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

Chapter 2077: The Cost of Showing Off

"Kill them!" Knowing that both individuals were pseudo-deity realm experts, Zhang Xuan didn't hesitate. Although severely wounded, they could still unleash world-destroying power if they reacted. With a flick of his wrist, the beast pet pouch immediately opened.

*Whoosh!* Pseudo-deity level iron chains enveloped the middle-aged man. The next moment, the Blackback Tortoise and the Three Sharks appeared, breaking through the air.

Curling its massive hundred-meter body, the Blackback Tortoise descended from the sky, its shell facing down. Meanwhile, the Three Sharks unleashed a torrent of sword energy and scales, pressing down on their target.

Although these were ocean pseudo-deities, their full-strength attacks were still terrifying. In an instant, a dozen large bloody holes appeared on the middle-aged man's body, and his arms were shattered by the tortoise's shell.

Unexpecting such a sudden turn of events, the middle-aged man's eyes bulged with rage. He reached out, and his halberd trembled violently, poised to fly over and slay the attacking Blackback Tortoise and Three Sharks.

*Thud!* It flew only a short distance before stopping, its path forcibly blocked by an Immortal Monarch realm corpse.

Clenching his fist, the middle-aged man was about to summon his halberd to pierce the corpse when he felt a sudden surge of power.

The corpse exploded, and the halberd was jolted by the resulting shockwave, swaying uncontrollably in the air, difficult to command.

Though pseudo-deity realm weapons were powerful, the self-detonation of a peak Immortal Monarch expert still disoriented their spiritual essence, leaving them confused and seemingly unconscious.

Just as it managed to stabilize itself and was about to rush forward to help, another corpse appeared and detonated once more.

After three consecutive corpses, the halberd could no longer withstand the onslaught and fell from the sky, seemingly unable to move for some time.

While the explosions didn't physically damage the weapon, its spiritual essence was almost entirely depleted, effectively rendering it useless.

With his halberd damaged, the middle-aged man once again spewed blood. Already injured, he couldn't withstand the attacks of three peer-level experts. The Blackback Tortoise slammed down with force, and his head immediately sank into his shoulders as his body crashed heavily to the ground.

From the moment the fight began until he was killed, less than three breaths passed.

It seemed quick, but in reality, three peak Immortal Monarch realm corpses were sacrificed, and one pseudo-deity realm weapon along with two pseudo-deity realm immortal beasts were deployed.

On the entire continent, perhaps only Zhang Xuan could afford such extravagance.

While the middle-aged man was being dealt with, Big Shark, Second Shark, and the clone charged towards Fuchenzi.

Regardless of whether the opponent belonged to the Ascendant Hall or the Deity Temple, since they had revealed their true intentions and attacked Palace Master Du, there would be no holding back or showing mercy.

The clone reached Fuchenzi, embracing him and locking his joints tightly.

Big Shark and Second Shark unleashed a storm of various attacks. At the same moment, Zhang Xuan flicked his wrist, and seven peak Immortal Monarch realm longswords descended like a large silver net.

*Sizzle! Sizzle!* The sword energy whistled like flutes, emitting a mournful sound. Before Fuchenzi could react, his entire body shattered like glass, breaking into pieces of flesh that fell to the ground, staining it with blood.

Having observed Fuchenzi's fighting style, Zhang Xuan already knew the flaws in his techniques. Utilizing the clone's regenerative ability, combined with Big Shark and Second Shark's attacks, he secured victory with a single move.

"Did this guy betray the Ascendant Hall?" Zhang Xuan breathed a sigh of relief, seeing both individuals successfully killed with minimal harm to his side. However, his brows furrowed in thought.

Earlier, at Starfall Palace, he had specifically used the Library of Heaven's Path to observe Fuchenzi, confirming him to be a genuine Ascendant Hall elder. Given this, why would he help the middle-aged man?

Could there have been some transaction between them, or was he an undercover agent from the Deity Temple, infiltrating the Ascendant Hall?

To be honest, he had initially considered leaving them alive, but pseudo-deity cultivation was truly terrifying. If they weren't thoroughly eliminated, unforeseen complications might arise. If they escaped and leaked information, his identity as Liu Yang would likely be compromised.

With Zhang Xuan and Zheng Yang's identities already revealed and the Deity Temple pursuing them, another leaked identity would leave him with no option but to dress as a woman and impersonate Zhao Ya!

Dismissing these thoughts, he glanced down, confirming that both the middle-aged man and Fuchenzi had been killed in his ambush. Zhang Xuan then cupped his fists towards the heavily injured Palace Master Du.

"Palace Master Du, I am Liu Yang, the new Sect Master of Seven Stars Pavilion! Don't worry, I'll help treat you..."

Palace Master Du was severely injured by Fuchenzi's sneak attack; without swift treatment, she might die.

As he spoke, he flipped his wrist, and a jade bottle appeared. Just as he was about to hand it over, Palace Master Du lunged at him with a longsword.

"Huh?" Zhang Xuan was startled, recoiling involuntarily. Just as he was about to question her, Palace Master Du transformed into a cloud of mist and vanished instantly, as if teleporting into thin air.

"Palace Master Du?"

Knowing she must have used a special escape technique, Zhang Xuan quickly called out.

However, she was incredibly fast and had already vanished, impossible to locate.

"She must have been terrified by being framed..."

Zhang Xuan shook his head helplessly, a bitter smile on his face.

Palace Master Du was likely traumatized by Fuchenzi's betrayal, making her wary that he, too, might be a Deity Temple imposter.

After all, Seven Stars Pavilion and Starfall Palace didn't have a particularly good relationship, yet he had taken such a massive risk to save her, even deploying a pseudo-deity realm weapon and four pseudo-deity realm immortal beasts...

To say she wasn't suspicious would be untrue.

After all, among the Six Great Sects, none could instantly field so many pseudo-deities except for the Ascendant Hall and the Deity Temple.

But... the altar is still here...

Just moments ago, she was willing to sacrifice her life for this item, so why has she abandoned it now?

With a helpless expression, Zhang Xuan turned and walked towards the recently slain middle-aged man. He removed the ring from his finger and directly refined it. With a thought, the altar that had previously emitted flames appeared before him.

The flames continued to burn, as if communicating with deities, and a soul-shaking aura continuously surged from above.

Zhang Xuan frowned.

If this object were burning outside, emitting such power, it would make one feel as though a deity could descend at any moment. But inside a storage ring, it felt like a burning candle placed in a sealed glass cup: not only did it not extinguish, but it burned even more fiercely.

"Extinguish!"

With a gentle flick of his finger, the flames extinguished. Illuminated by his Eye of Insight, Zhang Xuan carefully examined the altar before him — an object capable of communicating with deities and eagerly sought by the Deity Temple itself.

Similar to the altar used by the Spirit Tribe and Emperor Chen Yong, it exuded a sense of ancient stillness and felt cold to the touch. When his finger brushed against it, Zhang Xuan paused, then couldn't help but let out a wry chuckle.

"I didn't expect to be fooled by this fellow..."

He shook his head.

He had intended to discover the true value of the altar, only to find it was fake...

Fuchenzi and the middle-aged man had conspired to severely injure Palace Master Du, creating quite a spectacle. Yet, after all that, it turned out Palace Master Du herself was also putting on an act, fiercely defending a fake altar.

However, this altar was indeed crafted with remarkable realism; even the Eye of Insight couldn't see through it. Without the aid of the Library of Heaven's Path, even pseudo-deity realm experts might not have discerned its flaws.

"Master... that should be divine blood on the surface!"

Big Shark approached.

Zhang Xuan looked at the altar and indeed saw a faint, dark red pattern on its surface, from which the soul-shaking sound emanated.

He took out the pendant, held it near the pattern, and again felt a sensation of scorching heat emanating from it.

"It's divine blood..."

Zhang Xuan exhaled.

No wonder he couldn't discern the falsity of this altar, and two pseudo-deities fought desperately for it, even exposing themselves. It turned out divine blood had been used to engrave the patterns, making it so incredibly realistic that no one could detect the deception!

"This one is fake, so... where is the real one?"

His brows furrowed.

Palace Master Du desperately protected the fake altar to draw the Deity Temple's attention. So, where was the real one hidden?

"Never mind this for now. Let's find Palace Master Du first; only she holds the true information about Luo Ruoxi..."

With a flick of his wrist, he stored the altar and the two pseudo-deity realm corpses. Zhang Xuan then, accompanied by his four sacred beasts and clone, swiftly flew in the direction where the escape light had vanished.

"Palace Master Du is severely wounded and shouldn't have gone far. Help me search for her!"

Following his command, the four sacred beasts and the clone split into five search directions.

The area was riddled with ruins and countless hiding spots. Searching alone would take an unknown amount of time; with more people, there was greater strength. It was best to find her quickly and then depart.

"Master..."

In less than three minutes, the Blackback Tortoise appeared and pointed in a direction.

Following it closely, he arrived at a spot. Under the illumination of his Eye of Insight, Zhang Xuan indeed noticed something amiss.

Although no direct traces were left, the spiritual energy in this area was noticeably denser than elsewhere, and it felt as though it had been completely refined.

"She must be nearby. Her injuries are too severe for her to control the power within her, causing it to dissipate..."

Zhang Xuan nodded.

Palace Master Du had been struck at a vital point by the sneak attack, and her cultivation was already spiraling out of control. Although she had hidden herself well and suppressed the effects commendably, she was likely nearing her breaking point. Her true qi could become uncontrollable at any moment, leading to total collapse and death.

Therefore, the immediate priority, above all else, was to find and rescue her.

Otherwise, all their efforts would be in vain.

Having located traces, the clone and several great immortal beasts flew over concurrently.

The aura of decay in this area was even more potent than before. It was foreseeable that any injury sustained here would lead to more severe corrosion, making recovery difficult.

"Searching like this could take forever. Investigating the movement of the decay aura should make it much easier..."

After a careful scan of the surroundings revealed nothing, Zhang Xuan called out.

"Clone, come here!"

The clone frowned and approached.

"Don't move..."

Zhang Xuan drew the Wutong Sword and thrust it fiercely.

*Thud!* A large hole appeared in the clone's chest.

"Circle the area. Wherever the corrosion accelerates, it indicates a dense presence of the aura of decay..."

Zhang Xuan instructed.

"???" The clone was exasperated.

"Why stab me when you want to find the flow of the decay aura? You could stab yourself, or any of the immortal beasts here!"

"I can't recover from injuries on my own, but you can..."