again. Under immense pressure, all his bones could no longer bear it, shattering in more than ten places. Blood gushed wildly from his mouth.

"Since you won't give me the jade token, I'll take it myself!" Immediately after, his finger felt a sharp pain, and his storage ring flew off his hand into the other party's palm.

"You..." His face flushed crimson, Ma Minghai was filled with anxiety.

However, it was already too late. Zhang Xuan tapped his finger, and the jade token appeared in his palm. He gently tapped it.

Crack! It shattered.

"As expected of a genius from Qianchong Empire, you certainly have a lot of treasures. Consider this the price for offending me..." Originally, merely shattering his jade token would have sufficed, but since this guy was shameless and dared to attack even after losing, then it was only fair that he paid a price.

Pfft! Seeing the other party put his storage ring into his pocket, Ma Minghai couldn't hold back anymore and spat out another mouthful of blood.

He had spent an unknown amount of effort for these resources; having them taken directly was equivalent to having all his hard work stolen.

"Both of your swords are Mid-tier Sacred Artifacts and look quite good. I'll be keeping them too!" Filled with despair, he heard the other party's words continue to ring out.

"I nurtured my swords with my vital blood, so their spiritual intelligence is absolutely loyal. It'll be useless even if you take them..." Seeing that even his swords were to be taken, Ma Minghai gritted his teeth.

He had paid an even greater price for these two swords. He could guarantee their absolute loyalty; as long as he was alive, they would not betray him.

Before his words could finish, he saw his two swords being patted a few times by Zhang Xuan. They immediately joyfully flew over to Zhang Xuan, swaying happily, displaying indescribable reverence.

Pfft! Spitting blood again, Ma Minghai was filled with utter despair.

He had thought the other party was just a lucky novice, someone he could easily humiliate. He never dreamed that he was a hidden dragon!

"Alright!" After taking the other party's belongings and no longer bothering with him, Zhang Xuan loosened his grip, and Ma Minghai dropped from the rock wall.

Boom! No sooner had he let him go than he heard the familiar voice, resounding across the entire island once more.

"Ma Minghai, jade token shattered, the third person eliminated. Remaining... thirty-one!"

Whoosh! Soon after the announcement ended, a person arrived on a flying sacred beast, picked up Ma Minghai onto its back, and flew away.

"It seems Zhang Jiuxiao was also taken away..." Zhang Xuan was momentarily stunned, then realized.

No wonder, right after learning Zhang Jiuxiao's jade token was shattered, he had pursued him but couldn't find anyone. It seemed he must have also been picked up.

The jade tokens carried a special sword intent, so shattering them would trigger a response. But why could the precise location be known, and people dispatched so quickly to pick them up? Could it be that Zhao Xingmo could truly see everything happening on the entire island?

This island was at least two to three thousand li in diameter. Even cultivators at Saint 7-dan or 8-dan would be unable to cover it with their spiritual perception. How did Zhao Xingmo manage this?

"He must be using something..." With a thought, his Eye of Insight flickered, and Zhang Xuan looked towards the sacred beast that had just flown away.

Upon closer inspection, he indeed noticed something different.

"It's actually a Thousand-Ant Bee..." He couldn't help but chuckle.

He had been wondering what method the other party might have used, but he never dreamed that, like himself, they had released Thousand-Ant Bees all over the island!

These creatures were extremely tiny, and flying among trees and bushes, they were virtually undetectable. He had previously used them to gather information in Cloudmist Ridge.

He hadn't expected that Zhao Xingmo would also use them. It seemed Zhao Xingmo also possessed a Thousand-Ant Bee Queen!

"Bee Queen, is there any way to drive away the Thousand-Ant Bees monitoring me?" Shaking his head, Zhang Xuan sent a telepathic message.

Although it was a retest, being constantly monitored was still uncomfortable.

"Although these Thousand-Ant Bees are not my subjects, it's still quite easy to drive them away..." The Bee Queen's voice replied. "However, if they're driven away, Master Zhao will notice..."

"That's true..." Zhang Xuan rubbed his forehead.

The other party was monitoring, naturally, to understand the situation of the examinees. If he directly drove them away and his whereabouts couldn't be tracked, Master Zhao might very well come in person.

"How about this? I'll find a way to tame these Thousand-Ant Bees and make them obey my commands..." The Bee Queen paused, then said.

"You can tame them?" Zhang Xuan's eyes lit up. "That would be excellent..."

Taming them was naturally better than driving them away. This way, in the other party's eyes, he would seem hidden, completely undetectable.

"Go handle it!" With a flick of his wrist, he released the Bee Queen. Zhang Xuan then looked at the rock wall in front of him again.

The many sword cultivators present earlier, who had personally witnessed him defeat Ma Minghai, knew his strength was terrifying. One by one, they retreated to the side, not daring to offend him.

Zhang Xuan also didn't bother with them. Just as he was about to practice the Heaven's Path Sword Art he had just comprehended, he saw the Twilight Cloud Sword from earlier fly back to him.

"Master... your strength is so formidable. If you enter the Sword Pool, you should be able to obtain the legacy!"

"Enter the Sword Pool? Isn't this already the Sword Pool?"

"This is only the outer area of the Sword Pool. The true Sword Pool is behind the rock wall... Sword Elder's legacy is also inside!" The Twilight Cloud Sword said.

"Oh?" Zhang Xuan was startled. "Are you saying that the more than a hundred long swords, just like you, aren't here, but are... behind the rock wall?"

"Yes!" The Twilight Cloud Sword swayed twice.

"Take me to see!" As for the so-called Sword Elder's legacy, having comprehended the Heaven's Path Sword Art, he wasn't particularly interested. However, if he could tame over a hundred Mid-tier Sacred Artifacts, it would definitely be a huge gain.

Over a hundred Low-tier Sacred Artifact-level long sabers had made the leader of the underground black market unbeatable. With so many Mid-tier Sacred Artifacts combined, even without puppets, he could easily defeat Hall Master Yue!

He might even be able to contend with... Zhao Xingmo!

The Twilight Cloud Sword swayed a few times, then flew straight ahead. Following closely behind it, Zhang Xuan rounded the massive rock wall and immediately saw a vast expanse of mist appear before him.

It was likely some formidable formation, completely obscuring everything ahead.

He glanced at it, not recognizing it. "Defect!" Zhang Xuan raised an eyebrow and murmured inwardly.

Whoosh! A book appeared in his mind.

The formation was operating, and its flaws could be discerned.

After reading the contents of the book, Zhang Xuan was momentarily stunned. "Chaotic Palace Maze Formation, an eighth-tier formation?"

No wonder no one had obtained the so-called legacy. He never imagined this formation before him had actually reached eighth-tier!

A formation of this tier could only be set up by a Domain Realm expert at minimum. No one in Qianchong Empire should be capable of it.

Not rushing in, Zhang Xuan turned to the Twilight Cloud Sword. "Have you ever been inside?"

"I haven't been inside," the Twilight Cloud Sword replied, "but it is said to contain Sword Elder's personal sword and his legacy!"

"Personal sword?"

"Yes, Sword Elder's personal sword is said to have reached the High-tier Sacred Artifact level," the Twilight Cloud Sword continued. "Even the Qianchong Emperor desires it, but unfortunately, no one has ever been able to enter it. Even if they did, they couldn't find it!"

"High-tier Sacred Artifact?" Zhang Xuan's fists clenched.

A Sacred Artifact of this tier had to be at least Saint 6-dan Domain Realm, and was extremely powerful.

"This Sword Pool... actually contains such a powerful weapon?"

"Yes. In fact, most of the sword qi filling the air is emitted by this Sacred Artifact," the Twilight Cloud Sword continued. "Those outside are desperately studying it, firstly for their own strength, and secondly, to try and discern Sword Elder's sword art, thereby obtaining his legacy and this weapon!"

Having stayed here for a long time, it was well-aware of many things.

His eyes glinted, and Zhang Xuan was filled with excitement. "Such a weapon is worth seeing!"

Mid-tier Sacred Artifacts, unless there were many of them, were not very useful to him. High-tier Sacred Artifacts, however, were different.

If he unleashed one with a sword, even Zhao Xingmo might not be able to block it!

With a weapon of this caliber, his confidence would greatly increase when going to cause trouble for the Zhang Clan, or to marry Luo Ruoxi.

"You guard here!" He instructed.

"Yes!" The Twilight Cloud Sword swayed a few times and remained in place.

No longer hesitating, Zhang Xuan's body blurred, and he walked towards the mist.

He had just thoroughly analyzed the flaws of this formation. Despite it being an eighth-tier formation, it held no more secrets for him. He slowly proceeded, and after a while, the scene before him opened up. The mist vanished, and a stream and a wooden house appeared in his sight.

"There's a paradise here?" Zhang Xuan was startled. He couldn't help but walk towards the wooden house. When he arrived in front of it and was about to open the door, his entire body suddenly tensed, and his figure blurred, appearing a hundred meters away.

Swish! Where he had just stood, a sword qi streaked past, seemingly piercing through the air, leaving behind a black mark.