Chapter 2074: From the Disdain of the Clone

“It’s someone from the Temple!”

In an instant, Zhang Xuan reacted.

He had dealt with the Temple’s experts twice before, understanding their methods and strength. The surprise attack’s swordplay was sharp and vicious; the sword qi, precise as if measured by a ruler, aimed directly at the positions he had to defend, not missing by a fraction.

Most critically, the two attackers’ coordinated angles, directions, and attack timing were perfectly executed. Even a Half-God Realm expert would find it difficult to evade.

“Immortal Monarch peak…”

Zhang Xuan breathed a sigh of relief.

His attackers were merely two peak Immortal Monarch Temple warriors. Ten days ago, this level would have been insurmountable for him, but now, it was nothing.

However, while these two were visible, it was uncertain if the Half-God Realm middle-aged man he’d seen before was also present.

With a thought, he communicated with the four Immortal Beasts, ordering them to be on high alert. At the same time, the Paulownia Dress Sword appeared in his palm, its Divine Sword Intent spreading out to seal the surrounding space.

“Divine Sword Intent? Are you Zhang Xuan, the new Sect Leader of the Soaring Cloud Sword Pavilion?”

The attacker above gasped in surprise, no longer bothering to fight. He immediately turned to flee.

If this practitioner of Divine Sword Intent had only been a True Immortal, he would have fought with all his might. But since he had already reached the Immortal Monarch realm, and given the Temple’s previous two failed ambushes, even a fool would understand that this person was beyond his ability to contend with.

The immediate priority was to quickly relay the message back and have their leader take action! Capturing him would be a far greater achievement than acquiring the Star-Chasing Palace’s altar!

“Too late!”

Zhang Xuan’s long sword pressed forward like a gentle breeze. Though it appeared slow, it seemed to seal off all escape routes, making it impossible to leave.

A bloodstain appeared on his forehead. The soul of this peak Immortal Monarch Temple warrior was extinguished. His body fell from the sky and was collected into a storage ring.

From the moment the ambush began until this warrior was killed, less than a breath had passed. Meanwhile, the sword qi from the attacker below had just reached him.

Just as it was about to pierce Zhang Xuan’s chest, a gourd unexpectedly appeared, blocking the sword tip.

“Break!”

Gritting his teeth, the warrior channeled all his strength into his sword, intending to pierce through. However, he found the gourd before him as solid as a city wall; no matter how much force he used, he couldn’t penetrate it.

“Could it be... a Half-God Realm weapon?”

His heart turned cold.

He was a peak Immortal Monarch expert, and his sword had reached the same level. With such power, a weapon of the same caliber could not possibly withstand him. Even a Half-Step Half-God weapon would not dare to easily contend. Yet, a mere gourd not only blocked him but also prevented him from advancing an inch. Its level was beyond imagination!

“Go!”

Knowing the ambush had failed, he dared not hesitate. He turned to flee, but before he could complete the turn, everything went black.

Another gourd smacked him in the face. This time, it was the concave side of the gourd. With a single strike, his head was encased within it, reshaping into a gourd-like form. With a look of unwillingness, he plummeted downwards.

A dignified Temple warrior, a top expert renowned across the continent, never would have dreamed of being killed by a gourd.

After collecting the second body, Zhang Xuan felt no excitement. Instead, he vigilantly scanned his surroundings.

After waiting for several breaths and detecting nothing unusual, he finally relaxed.

“It seems... only these two were ambushing here!”

He had initially thought that all the Temple members he had seen earlier were lying in ambush here. Since no one else had appeared, it was likely there were no others. Otherwise, during the battle would have been the best time for a surprise attack; once missed, finding him again wouldn't be easy.

“They must have realized they were being tracked and had these two lie in ambush as a rearguard, while the others continued pursuing Fuchenzi. After all, Palace Mistress Du and the altar are more important...”

With a thought, he understood. As expected of a Temple expert, they were indeed very alert. Had it been a typical Half-God rather than himself, they might have perished in that ambush.

“Before I killed these two, I sealed off the space and acted incredibly fast. No messages or energy fluctuations leaked out... The other party shouldn’t have noticed yet!” Zhang Xuan smiled faintly.

An identical figure appeared before him. His clone!

After taming the four Half-God Realm Immortal Beasts, Zhang Xuan had specifically given Half-God Realm blood to his clone and the Ruthless Man to consume. The main body, without Heaven's Path cultivation techniques, found it difficult to cultivate, but this wasn't an issue for the others. As a result, both their cultivations had already reached the peak Immortal Monarch realm, surpassing his main body.

“You take one, I’ll take one...” Zhang Xuan said.

“Alright!” The clone nodded. With a mental command, his appearance changed into that of the gourd-headed warrior.

Although the clone didn't have a disguise talisman, the Nine Heavens Lotus Embryo could transform into any shape, like liquid. Back in Qiuwu Palace, it had even been flattened into a pancake. Now, disguised as the gourd-headed warrior, wearing his clothes, the clone suppressed its soul fluctuations to the lowest possible level.

Zhang Xuan, meanwhile, transformed into the other warrior. At the same time, the two weapons of the deceased appeared in his palms. With a gentle touch, in less than two breaths, both longswords smoothly acknowledged him as their master.

His disguise would be flawless, even capable of withstanding blood detection. However, the clone still had some imperfections; its soul aura was not identical. Nevertheless, with the refined longsword, this flaw could be compensated for.

A peak Immortal Monarch level weapon already contained its own sword intent. As long as its power was activated, outsiders investigating would at most detect the sword intent, failing to realize that the person had changed.

After completing these preparations and finding no further flaws, Zhang Xuan nodded and took the lead, flying forward. The clone followed closely behind.

To allow these two peak Immortal Monarch warriors to catch up after eliminating any threats, the Half-God Realm middle-aged man who had left earlier had marked his path, making it simple to follow.

Flying swiftly, they soon arrived at the ancient city they had seen before.

Inside the ancient city walls, a dense aura of decay emanated, giving off a suppressive feeling that made it difficult for those entering to breathe smoothly.

Even with Zhang Xuan’s strength, he felt his power being suppressed, unable to exert his full combat potential.

With a thought, a sword gleam danced at his fingertip. With a light flick, he made an incision on his arm.

Sizzle! Sizzle! Sizzle! Sizzle! As soon as the wound appeared, the aura of decay immediately spread, continuously corroding the injury and preventing it from healing.

The Heaven's Path True Qi circulated rapidly, but after a moment, Zhang Xuan shook his head.

Such a small wound, in the past, would have healed completely in less than a breath with a single circulation of Heaven's Path True Qi. Yet now, it wouldn't recover even after several minutes, indicating that this place was indeed strange.

No wonder Elder Baiye’s injuries couldn’t heal earlier, leaving him to simply await death. It was likely due to a strong connection with these decaying auras.

He took out a jade bottle and poured some of the little yellow chick’s bathwater onto the wound. A puff of black smoke rose. The wound quickly healed.

“This place is indeed bizarre...” Seeing that it was as he had guessed, Zhang Xuan’s expression became solemn.

Unlike him, others didn’t possess the little yellow chick. This meant that upon entering this place, if they were injured or if the aura of decay infiltrated their bodies, they would be like Elder Baiye—unable to hold on and left to wait for death.

“Here’s a bottle for you, just in case!” He took out a bottle and threw it to his clone.

The clone was his trump card. If Heaven’s Path True Qi was ineffective and it got injured, things would be bad.

Catching the jade bottle, the clone gave him a cold, arrogant look. Instead of putting it away, a sword qi suddenly burst from its fingertip, slashing towards its own arm.

*Puchi!*

A ghastly wound, over three inches long, appeared on its arm, from which blood gushed out.

Zhang Xuan frowned, wondering what this idiot was up to, when he saw the clone raise its head, glance at him with a proud expression, and then circulate its internal energy.

Sizzle! Sizzle! Sizzle! Sizzle! A wisp of black qi was immediately expelled, and the wound instantly healed as before.

Zhang Xuan’s eyebrows twitched.

“I don’t need this stuff!”

With his hands clasped behind his back, the clone looked at him with utter disdain: “Weakling!”

“...” Zhang Xuan.

He had made a small cut on his hand, while the clone made a large one on its arm. He needed the little yellow chick’s bathwater, while the clone didn’t... This series of actions was clearly meant to show off to him. Couldn't it just not be so pretentious?!

His chest felt tight with irritation. Too annoyed to bother with the clone, Zhang Xuan continued to walk forward.

Although the ancient city contained an aura of decay, many green plants grew in its dilapidated areas, giving a sense of withered wood blossoming in spring.

Within the new there was old, and within the old, new persisted, as if demonstrating a grand principle of heaven and earth where the old gives way to the new.

“These medicinal herbs growing amidst the decay are incredibly potent and diverse. No wonder they attract countless experts, who come despite knowing the dangers...”

The ruins seemed to provide the greatest nourishment for the newly grown medicinal ingredients. The herbs here were diverse and powerful; if used to refine pills, their effects would far surpass those from outside.

Following the path of the Temple members, he advanced while simultaneously collecting herbs, doing both without delay.

After walking a short distance, a cluster of ruined buildings appeared in sight.

This area was completely different from what he had seen before. The previous ruins were utterly dilapidated, clearly having collapsed countless years ago. However, many parts of the current ruins bore fresh marks, giving the impression of recent destruction.

“Someone fought here...” Zhang Xuan’s expression turned grave.

With his keen eyesight, he could tell at a glance that this place had just experienced a battle not long ago, certainly less than half an hour. Otherwise, under the pervasive aura of decay, the fresh marks would have already turned old again, becoming undetectable.

“Could it be... the Temple members caught up with Fuchenzi? Or... have they already found Palace Mistress Du?”

His purpose in tracking the Temple and Fuchenzi here was to find Palace Mistress Du Qingyuan. With traces of battle here, it was certain that someone had encountered someone else!

He stopped, about to observe carefully for any useful information left behind, when suddenly, the hairs on his entire body stood on end. A powerful force abruptly descended.

His body suddenly curled, and he leapt into the air. At the same time, six longswords whistled with sword qi, forming a protective circle around him.

*Clink! Clink! Clink! Clink!*

A series of rain-like sounds rang out one after another. Looking down, he saw a large expanse of black shadows emerging from nowhere on the previously quiet ground, resembling strange, ghostly figures.