Chapter 2078: Du Gongzhuzhai Sacrificial Ceremony

As he spoke, black mist seeped out from the clone's wound, forced out by an internal power, just as before.

“This injury won’t last long on me; the Aura of Decay can’t find it… Ah!”

A pained cry escaped him. He quickly looked down, then saw Zhang Xuan’s sword had pierced him in a different spot. “It’s fine,” Zhang Xuan said. “You can just stab yourself again once the wound heals. I don’t mind the effort.”

“…” Veins throbbed on his forehead. The clone wished he could slap the idiot to death.

However, he eventually stopped, dragging his injured body as he flew around.

As predicted, the Aura of Decay indeed varied in concentration. Before long, he found the densest spot.

This place was not like the previous areas with many ruins; instead, it had the fewest ruins and the most vegetation.

Thick vines coiled around a corner, completely covering a low wall.

Once the location was confirmed, Zhang Xuan breathed a sigh of relief. He paused, then flicked his finger, sending hundreds of formation flags flying out. They landed all around, forming an energy wall resembling a rock face.

After completing this, he floated above the vines and called down, “Palace Master Du, I am the Sect Master of Sevenstar Pavilion, and I have no connection to the Spirit Temple. I know you are down there. Please come out so I can heal you. Otherwise, with the Aura of Decay invading, you won’t last even an incense stick’s worth of time before you might die! By now, your internal organs and meridians must be disintegrating, and you probably can’t even breathe properly, can you?”

Palace Master Du had been severely injured by Floating-Sinker’s sneak attack. It would have been difficult for her to survive even outside, let alone here, where the Aura of Decay would penetrate her skin, seep into her body through her wounds, and completely corrode and destroy her internal energy.

If it wasn’t quickly expelled, even as a Pseudo-God realm expert, she would struggle to last an incense stick’s worth of time.

Boom!

The vines burst open with a whoosh, and Palace Master Du, wearing a bronze mask, flew out. Her body trembled uncontrollably, and she appeared to be in immense pain, yet she remained standing perfectly straight, her eyes filled with cold indifference.

The altar was fake, and she feared that the person before her had already seen through it. Like before, it must be another self-inflicted injury scheme!

The people from the Spirit Temple had no emotions; a few deaths meant nothing as long as their goal was achieved. Moreover, the opponent had endless tricks; even if he appeared to be killed, who knew if it wasn’t just a diversion?

So, even though the other party claimed to want to save her, she still didn’t believe him.

“I’ve already hidden the altar deep within the City of Falling Emptiness, where no one can find it. Don’t dream of exploiting me! If you want to kill me, just do it. I won’t fall for any more self-inflicted injury schemes!” Palace Master Du bit her teeth together.

Zhang Xuan shook his head with a bitter smile, then flicked his finger. A gourd flew over and, under the control of his power, quietly floated before her. “Drink the healing medicine inside,” he said. “Otherwise, you won’t survive even without my intervention!”

Palace Master Du scanned her surroundings, confirming she couldn’t escape quickly. Only then did she take the gourd and tilt her head back to drink.

What he said was true. Her internal organs had already been corroded by the Aura of Decay, and her internal power was almost completely depleted. Her injuries were several times more severe than those Elder Bai Ye had suffered. Had she not reached the Pseudo-God realm and undergone a physical transformation, she would have certainly died long ago.

All escape routes were now blocked by the formation, so she couldn’t leave. Whether it was poison or a miraculous healing elixir, she would drink it. At worst, she could self-destruct… and take them down with her!

After drinking, her face flickered between grim and clear. A moment later, she spat out a mouthful of blood. It wasn’t crimson, but pitch-black. When it landed on the ground, black mist surged out and darted across the surrounding earth, vanishing in an instant.

“This…”

Palace Master Du was filled with disbelief.

She was very familiar with the situation in the City of Falling Emptiness. That was precisely why she had been able to set up formations in advance to disadvantage the Spirit Temple’s people.

This Aura of Decay, once it entered the body, was impervious to medicine. Yet, drinking a bottle of his liquid had resolved it…

“Who exactly are you?”

Palace Master Du looked at him.

It was impossible for someone from the Spirit Temple to resolve her hidden troubles so easily. Furthermore, she had never heard of anyone being able to neutralize the Aura of Decay here. This indicated that, just as he claimed, he was very likely not affiliated with Floating-Sinker and the others.

“I just explained it to you,” Zhang Xuan said, cupping his fists. “I am Liu Yang, Sect Master of Sevenstar Pavilion. I specifically came here to find the Palace Master, not for the so-called altar, but… to ask some questions!”

“Ask questions?”

“Yes. In the Unmanned Sea, when the Palace Master offered sacrifices to the heavens, was the deity you encountered… Luo Ruoxi?” Zhang Xuan asked, full of tension.

Palace Master Du frowned.

Seeing that she was unwilling to speak and still seemed suspicious, Zhang Xuan gently tugged, taking out the pendant from his neck. “You should recognize this…” he said.

Even beasts like the Great Shark recognized it with just a glance. If Palace Master Du had truly summoned Luo Ruoxi to the lower realms, she should be familiar with it.

“This is… the Spirit God’s token?”

Her body trembled, and Palace Master Du took two steps back, full of disbelief. “Are you… Zhang Xuan, Sect Master?”

“Yes!” Zhang Xuan nodded, his disguise vanishing as he reverted to his original appearance.

“Elder Jiang Yao of the Stargazer Palace greets Sect Master Zhang…”

Having confirmed his identity, “Palace Master Du” knelt on the ground.

“Jiang Yao?” Zhang Xuan frowned. The two sides hadn’t fought much earlier, and this Palace Master Du had been critically injured by a sneak attack, so he hadn’t used the Library of Heaven’s Path. He had thought she was the true Palace Master Du. How had she become an Elder?

Taking off the bronze mask, “Palace Master Du” revealed the face of a middle-aged woman. She said, “The Spirit Temple came to coerce us about the altar. The Palace Master had me disguise myself as her and come to the City of Falling Emptiness to find a way to eliminate them. As for her, she hid the altar in a special location, not here!”

“This…” Zhang Xuan blinked.

As expected of a Palace Master and a Pseudo-God realm expert; none of them were simple characters.

He had previously thought the other party had fallen into a trap, but it turned out the Spirit Temple’s people were the ones who had been tricked, led around by the nose by this Palace Master.

It seemed they had known all along that the Grand Elder and the others wouldn’t last long. They deliberately leaked false information to the Spirit Temple, having this Elder bring the fake altar to the City of Falling Emptiness and protect it to the death, thus attracting the Spirit Temple’s attention, while she herself took another path.

“Your cultivation…”

Realizing this, Zhang Xuan frowned.

Didn’t the Six Major Sects only have one quota every hundred years? Why had an unknown Pseudo-God realm expert suddenly appeared in the Stargazer Palace?

“It’s divine blood…”

Jiang Yao replied.

Zhang Xuan suddenly understood.

The deity Du Qingyuan had summoned had casually created the Mysterious Back Turtle and the Three-Headed Flood Dragon with just a few drops of blood. If even marine creatures could successfully break through to the Pseudo-God realm, then the Stargazer Palace Master, as the summoner, must have received a considerable amount of blood.

It was no longer difficult to create Pseudo-God realm experts!

However, this matter was extremely secretive. Jiang Yao, like Elder Feng Qian, must have been part of the Palace Master’s most private secret force, which was why the news had not leaked out and was virtually unknown to anyone.

After all, breaking through to the Pseudo-God realm didn’t require a heavenly tribulation. As long as it was done covertly, it was easy to conceal from others.

“Where is your Palace Master now?”

After asking a few questions, Zhang Xuan frowned, as she didn’t know anything about Luo Ruoxi.

“The Palace Master once said that if Sect Master Zhang of the Soaring Cloud Sword Pavilion inquired, I must tell him the truth, but… I don’t know much myself!” Jiang Yao replied with a bitter smile.

“Sect Master of Soaring Cloud Sword Pavilion?” Zhang Xuan frowned.

He had just assumed she called him Sect Master because of Sevenstar Pavilion. When had he become the Sect Master of Soaring Cloud Sword Pavilion?

If so, didn’t that mean he was now the head of three of the Six Major Sects?

“Yes…” Jiang Yao gave him a puzzled look.

The entire continent knew about this; surely, he wasn’t still unaware?

“Let’s leave here first, then you figure out a way to notify Palace Master Du that Zhang Xuan is looking for her. As for dealing with the Spirit Temple, we’ll plan it out thoroughly!” Zhang Xuan paused before saying.

“Understood!”

Jiang Yao said no more.

The two returned by the original route.

Although the City of Falling Emptiness was strange, one of them was familiar with it, and the other possessed the Eye of Insight. Coupled with their immense strength, they didn’t encounter too many dangers. Half an hour later, they returned to the skies above the desert.

“I’ll contact Palace Master Du!”

Leaving that eerie place, Jiang Yao breathed a sigh of relief.

She had initially thought this mission would be a certain death, with no chance of survival, never expecting to be saved by Sect Master Zhang Xuan.

She took out a communication jade token, set up a special formation for transmitting messages, and a moment later, turned to him. “I’ve sent the message. Now, I’ll return to Stargazer Palace. If all goes well, the Palace Master should also return after receiving news of my safety.”

“Okay!” Zhang Xuan nodded.

The two rode the Great Shark, swiftly flying towards the Stargazer Sea.

In an unknown, distant time and space, Du Qingyuan, Palace Master of the Stargazer Palace, stood before an altar, muttering incantations.

The altar emanated a unique power, and clusters of flames burned continuously on it.

After an unknown period, a phantom figure appeared above the altar.

“Why have you offered this sacrifice…?”

The voice boomed, as if transcending time and space.

“I wish to see the Spirit God…”

Du Qingyuan knelt on the ground.

“The Spirit God has already departed and will not see you…” the phantom figure said indifferently.

After a pause, Du Qingyuan said, “Then I have something to report!”

“The Spirit Temple has moved against the Six Major Sects, and the opening time of the Heavenly Path Bridge has also changed. I suspect something has gone wrong with the Spirit Temple, so I wished to inform the Spirit God…”

Du Qingyuan stated.

“Gone wrong?”

The phantom figure frowned. “Do you have any news? Why would such a phenomenon occur? Do you have any conjectures…?”

“I have some conjectures, but I can’t be certain!”

Du Qingyuan nodded and said, “For the Spirit Temple to suddenly interfere with the mortal world and come to seize the altar, I suspect it’s related to…”

Boom!

Before she could finish speaking, the space nearby warped, and a figure abruptly appeared before her.

With a gentle squeeze, the phantom figure on the altar immediately shattered like foam. Then, the burning altar struggled for a few moments before settling into the other party’s palm.

Seeing that even the phantom deity summoned by the sacrifice couldn’t withstand the opponent’s attack, and even the true altar offered no resistance, Du Qingyuan’s pupils constricted. Just as she thought to act, she saw the newly appeared figure looking at her with a smiling face.

“Palace Master Du… we meet again!”

“It really is you?”

Du Qingyuan’s heart instantly plunged to rock bottom.