Chapter 2042: Gourd Breaks the Seal

Although he had never seen an artifact of this caliber, the disk-shaped object, which could crack space the moment it appeared, gave him the same feeling as Han Jianqiu. It undoubtedly surpassed the peak of a Celestial Monarch.

The disk-shaped weapon emitted a brilliant light that enveloped the surroundings. Zhang Xuan immediately felt his entire body stiffen, unable to circulate his True Qi.

"You should be proud that I've had to resort to using the Golden Spirit Lock..."

The leading young man's gaze was filled with cold indifference.

As the opponent had suspected, this was indeed a Pseudo-God realm artifact—the Golden Spirit Lock!

This treasure could lock down any living being engaged in combat, preventing even their souls or True Qi from escaping.

"Open..."

Filled with anxiety, Zhang Xuan frantically tried to mobilize his inner strength.

But for some reason, this power was like a torrent confined by a dam; even though it surged furiously, it simply could not break free.

Without power, he could no longer fight, leaving him with only two options: capture or death.

"Go!"

The Golden Spirit Lock descended from the sky. Even before it reached Zhang Xuan, his entire body felt on the verge of shattering from the immense pressure. Blood spurted from his acupoints, and cracks appeared on his flesh.

With a soft chime, the jade token given by Sect Master Han Jianqiu shattered, forming a circular halo of light around his body.

The oppressive force vanished. Zhang Xuan, his face pale, hastily drank a bottle of special potion. Only then did he feel somewhat recovered, though his entire body was still filled with a sense of weakness.

He had originally believed he could contend with a peak Celestial Monarch and that he was not far from reaching the Pseudo-God realm. However, upon encountering this weapon, he realized the difference was like heaven and earth—truly incomparable!

No wonder the Heavens feared "Gods" so greatly; even if not true gods, they possessed an overwhelming power that made resistance impossible.

"A protective amulet refined with the vital essence of a Pseudo-God realm expert? It's a good item, but... how long can it last?"

Upon seeing the halo of light appear around Zhang Xuan, the leading young man sneered again, continuously channeling immortal energy into the Golden Spirit Lock.

Boom!

The disk-shaped lock continued to press downwards, and dark cracks appeared in space.

Zhang Xuan felt a tightness in his chest. The halo of light around his body was forcibly compressed, seeming on the verge of exploding at any moment.

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

This type of amulet had a finite energy supply. While it could withstand attacks from a Pseudo-God realm expert, its effect was temporary. Once it shattered, he would certainly be unable to resist the descending disk!

"Go and eat that thing now!"

"The Pseudo-God realm is too powerful," the gourd wriggled. "Unless it stops attacking, I can't secretly eat it. Otherwise... I can't resist it either..."

"Stop attacking?" Zhang Xuan's face turned ashen.

If he could block the opponent, he wouldn't be in such a sorry state.

"Aren't you going to help...?"

Gritting his teeth, he no longer bothered to conceal his intent and stirred his consciousness.

His clone immediately appeared nearby, raising its eyebrows, and charged directly at the leading young man.

Although it was also enveloped by the light emitted by the Golden Spirit Lock, the effect on it was minimal.

The clone, refined from the Nine Heavens Lotus Embryo, drew its strength from its physical body rather than its soul. Since the lock could bind souls but not affect physical bodies, its combat power wasn't significantly reduced.

"This is a clone?"

The leading young man was momentarily stunned, having not expected Zhang Xuan to possess such a powerful clone. He then sneered, meeting its charge with a punch.

The punch landed on the clone's head.

*Thud!*

The clone's head was flattened, but as if feeling nothing, it continued to charge forward.

*Crack! Crack!*

When the clone slammed into his chest, several of the leading young man's ribs immediately fractured.

"You..."

Startled, he quickly looked up and saw the clone's flattened head restoring itself to its original state, without any damage whatsoever.

"An immortal body?"

His pupils constricted, and sweat poured down his spine.

An immortal body was said to be a power exclusive to deities. How could an opponent's mere clone possess such an ability?

"I refuse to believe it's truly immortal..."

Gritting his teeth, his body blurred into an illusion, and he charged forward again.

He only had one arm, which already put him at a significant disadvantage. The opponent's clone was so powerful, and he also possessed a protective jade amulet refined by a Pseudo-God realm expert. If things went wrong, he wouldn't complete his mission and might even die here!

He dared not show the slightest carelessness.

He swung his palm, making it seem as if he had several arms. Immortal energy surged wildly, and the surrounding air grew heavy.

The loss of his arm didn't seem to have significantly reduced his strength; he remained terrifyingly powerful.

"Trifling skill! Watch me effortlessly shatter it!"

The clone's face was full of arrogance. Without making any other moves, it charged forward again.

*Thud! Thud! Thud!*

The leading young man's fists landed on its face, chest, and stomach, creating one large dent after another. However, the clone remained undeterred and charged forward once more.

Blood spurted out, and the leading young man was sent flying backward, his chest so heavy with frustration he felt he might explode.

This wasn't a battle at all; it was simply the clone relying on its immortal body to rampage wildly.

Since he began cultivating, this was the first time he had fought with such utter frustration!

"If you're so capable, stop ramming me with your shoulder and fight me honorably!" he roared, gritting his teeth.

"Not use my shoulder?" The clone pondered for a moment. "Alright!"

It then sat down on him.

*Thud!*

A searing pain shot through his face, and the leading young man vomited blood.

He told it not to ram him with its shoulder, and it used its backside to sit on him instead... Where was the dignity of a master?

As the battle raged furiously, Zhang Xuan, still bound by the Golden Spirit Lock, couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief.

Once the clone engaged in battle, the Golden Spirit Lock's control over him lessened. Realizing this was his chance to launch a sneak attack, he could no longer hold back and urgently whispered, "Go quickly..."

"Alright!"

The gourd in his Dantian responded and shot out suddenly. With a "whoosh!" sound, it vanished from its spot before the Golden Spirit Lock could even react.

It had already been swallowed.

*Crack!*

At the same moment, the energy halo generated by the protective amulet instantly dissipated.

Fortunately, he reacted quickly. Otherwise, if he hadn't died this time, he would have come dangerously close!

Letting out a breath, Zhang Xuan looked up. Just as he was about to help his clone finish off the last Celestial Monarch, he felt the space above his head shake violently, and an invincible, powerful aura spread towards them.

The clone and the leading young man ceased their battle, both looking up at the sky in unison.

Immediately, they saw a gourd quietly floating. Having swallowed the Pseudo-God realm weapon, it seemed to have instantly unlocked some kind of shackles, and its seal could no longer hold.

"It swallowed the weapon?"

His face paled, and the leading young man's body trembled slightly.

A peak Celestial Monarch longsword, a Celestial Monarch great seal, and the Pseudo-God realm Golden Spirit Lock... all devoured by this thing!

Was it truly just a gourd?

"It succeeded?"

He had previously given the gourd two hundred high-grade immortal yuan pills, and it had claimed it was on the verge of a breakthrough, though still one step short. He hadn't expected that swallowing this Pseudo-God realm weapon would finally push it to its limit.

He truly wanted to see what kind of divine beast it actually was, to possess such immense might and power.

An Ancient Divine Dragon? A Taotie? Or a Pixiu?

Zhang Xuan's eyes gleamed with anticipation.

Judging by its tone and its ability to devour weapons, it was certainly no ordinary being. He had consulted relevant books and formed some ideas, constantly pondering these possibilities in his mind.

Ancient Divine Dragons possessed the power of true gods from birth, unfathomable and profound.

The Taotie divine beast devoured all things, possessing an inherent spatial dimension within its belly that allowed it to consume anything.

The Pixiu divine beast only consumed and never excreted, encompassing all things...

Whichever of these three it was, once its seal was completely broken, it could truly traverse the heavens and earth unchallenged, unstoppable!

At the very least, he wouldn't need to fear the Temple, even if a true god appeared!

Filled with excitement, Zhang Xuan involuntarily looked up.

The power from above grew stronger and stronger. The folded space was on the verge of collapsing, threatening to vanish at any moment. The cracks on the gourd in the air, which had originally only extended to its first protrusion, continued downwards. Everyone seemed to hear "crack! crack!" sounds.

"Let's go!"

Seeing that the power had reached such a level, and knowing that whatever was inside would be irresistible once released, the leading young man tensed. He turned to tear open the folded space and escape the area.

His mission had failed. He had to inform his master as soon as possible that this fellow possessed such a formidable artifact!

"Do you think you can leave?"

How could Zhang Xuan allow him to succeed? The Wutong Robe Sword leaped, and his Divine Sword Intent circulated once more, thrusting forward.

His clone, the gourd, the Soulless Golden Body, the protective amulet—all his trump cards had been revealed. If this guy escaped, he would have no secrets left in the future.

He must be killed; he absolutely could not be allowed to live!

*Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!*

The leading young man could no longer worry about escaping. He unleashed his palm energy, deflecting the sword qi.

Although Divine Sword Intent was unparalleled in power, Zhang Xuan's overall strength was still slightly weaker. Against such a powerful peak Celestial Monarch, he still couldn't gain an advantage.

As Zhang Xuan engaged in combat, the clone charged forward once more.

The leading young man's face darkened as several more of his ribs were broken from the impact.

"Arghhh!"

He was so enraged he felt he might explode.

This was simply too humiliating!

In his entire life, he had always easily defeated opponents stronger than himself. This was the first time he had faced someone with lower cultivation and felt so utterly humiliated in a fight.

"At worst, we'll die together!"

Seeing the increasingly coordinated attacks from the opponent and his clone, and realizing that escape was now almost impossible—with a high probability of being killed on the spot—the leading young man could no longer bear it. With a roar, the immortal energy within his body boiled as he prepared to self-detonate.

Even if he couldn't escape, he would self-detonate to warn his master, letting him know that this individual was far more terrifying than imagined!

"Oh no..."

His pupils constricted. Zhang Xuan's wrists moved rapidly as he unleashed his defensive sword art, forming a massive sphere of sword qi around his body.

A self-detonation from an expert of this caliber simply couldn't be stopped; he could only hope to suffer less injury.

Even before the self-detonation began, the oppressive force from the dissipating immortal energy surged forth. Zhang Xuan felt cracks reappear on the web between his thumb and forefinger, sensing he might lose his grip on the longsword at any moment.

The blood in his entire body felt pressed against his blood vessel walls, as if it might burst at any moment.

"This is the power of a peak Celestial Monarch's self-detonation?"

His pupils constricted; Zhang Xuan couldn't believe it.

This was the first time he had encountered a peak Celestial Monarch intending to self-detonate... He hadn't expected it to be so powerful!

Even with his defensive sword art, which incorporated Divine Sword Intent, if the opponent truly detonated, he would certainly suffer injuries that would be difficult to recover from quickly.

The pressure grew stronger and stronger. Just when he felt he could no longer bear it, his entire body suddenly relaxed, and the oppressive power vanished like a receding tide.

The oppressive feeling caused by the opponent's impending self-detonation had completely vanished, without a trace.