Chapter 2023: Dare to Bet?

Zhang Xuan nearly fainted from anger.He had known the gourd was unreliable, but he never expected it to be this unreliable!"I told you to swallow the swords in the hands of the Temple's people; why did you swallow Elder Chou Huo's sword?"He was an elder of the Cloud Sword Pavilion, specializing in swordsmanship. Without his longsword, how could he fight?

*Bang, bang, bang, bang!*

Before his thought could finish, the two black-robed True Immortals over there were already clashing with Elder Chou Huo again. Without his longsword, Elder Chou Huo's combat effectiveness was indeed affected. Under the combined assault of the two True Immortals, he gradually found himself at a disadvantage.

"Kill this one quickly, then go help..."

Knowing there was no time to waste, Zhang Xuan no longer had the luxury of making the gourd spit out the sword. With a flick of his Parasol Robe Sword, he lunged at the black-robed figure in front of him. Without his sword, the black-robed man's combat power was severely diminished. After several consecutive moves, he was stabbed in several places again. While attacking, he secretly glanced at the Immortal Lord realm expert. Seeing that the opponent had no intention of coming to help, Zhang Xuan breathed a sigh of relief and intensified the power of his sword.

*Puchi!*

Three moves later, his sword pierced through the opponent's glabella, and he gave it a gentle twist. The black-robed man immediately exploded, dying on the spot.

The Immortal Lord expert remained still, as if it had nothing to do with him.

"People from the Temple are always indifferent," Elder Chou Huo's telepathic message echoed in his ear. "They only care if the mission is completed; whether their companions live or die doesn't matter..."

Feeling quite perplexed, Zhang Xuan acknowledged the message and brought his longsword forward, thrusting it at one of the True Immortal realm figures. Having broken through to the True Immortal realm and wielding the Parasol Robe Sword, his combat power was in no way inferior to that of an ordinary Immortal Lord. In the blink of an eye, they were locked in combat, making it hard to tell who had the upper hand.

"The Parasol Robe Sword... you've refined it?" Elder Chou Huo's pressure eased. He repeatedly struck the black-robed man opposite him, forcing him back, and looked over with great confusion. This sword was just given by the Sect Master. The guy hadn't done anything, just ran around Wuhai City, visited the Temple of Divinity, appraised treasures, all sorts of things... How could he refine it the moment he took it out? And become one with the sword, with the Parasol Robe Sword perfectly recognizing him? An Immortal Lord-level longsword, refined so easily? If that were true... why did he expend such great effort when refining his own sword? He had consumed several liters of blood, and countless resources...

It was fine when he didn't think about it, but the thought of having spent so much energy and blood to refine his precious sword, only for it to suddenly disappear, sent a spasming pain through Elder Chou Huo's heart. He looked at the True Immortal realm black-robed man in front of him again, his fury burning.

"These guys must be behind it! Otherwise, how could it disappear when I was fighting them?"

"Give me my sword back..."

*Bang, bang, bang, bang!*

His palm strikes became increasingly powerful, each stronger than the last. As an Immortal Lord peak realm expert, when he unleashed his full power, the entire space seemed to tremble, as if it might collapse at any moment. Having been repeatedly battered and spitting out several mouthfuls of blood, the black-robed man was going insane. "Are you effing crazy... I didn't take your sword... Even if I did take it, I'd only take yours. Why would I make my own disappear?"

"Give me my sword back!"

Elder Chou Huo was like a madman. Seeing that the other party was beyond reason, the black-robed man also became completely enraged: "I said I didn't take it! You should be giving *my* sword back!" With a long hiss, just as he was about to charge forward and fight to the death, a sharp pain suddenly flared up in his rear. He quickly turned his head, only to see Zhang Xuan, who had been fighting another companion, appearing behind him at some point and plunging a sword in.

"Ahhh..."

Blood spurted out, and the black-robed man was on the verge of madness.

"Oops, my bad, wrong target..."

Just as he was about to retaliate, the young man, looking apologetic, flicked his wrist, pulled out the longsword, and continued to stab his companion.

"You..."

Furious to the point of insanity, but with an Immortal Lord realm expert still in front, he dared not be careless. He continued to attack Elder Chou Huo. After only two moves, a pain flared up in his rear again. He quickly turned his head, only to see Zhang Xuan looking at him apologetically again: "Wrong target again!"

"Wrong target my ass..."

This guy was truly going crazy. You're fighting someone else, but you come over and stab me... And 'wrong target'? Can a mistake be this outrageous? It was absolutely intentional! About to explode, just as he was about to attack Zhang Xuan, he felt the pressure from the front return as Elder Chou Huo charged at him again. Several consecutive palm strikes pinned him down, causing him to spurt blood. His internal meridians were completely chaotic from the shock, and he was already severely wounded.

"No, I'll die if this continues..."

His face was grim. Just as he was wondering how to resolve the situation, a pain flared up in his rear again. He turned his head and saw Zhang Xuan waving his hand with a look of apology: "My mistake, my mistake..."

"Your mistake my ass..."

Unable to hold back any longer, he disregarded Elder Chou Huo and charged straight at the young man in front of him. However, before his attack could land, he felt a sword qi surge directly into his body along the opponent's longsword, exploding instantly. His internal meridians were immediately shattered. With disbelief in his eyes, his corpse fell heavily to the ground.

Seeing him killed, Zhang Xuan breathed a sigh of relief. The combat power of the Temple's experts was truly terrifying. Even though he had reached the early True Immortal realm and was using the Parasol Robe Sword, it would have been very difficult to kill them within a hundred moves. Therefore, he deliberately lured one away, and while the other was fighting Elder Chou Huo, he harassed and ambushed him. After several repetitions, the opponent's rage boiled over, and his defenses dropped, allowing Zhang Xuan to successfully kill him in one go!

Once this one was killed, the remaining one was simple. Teaming up with Elder Chou Huo, they soon killed him as well.

After killing three peak True Immortal realm experts in a row, the Temple's Immortal Lord realm expert showed no intention of stopping them. Instead, he revealed a faint smile: "To be able to defeat and kill three Temple warriors individually in such a short time, you indeed possess extraordinary abilities. No wonder the leader wants you captured alive!"

He slowly walked over.

"Captured alive?" Zhang Xuan frowned. He had thought the opponent's goal was to kill him, but he never expected it was to capture him alive! No wonder those black-robed figures didn't immediately draw their weapons. It turned out they were afraid of killing him. Later, realizing they couldn't win without weapons, they were forced to use stronger methods! Even then, they didn't resort to self-destruction or similar tactics, clearly still holding back.

"Yes!" The black-robed Immortal Lord's voice was unhurried: "I had thought those few would be enough to capture you, without needing my intervention. But now it seems your strength is beyond imagination. In that case... I shall do it myself. Consider it an honor!"

"If you want to lay a hand on him, you'll have to get past me first..." Elder Chou Huo's eyebrows rose, and the power within him surged. Although he had no longsword, his sword intent seemed ready to pierce through space at any moment: "I've long heard that Temple experts are invincible among those of the same cultivation level. I've always wanted to test that!"

"You?" The black-robed Immortal Lord smiled again and flicked his finger. Elder Chou Huo spat out a mouthful of fresh blood, instantly flying backward. His body was tightly suspended in mid-air, unable to move even an inch. His pupils contracted, and his eyes were filled with terror. Temple experts were invincible among those of the same level. He had just witnessed a True Immortal realm expert fight to a standstill with one, so he knew the current opponent was certainly not simple. But he never dreamed he would be this terrifying! A casual strike had imprisoned his internal power, leaving him unable to even resist...

"...It seems you're still not qualified!"

With one finger, he sealed Elder Chou Huo, and the black-robed Immortal Lord's words continued. From the moment he made his move until he finished speaking, there was no pause. This meant that one of the Cloud Sword Pavilion's most powerful elders couldn't even last a single breath in front of the opponent before being pinned in mid-air, unable to resist! No wonder those three True Immortal realm experts were killed earlier without him making a move. With this level of strength, there was no need to team up with others, nor was it necessary at all!

"Will you come with me willingly, or... shall I make my move?" Having sealed Elder Chou Huo with a finger, rendering him immobile, the black-robed man looked at Zhang Xuan, showing no impatience. When one's cultivation reached his level, there was no need for harsh words. A single strike would render you powerless to resist, which was more effective than any threat!

Not answering his question, Zhang Xuan took a deep breath and looked at him: "Why does your leader want to capture me? Is it just because I comprehended the Sword Intent of the Divine?"

"That, you don't need to know!" The black-robed man's eyes held an indifferent gaze.

"Alright, I knew you wouldn't tell me anyway..." Zhang Xuan shook his head: "To be honest, your strength is formidable. Apart from Sect Master Han, you are probably the strongest I've ever seen... But, you're still not my match. To kill you, a single thought would suffice!"

"Not your match?" The black-robed man froze for a moment, almost bursting into laughter: "Are you sure?" The opponent's combat power was indeed very strong, even terrifying among those of the same level, surpassing their own Temple warriors! But... early True Immortal realm was simply too weak! Compared to his Immortal Lord peak realm, they weren't even on the same level! To say he wasn't his match... What kind of joke was this?

It wasn't just him with that expression; Elder Chou Huo, who was still restrained, was also speechless. "Brother, we're in a life-or-death situation... can we not brag? If bragging could kill people, I would have done it ages ago... Didn't you see, I was pinned here unable to move before I even had a chance to brag?"

"Exactly. Don't believe me? How about we make a bet?" Zhang Xuan said calmly.

"What kind of bet?" The Immortal Lord expert clasped his hands behind his back. With his level of strength, he wasn't afraid of any tricks the other party might have.

"It's simple... You stand your ground and don't flee. If you can block my attack, I'll willingly go with you... If you can't, you'll be slain by me!" Zhang Xuan stated.

"Block your attack?" The black-robed Immortal Lord looked over: "Do you perhaps possess a weapon superior to the Immortal Lord level?" For the opponent to say such a thing, he must be confident, very likely possessing a pseudo-divine realm weapon! However... even a pseudo-divine realm weapon wouldn't be so easy to kill him with!

"Not a weapon, but a book..." Zhang Xuan's eyebrows rose. "If you can block my book, I'll let you do as you please. If you can't... then don't blame me for being merciless!"

"A book?" The black-robed Immortal Lord scoffed, letting out a laugh: "Are you joking? Do you really think a book... can kill me?"