Chapter 1696: Commander

The commander was truly crying.

Leading the team this time to attack the exit of the Subterranean Lair, he had thought he could achieve great things and let everyone know his strength. But before he even had a chance to attack, he was beaten down by a brick and a long spear, unable to get up from the ground.

Most importantly, the Demonic Blade he brought from his family, which had never obeyed no matter how he tried to tame it, now directly surrendered to the opponent.

"Where's the arrogance you just showed me?"

"What's with just lying prostrate on the ground?"

“So this fellow surrenders based on the purity of the Killing Intent,” Zhang Xuan mused. “The aura disguised by my Path to Heaven True Qi is no worse than that of a ruthless person.”

Ignoring the commander, whose eyes were misty with tears, Zhang Xuan suddenly understood.

Although this commander was suspected to be a member of the Spirit Imperial Family, the purity of his Killing Intent was still insufficient, falling considerably short compared to Zhang Xuan's Path to Heaven True Qi operating at full capacity.

With a flick of his finger, a drop of blood flew over and merged with the Demonic Blade.

Immediately, a wave of information surged into his mind.

“Ethereal Demonic Blade!”

He now knew the name of the blade.

As the Dragonbone Divine Spear had guessed, this blade before him was indeed a Half-Ancient Sage Divine Weapon. Not only that, but it was also an evolvable treasure!

The evolvable treasures of the Spirit Tribe were different from those of the Human Race.

The Golden Origin Cauldron was an evolvable treasure, but each time it evolved, it required tempering with other treasures. The Spirit Tribe's treasures were different; they only needed to be fed the fresh blood or souls of powerful individuals to advance.

In other words, it didn't require further tempering or forging; it only needed more powerful individuals to be slain!

It was precisely for this reason that the blade appeared so eerie and exuded a thick aura of malevolence.

“So, does that mean you can evolve into an Ancient Sage Divine Weapon?”

Knowing this, Zhang Xuan's eyes lit up, and he couldn't help but look at the blade.

An Ancient Sage Divine Weapon was capable of slaying Ancient Sages. If this blade could evolve, then beneath the level of an Ancient Sage, Zhang Xuan would truly have nothing to fear.

“Yes, but it requires the fresh blood of an Ancient Sage,”

The Ethereal Demonic Blade vibrated slightly.

“Drink an Ancient Sage’s blood? Forget it,” Zhang Xuan's lips twitched.

If he could obtain an Ancient Sage’s blood for it to drink, he could just slay the Ancient Sage himself. Why would he still need it then?

“If you truly cannot find an Ancient Sage, feeding me the blood and souls of cultivators at the Immortalization realm or Half-Ancient Sage realm could also allow me to advance, though it would be slower,” the Ethereal Demonic Blade transmitted again, understanding its master's thoughts.

“The Immortalization realm is useful to you? Then, if you kill this fellow, how much progress can you make?”

Zhang Xuan pointed at the commander.

“Although his strength is mediocre, he is a core direct descendant of the Spirit Royal Family. After devouring him, I should be able to advance further, becoming one of the foremost among Half-Ancient Sage Divine Weapons!”

The Ethereal Demonic Blade nodded.

“Alright, I'll leave him to you then.”

He had no favorable impression of the Spirit Tribe to begin with, let alone the fact that this fellow had attempted to ambush his parents. His death was of no consequence.

“Yes!”

Hearing his words, the Ethereal Demonic Blade excitedly flew over and struck down with a single slash.

Before long, the commander turned into a dried corpse, his soul and blood completely drained.

After this great replenishment, the Demonic Blade appeared even more eerie and its power increased. Even the Golden Origin Cauldron would walk around it, not daring to approach.

“Impressive!” Zhang Xuan exclaimed in awe.

He had thought the information transmitted by the blade might be mistaken, but unexpectedly, this blade could indeed absorb blood and souls to advance and become more powerful.

“Let's head back first!”

Retrieving the three divine weapons into his storage ring, Zhang Xuan let out a sigh of relief.

With the Demonic Blade and the commander dealt with, the Spirit Tribesmen here were no longer a major concern. However, he still needed to be careful, and it would be best to devise a plan to capture them all in one fell swoop.

Otherwise, if the Zhang Clan disciples were to fight them, he couldn't say how many casualties there would be.

Propping his chin, he raised an eyebrow, quietly speculating in his mind.

This Spirit Tribe army had an Immortalization realm Spirit Tribe commander, so there were certainly other Great Sage-level individuals present. Killing just this one commander wouldn't allow him to easily eliminate everyone.

Although his three divine weapons were not weak, they couldn't massacre a well-trained army!

He had to prepare in advance.

“The commotion just now was considerable, but with these mirrors and formations, the news didn't leak out. This means others don't know the commander is dead, so I can disguise myself as him.”

A thought struck him.

The heavenly secrets and auras of this place were concealed, so no one knew the commander had already been killed.

Since that was the case, if General Ai He could be impersonated, so too could the commander.

He immediately stripped the armor from the corpse and put it on. Zhang Xuan's appearance changed once more, becoming identical to the former commander.

“First, I'll go see how many Great Sage-level experts there are.”

No longer paying attention to the stone platform and numerous mirrors, Zhang Xuan strode out, walking directly towards the main camp tent that he hadn't dared to investigate earlier.

The strength of the army couldn't have a gap; since the commander was at the Immortalization realm, the deputy commanders and others certainly wouldn't be weak either. He decided to first see how many had reached the Great Sage level. Once he understood these individuals, the rest would no longer be a threat.

Disguised as the commander, he walked among the numerous fortifications. No one dared to stop him, and he soon arrived in front of the camp tent.

“Commander!”

Several Spirit Tribe soldiers bowed and cupped their fists.

“Mm!”

Nodding, Zhang Xuan entered the tent and immediately saw seven people sitting gravely in a circle within the room.

“Commander, you succeeded?”

Seeing him arrive, the several individuals were simultaneously ecstatic.

It seemed that these individuals all knew about the commander's plan to assassinate Sword Saint Xing and Sword Saint Meng, and they were waiting for news here.

“I haven't gone yet. I came here because I have an important matter to discuss with all of you, and I hope you can offer some advice.”

Zhang Xuan waved his hand.

Earlier, because there were heavenly secret items present, he hadn't dared to use the Library of Heaven's Path. Otherwise, before he could even kill the person, the thunder tribulation would have arrived.

Although he didn't know the exact details of this commander, with his numerous disguise experiences and the potent disguise talismans from Luo Ruoxi, the seven people in the room didn't notice anything unusual.

“Commander, if you have a decision, just give the order. We will strictly obey!”

Hearing that there was something to discuss, the several individuals simultaneously cupped their fists.

“Mm!” Feigning deep thought, Zhang Xuan secretly activated his Eye of Insight and observed the group.

As he had conjectured, all seven had reached the Great Sage level: two were at the Great Sage Three-Realm: Heartbeat Surge realm, three were at the Golden Body realm, and the remaining two were at the Flawless God realm peak.

Fortunately, he hadn't rushed into action earlier. Otherwise, with these individuals combined, even with his three divine weapons, he might not have been able to contend with them.

Furthermore, if he had attracted numerous soldiers who formed a combined attack formation, even an Immortalization realm expert might find it difficult to escape.

“You, come out with me for a moment. I have something to arrange for you, and this matter cannot be known by anyone.”

After a moment of thought, Zhang Xuan looked at one of the Great Sage Three-Realm experts and spoke.

“Yes!”

This individual harbored no suspicion, rose, and followed him out of the camp tent.