Chapter 2057: Pseudo-God Realm Immortal Beast

A familiar power arose from the giant island, and it was none other than the unique aura of slaughter characteristic of the Spirit Tribe.

The reason he hadn't immediately noticed it was because this aura had merged with the unique mercury spiritual energy of the Firmament, losing its previous ferocity and instead giving off a feeling of warmth.

Where there's an aura of slaughter, there are members of the Spirit Tribe. Could it be that the natives mentioned by Sect Leader Kui Xiao were actually them?

If so, that would explain the origin of the Spirit Tribe!

They must have entered the Master Teacher Continent through some special spatiotemporal rift, causing turmoil and bringing immense disaster to humanity.

Thinking of this, he quickly looked towards the city, and the figures moving within immediately appeared in his sight.

However, after observing them, he was immediately taken aback.

All the figures inside were of normal human size, with no peculiarities, and showed no signs of violent or aggressive behavior.

Could it be that he had sensed incorrectly?

He realized that Spirit Tribe members on the Master Teacher Continent, after absorbing mercury spiritual energy, would become indistinguishable from normal people, losing their previous ferocity, and they must be in this very state.

A thought surfaced.

Previously, Ancient Sage Yan Qing and others had conducted experiments showing that Spirit Tribe members, after absorbing mercury spiritual energy, would become indistinguishable from normal people, losing their previous ferocity. It was likely the same for the people here.

Sect Leader Kui Xiao stated that the Star Seeker Palace was in the center of the island, and approaching directly might cause conflict, so they should just go down.

Unaware of his thoughts, Sect Leader Kui Xiao gave the order.

The flying celestial beast, carrying the carriage, immediately descended rapidly, soon landing on a tall platform.

As soon as they landed, several guards in iron armor approached.

Elder Hong Wu stepped forward, handing over a token. The guards glanced at it and cleared the way.

With a glimmer in his eyes, Zhang Xuan carefully observed the two guards before him.

Indeed, just as he had suspected, they were Spirit Tribe members who had absorbed mercury spiritual energy, and their attire was identical to that of the Firmament Envoys who had descended to the lower realms.

Spirit Tribe members, sacrificial rituals... Could those Firmament Envoys who descended to the lower realms have been them?

In that case, could the woman who took away Emperor Chen Yong and knew about Luo Ruoxi be a powerful figure from this Star Seeker Palace?

It seemed he needed to find someone to inquire about this.

Sect Leader Kui Xiao explained that their Seven Star Pavilion had a branch there and offered to take Elder Liu (Zhang Xuan) to find items that could help him break through to the peak of Immortal King as quickly as possible.

Zhang Xuan nodded.

The group left the flying celestial beast and walked along the street.

The city was vast, even more magnificent than Jade Cloud City. If he had been less than 100% certain about the guards earlier, walking on the streets now almost truly confirmed his suspicions.

The beings here were indeed Spirit Tribe members who had transformed after absorbing mercury spiritual energy.

However, the volatile factors within them still persisted. This was why they were so unwelcoming to outsiders and had minimal interactions with people from other sects.

Sect Leader Kui Xiao sent a telepathic message, explaining that they were all outsiders and could at most buy and sell items with the locals, but excessive interaction was impossible. He warned Zhang Xuan not to even think about it, or he might die without knowing how.

Zhang Xuan felt a pang of understanding.

He had had many encounters with the Spirit Tribe and had read countless books on the Master Teacher Continent, so he knew their temperaments and dispositions.

They were a warlike race; a minor misunderstanding could lead to arguments or even brawls.

What the other party said was true: it was best to avoid contact as much as possible, or being killed was a very real possibility.

On the Master Teacher Continent, he was invincible, but here, there were countless individuals more powerful than him, so it was better to be cautious.

After walking for over an hour, a Seven Star Pavilion appeared before them. Unlike the headquarters he had seen before, this branch also sold various treasures, but the variety was clearly not as extensive as the former.

Upon entering, they were greeted and arranged for the best accommodation.

Sect Leader Kui Xiao told Elder Liu (Zhang Xuan) to wait there while he went to prepare the items for his advancement.

Zhang Xuan asked what Sect Leader Kui Xiao had prepared, noting that while Immortal King initial and peak were technically the same rank, breaking through was not easy. He wondered what could allow him to break through so quickly, judging by Kui Xiao's tone.

Sect Leader Kui Xiao transmitted his thoughts, revealing that in the Star Seeker Sea, there had reportedly been a pseudo-deity realm celestial beast. He explained that if they could capture it and extract its blood and core, it should not be difficult to help Zhang Xuan break through to the peak of Immortal King.

Zhang Xuan frowned, asking if he meant a pseudo-deity realm celestial beast.

He reminded Kui Xiao that he had previously said one needed to pass through the Divine Temple to achieve the pseudo-deity realm.

Kui Xiao had indeed said that to achieve the pseudo-deity realm, one had to enter the Heavenly Passage Bridge and then the Divine Temple. How could a celestial beast of such a realm appear? Celestial beasts wouldn't have the opportunity to enter the Heavenly Passage Bridge.

Sect Leader Kui Xiao looked around before transmitting his reply. He confirmed that was normally the case, but over two months ago, in a certain area of the Star Seeker Sea, the sky had collapsed, and something seemed to have scattered from it. Any stones that came into contact with these scattered items turned brilliant red and were impervious to fire or blade. Celestial beasts at the Immortal King peak realm that touched them had a high chance of breaking through to become pseudo-deities.

His pupils contracted, and he wondered if the stones turning brilliant red meant they were Divine Blood Stones.

Zhang Xuan's pupils contracted, and his entire body tensed.

One of his other purposes for coming to the Star Seeker Sea was to inquire about the origin of these stones, and he hadn't expected Sect Leader Kui Xiao to know about them.

Isolated stones turning into Divine Blood Stones wouldn't necessarily prove much, but the fact that even celestial beasts could break through made it undeniably strange.

Sect Leader Kui Xiao looked at him, asking if he knew about Divine Blood Stones.

Zhang Xuan nodded, saying he had heard of them.

Sect Leader Kui Xiao explained that he had only seen records of such stones in ancient texts, speculating they might be Divine Blood Stones. He added that the stones themselves weren't important, but if they could capture and hunt these pseudo-deity realm celestial beasts, their blood and cores, while perhaps not allowing one to break through to the pseudo-deity realm, should certainly help Immortal King experts advance their cultivation.

As the Sect Leader of Seven Star Pavilion, he knew a great deal about the effects of various treasures.

Even if Zhang Xuan lacked a suitable cultivation technique, finding the blood and cores would enable him to break through to the peak of Immortal King.

However...

The beast's cultivation was the same as his own, and setting aside the difficulty of killing it, if it truly wished to escape, even he would be unable to pursue it.

Thus, it was merely a hope, and he couldn't guarantee it 100%.

Zhang Xuan couldn't help but ask about the location of this sea area.

Since Luo Ruoxi was involved, he was a little restless.

Sect Leader Kui Xiao admitted he wasn't entirely sure of the exact location, but a pseudo-deity realm celestial beast had appeared in a nearby sea area. He added that to find the place, they would have to capture the beast and interrogate it thoroughly. He intended to go out personally to investigate its strength, hoping it might be weak enough to capture, which would be ideal.

Even among pseudo-deity realm experts, there were certainly varying levels of strength.

Just as he was certainly no match for Han Jianqiu, it wouldn't be easy for an ordinary pseudo-deity realm expert to defeat him either.

The beast had only advanced to the pseudo-deity realm a little over two months ago, and even if it was a celestial beast, as long as it didn't possess a heaven-defying bloodline, he was confident he could capture it.

Zhang Xuan expressed his desire to go and see for himself.

Sect Leader Kui Xiao raised an eyebrow, questioning him.

Knowing what the other party was worried about, Zhang Xuan reassured him that even though he was only at the initial stage of Immortal King, he had the ability to protect himself and would certainly not become a liability if the opponent was too strong.

After a moment of hesitation, Sect Leader Kui Xiao nodded in agreement.

After all, the goal was for Zhang Xuan to break through to the peak of Immortal King, so if he truly wanted to go, Kui Xiao could simply take him along. At worst, Zhang Xuan could just stay far away.

With that, Sect Leader Kui Xiao indicated they should go. As he finished speaking, Sect Leader Kui Xiao's body swayed. He suppressed his cultivation to the peak of Immortal King and flew straight outward.

Zhang Xuan followed closely.

Now that he had broken through to Immortal King, he could fly even without using his God Sword Intent, so there was no need to worry about exposing his strength.

The two flew one after another, and two hours later, they arrived at a boundless sea.

By then, it was completely dark. Just as Kui Xiao had said, countless stars were reflected in the ocean, as if they had fallen into it. Flying above the water, it felt as though one could reach out and pluck a star, making one instinctively want to dive down.

After they paused for a moment, a small, flat boat slowly drifted towards them. An old man stood on it, shrouded in a green robe. He greeted Sect Leader Kui Xiao.

Zhang Xuan observed the man, finding his cultivation impossible to discern at a glance.

He was likely above Zhang Xuan's own level, having reached the peak of Immortal King, and was at least as strong as, if not stronger than, Elder Hong Wu and the others.

Sect Leader Kui Xiao eagerly asked for an update.

The old man clasped his fists and reported to the Sect Leader that a month ago, he had placed the item Kui Xiao gave him into the deep sea, and it had indeed worked. The pseudo-deity realm celestial beast had arrived a few days prior, but it was highly vigilant and hadn't dared to make a move.

Sect Leader Kui Xiao smiled faintly, seemingly unsurprised. He remarked that any celestial beast, regardless of its type, that could survive in the ocean and reach the Immortal King peak realm would surely have died long ago without such vigilance.

The law of survival in the celestial and sacred beast realms was more brutal than among humans. Although the beast was now in the pseudo-deity realm, it must have first reached the peak of Immortal King to have such an opportunity.

To achieve this, it must have been extremely alert; otherwise, there would have been too many creatures in the ocean capable of killing it during its growth.

With a slight smile, the old man continued, informing the Sect Leader that he had already set up formations on that side. As long as they waited, the beast should appear, though he was unsure when.

Sect Leader Kui Xiao nodded, agreeing to go and see.

Sect Leader Kui Xiao nodded and stepped onto the small boat first, with Zhang Xuan following closely behind.