Chapter 2076: Zhang Xuan and the Doppelganger's Sneak Attack

Leaving the ruins behind, the clone became less verbose and self-absorbed.

The bizarre nature of the City of Falling Sky surpassed all imagination. It was no wonder so few people ventured inside; the aura of decay alone was more than most could bear. With the Eye of Insight and the Library of Heaven's Path, they could foresee many dangers and avoid significant trouble. Even so, after advancing less than ten miles, they still encountered three attacks and narrowly avoided falling into traps twice.

After successfully escaping, they hadn't gone much further when they again sensed a powerful energy fluctuation from nearby. They exchanged a glance and swiftly flew forward with the clone.

A wide plaza appeared before them. To their left stood a woman in elaborate attire, wearing a bronze mask. Nearby, an altar floated silently, upon which azure flames burned, as if a ritual was already underway. The woman’s hair billowed, and as immortal energy surged through her body, the surrounding space warped and distorted. To their right was the familiar middle-aged man from the Spirit Temple, exuding sword qi, his eyes filled with indifference.

"Fu Chenzi?" Their gaze fell upon the ground nearby, where a figure was slumped, his chest stained with blood, clearly severely wounded. It was indeed Fu Chenzi, who had pursued them earlier. They had assumed the two hadn't met yet, but to their surprise, he was already gravely wounded.

"Could this masked woman be Palace Head Du Qingyuan?" He studied the woman carefully. The bronze mask, whether part of a ritual or for another reason, concealed her face. All he could sense was the vast immortal energy surging within her, conveying an immense power, clearly indicating she had reached the Half-God realm. Among the women of the Six Great Sects, only Du Qingyuan had achieved this level, so it was highly probable it was her.

"How dare you obstruct the Spirit Temple? Does your Palace Head also wish to oppose us?" The middle-aged man snorted, glancing at the severely wounded Fu Chenzi nearby.

Zhang Xuan felt a flicker of doubt. Although he hadn't witnessed the recent battle, shouldn't the middle-aged man have been no match for them? How was it that he was now injured, even while teaming up with Du Qingyuan? Could it be... the middle-aged man had deliberately feigned defeat earlier, so that Fu Chenzi would lead the way? If that were the case, it was entirely plausible. The people of the Spirit Temple were notoriously ruthless, employing any means necessary to achieve their objectives. Such a tactic would not be out of character for them.

"If you were capable of harming our Palace Head, you would have already made your move!" Fu Chenzi sneered, struggling to look at the bronze-masked woman nearby. "Palace Head Du, be careful! He possesses a Half-God realm weapon!"

Palace Head Du did not reply, instead turning to face the middle-aged man, her eyes alight with cold killing intent. With a flick of her hand, a formidable palm strike ripped through the air, descending. It was as if a gigantic, sky-obscuring hand had instantly appeared in the heavens, pressing down with crushing force.

"The Great Qingtian Palm, impressive!" With a loud laugh, the middle-aged man glided forward like a swimming dragon. Simultaneously, his longsword sliced through the air, its blade gleaming like a frigid light.

*Clang! Clang! Clang!*

The longsword parried the palm strike. The middle-aged man’s fingers moved like those of a zither player, as he suddenly lunged toward the nearby altar.

"You're asking for death!" The bronze-masked woman’s voice was icy. Without changing her technique, she unleashed palm strike after palm strike. The surrounding space was torn and twisted by the immense power, and the entire plaza seemed on the verge of exploding. His figure like lightning, the middle-aged man weaved through the torrent of palm strikes with effortless grace.

"Palace Head Du, why has your strength diminished so drastically? Is it due to the ritual? Regardless, in your current condition, you are certainly no match for me. Hand over the altar willingly, and I will spare your life. Otherwise, do not blame me for being ruthless!"

After blocking several attacks, the middle-aged man frowned. Palace Head Du ranked among the top of the Six Great Sect Masters, her cultivation immensely powerful. Normally, defeating her wouldn't be an easy feat. Yet, her seemingly fierce moves now felt hollow and lacking true power. Could the ritual have exhausted all her power? However, this was for the best. As long as he successfully secured the altar, the Spirit Temple Master’s reward would undoubtedly elevate his cultivation significantly!

Without a reply, the bronze-masked woman continued her frenzied assault. The flames on the altar burned even more brilliantly, appearing as if they could connect with the heavens at any moment and transmit messages to the gods.

"Since you refuse to be reasonable, then do not blame me for being ruthless..." Seeing his opponent fight with increasing ferocity and show no signs of surrendering, the middle-aged man suddenly raised his hand. A halberd-like weapon materialized before him. With a slight turn, it shot straight towards Palace Head Du.

*Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!*

The moment the halberd appeared, immense cracks tore through the air. Infused with Half-God power, its tip surged with chilling energy, like an artifact capable of annihilating worlds. Anything it touched would instantly turn to ash.

"A Half-God realm weapon?" Zhang Xuan's pupils constricted. This halberd appeared to have reached the Half-God realm; otherwise, it wouldn't possess such power. The iron chain he held was also of this caliber, yet its offensive capabilities and power were clearly far inferior. It seemed there were significant differences even among Half-God realm weapons.

Feeling this immense power, the bronze-masked woman lost her previous composure. Her eyes narrowed, and she suddenly looked up at the nearby altar. "If I die, we die together!" With a roar, she lunged and grabbed at the air.

*Whoosh!* The altar now blocked her path, its azure flames burning fiercely. It seemed that if the halberd were to strike Palace Head Du, it would shatter the altar first.

The Spirit Temple Master’s primary objective was the altar; once destroyed, it would be useless. Naturally, he wouldn't allow such a thing to happen. The middle-aged man raised his hand, the halberd halted in mid-air, and his eyes narrowed. "You're seeking death!"

"If I die, I will destroy the altar beforehand. Even if I betray my ancestors, it's better than letting it fall into the hands of your Spirit Temple. If you wish to act, then come!" The bronze-masked woman clenched her jaw. The opponent was stronger than her, and with a Half-God realm offensive weapon, she couldn't possibly resist. Since that was the case... she might as well take him down with her. Since the opponent coveted the altar, he would be hesitant to damage it, which should afford her some safety. And indeed, upon testing, it proved true.

"Hmph!" His fists clenched, the middle-aged man's face turned ashen. A moment later, he raised an eyebrow. "Then... I'll kill him first!"

*Boom!* The halberd descended directly towards Fu Chenzi, who lay on the ground. His face turning ashen, Fu Chenzi tried to resist, but found his injuries too severe to move from the ground. A look of grim determination flashed in his eyes as he turned his head and shouted. "Palace Head Du, leave quickly! With the altar, he won't dare to press too hard. Don't worry about me..."

The bronze-masked woman frowned, her body swaying as she moved the altar to block in front of Fu Chenzi. "If you don't want to destroy the altar, then continue your attack..."

The halberd froze in mid-air.

"You..." The middle-aged man was so enraged he looked like he might explode. The power on the halberd surged wildly, air currents rippled outwards, and massive cracks appeared on the ground.

Just then, the bronze-masked woman, who was controlling the altar, suddenly turned deathly pale. A mouthful of fresh blood spurted from her lips, and she stumbled forward, collapsing heavily to the ground. Full of disbelief, she hastily turned her head to see Fu Chenzi, who had just been severely injured and appeared on the verge of death, now standing up. He wiped a trickle of blood from the corner of his mouth, showing no sign of injury whatsoever.

"Palace Head Du, my apologies, but with the altar in your possession, we couldn't risk any damage. Therefore, we had no choice but to resort to this method!" Fu Chenzi reached out and effortlessly seized the burning altar, which immediately lost all power to resist. Earlier, Palace Head Du’s formidable strength made it impossible to seize the altar directly. But now, severely wounded, she had no control over it, and it was swiftly put into a storage ring.

"When did the Tong Shen Temple pledge allegiance to the Spirit Temple?" Palace Head Du clenched her fists tightly. She clearly never dreamed that Fu Chenzi, who had just desperately tried to save her, was actually allied with the Spirit Temple, and that all his previous actions had merely been an act!

Hidden to the side, Zhang Xuan’s eyebrow twitched involuntarily. Earlier, he had found it strange that such a powerful middle-aged man could be so easily defeated by Fu Chenzi. It turned out these two had been working together all along! This also explained why the middle-aged man pursued Fu Chenzi as soon as he left the Star-Chasing Palace, and why he was never detected along the way... They had conspired together to deceive the Great Elder and the others, learn Palace Head Du’s whereabouts, and then track her down! What a cunning and elaborate scheme!

"Now that we have the altar, kill her!" The middle-aged man let out a cold snort.

"Understood!" Fu Chenzi nodded, concentrating power in his palm. Just as he was about to strike Palace Head Du, hurried footsteps echoed.

*Whoosh! Whoosh!*

Two figures appeared in the plaza. It was Zhang Xuan and his clone, disguised as the peak Immortal Monarch youth.

"Have you eliminated the one who was tracking us?" Seeing them approach, the middle-aged man frowned.

"That person was very cunning; he sensed the danger in advance and escaped..." Zhang Xuan felt a tinge of awkwardness.

"Escaped?" Frowning deeply, the middle-aged man was clearly displeased.

"Your guess is correct. It's likely the new Sect Master of the Seven Stars Pavilion; he's not easily killed..." Fu Chenzi shook his head.

"Seven Stars Pavilion?" The middle-aged man frowned.

"Yes, this person, along with Sect Master Zheng Yang and Sect Master Zhang Xuan, rose to prominence in a peculiar manner. I’ve specifically investigated them, but there's no conclusive information as of yet." Fu Chenzi’s expression turned solemn. "However, there’s no need to rush. Take the altar and return first; others will naturally handle this matter."

"Understood!" The middle-aged man nodded, saying no more. He glanced at Palace Head Du, then turned and ordered, "Kill her!"

"Alright!" Fu Chenzi replied. Just as he was about to speak, the two peak Immortal Monarch youths behind him stepped forward. "Allow us to handle this! We failed to capture Sect Master Liu Yang earlier, so killing her would be atonement for our failure..."

After speaking, Zhang Xuan took a few steps towards the injured Palace Head Du, while the clone positioned himself not far from the middle-aged man.

"Very well!" The middle-aged man, unsuspecting, nodded. Just as he was about to turn and leave, the clone and Zhang Xuan acted simultaneously. Two sharp sword auras suddenly appeared, striking the backs of both the middle-aged man and Fu Chenzi at the exact same moment. Zhang Xuan and the clone had launched a sneak attack. The two victims were completely unprepared; in a single strike, their bodies were pierced, leaving gaping, bloody wounds.

"You..." They had always intended to ambush others, never imagining they would be ambushed by their own subordinates. The middle-aged man and Fu Chenzi’s faces instantly turned ashen, filled with utter disbelief.