Chapter 2112: Again Seeing Palace Lord Du

No wonder that guy didn't make a move after escaping. I thought he was trying to recover his strength, but it turns out he was waiting for me. His goal was... this divine energy!

It's even possible that when he first captured me and tried to extract something, he already knew it wouldn't succeed, and deliberately set up a trap, waiting for me to come.

As for why he didn't enter this hall himself... there must be a special reason. He either couldn't enter, or he couldn't get through!

If this person is the fake Kong shi, then the spiritual presence inside the hall was left by the true Kong shi. The true Kong shi must have some means to prevent the fake one from entering, just as my clone couldn't enter this hall.

"Could it be..." A thought emerged, and Zhang Xuan's heart stirred. He glanced at his clone not far away, who had a smug look on its face, showing no embarrassment or understanding from being rejected by the divine hall. The clone only regretted not being able to show off. Only then did Zhang Xuan suppress this thought and breathe a sigh of relief.

"Now is not the time to think about these things. I can't let this guy escape. Once he truly refines the divine energy, I won't be able to stop him..." Zhang Xuan suppressed these thoughts, a worried expression on his face.

This Kong shi's combat strength is already on par with mine. Once he breaks through and becomes a true deity, not only will I be unable to stop him, but even a multitude of pseudo-gods will be no match for him!

Before, the heavens lacked the power for breakthroughs. Now, with this golden-yellow energy, a breakthrough is inevitable.

I must find a way to stop him!

But... he tore through space and escaped. Aside from where he went, I also need a way to leave this place!

The altar was destroyed, and the passage back was lost. Originally, if I obtained the golden-yellow energy and broke through to a deity, I could easily tear through space. But now... that path is completely blocked!

"This Kong shi can traverse space. He must have used the Grand Profound Mirror from the Profound Mirror Sect and the Ethereal Boots from the Ethereal Immortal Sect!"

He recalled the method the fake Kong shi used to escape.

Although the Ethereal Boots are not pseudo-god level artifacts, they possess a special ability to allow one to traverse and break through space. Combined with the Grand Profound Mirror, they even allowed him to evade me!

He possesses such items, but I don't. If I don't find a solution quickly, there could truly be widespread devastation.

Although anxious, he remained calm. He slowly deliberated on the events of the past few days.

"Kong shi obtained the character 'God' here, and the founding patriarch of the Soaring Cloud Sword Pavilion also obtained half a character here. This indicates that this is the true Divine Hall... The one I entered before was very likely a fake!"

Before entering this current hall, I might have thought that the place where I was besieged by ten pseudo-god realm experts was the true Divine Hall. But now, it appears this is the real one!

That one... perhaps it was just a place where that Kong shi deliberately lured me into a trap, or even the true headquarters of the Through-God Hall!

Otherwise, how could he easily enter a folded space?

And how could the Through-God Hall headquarters he mentioned be completely empty? With explosive formations already set up in advance... It clearly doesn't make sense!

If this is the Divine Hall, then... thousands of years ago, the Heaven-Connecting Bridge connected to this very place. That's why Kong shi and the founding patriarch of the Sword Pavilion were able to enter successfully!

Otherwise, without an altar and with the passage blocked, how could these two have seized the 'God' character?

How could they have returned to the heavens and established their sects!

"If this is the Divine Hall, then the Heaven-Connecting Bridge must exist..."

He observed carefully.

The place where the altar had been destroyed was utterly empty, as if suspended in a void. Darkness surrounded it, devoid of any life.

His Eye of Insight scanned all around him, but found no trace of the Heaven-Connecting Bridge.

Had he guessed wrong?

He circled again, still finding no passage. It was as if the palace before him was isolated and floating in the void. Zhang Xuan's face was filled with helplessness, unsure what to do, when his eyes suddenly fell upon two pillars of the hall that extended into the void.

He had seen these two pillars as soon as he arrived.

They pierced into the void with no end in sight. Crucially, he didn't know what material they were made of, but they were at least pseudo-god level. In any case, with his strength, he couldn't destroy them.

"Could it be... these are the so-called Heaven-Connecting Bridge?"

There were no passages elsewhere; he had checked several times. Perhaps these two seemingly endless pillars were the key!

"I'll go up and see!"

He put his clone back into his storage ring. With a flicker of his body, he pressed against the pillar and climbed up.

He didn't know how tall the pillars were, but Zhang Xuan continuously ascended, watching the palace grow smaller and smaller until it became a mere dot.

He climbed for a full two hours, eventually breaking through a barrier. A bright light appeared in the dark void, and immediately Zhang Xuan felt space reverse. What was originally an upward climb suddenly became a descent; he was holding onto the pillar, feeling as if he could fall from the air at any moment.

He had experienced this situation before, back when the Heaven-Connecting Stone entered the Heaven-Connecting Bridge. Different times and spaces yielded different sensations.

At the Divine Hall, it felt like he was climbing upward, but now it seemed he was descending, with the Divine Hall truly above him.

He turned his body and looked down.

A majestic palace appeared in his sight.

"This is... the Divine Hall I entered before?"

He recognized it at a glance.

It was the one he had previously reached via the Heaven-Connecting Bridge, where he had encountered numerous pseudo-god realm experts, fought a great battle, and was rescued by that Kong shi.

"So these two palaces are connected..."

Only now did he realize that these two pillars were directly connected to the top of the palace. He had previously thought they were merely decorative, but it turned out this hall was not the end.

Only by climbing along the pillars could one enter the true Divine Hall.

"That Kong shi must have returned here..."

His eyes lit up. Suppressing his aura, Zhang Xuan arrived above the palace.

The fake Kong shi had rescued him here. If what he said was true, and those people from before were his subordinates... then this palace was the fake Kong shi's lair!

If he truly wanted to break through after obtaining the golden-yellow energy, he would likely be here!

He needed to find a way to take the energy back. Once he broke through... the opponent would no longer be a concern.

He quietly slid down the palace wall and entered the hall.

He didn't know if it was because they knew no one could enter, or if they believed no one would dare intrude, but there were no guards inside the hall. Zhang Xuan quietly entered.

The great hall was vast and empty. Sticking close to the wall, Zhang Xuan walked inward, just about to search for Kong shi's whereabouts, when footsteps sounded.

"The Sect Master has ordered that person can be executed!"

Two figures walked over, conversing as they went.

There was basically no one here, so they had no need to hide anything or be cautious.

"Execute?"

"Yes, we used her before because we wanted to use her power to chant spells and activate the altar. Now, as long as the Sect Master breaks through to a deity, he won't need the altar and will be capable of anything! Whether she lives or dies no longer matters..."

"That's true. Once the Sect Master becomes a god, we'll surely benefit greatly. If we're obedient, perhaps we'll also have a chance!"

"Indeed, let's hurry up and do it..."

The sound of their discussion faded into the distance.

"Chant spells, activate the altar? Could it be... Palace Master Du?" Zhang Xuan raised an eyebrow.

Palace Master Du was captured. The last time he saw her, she seemed to be in this hall, so it appeared she was still here.

Moreover, judging by their tone, they intended to harm her.

"I'll save her first..."

His eyes narrowed. Too lazy to waste words, he flickered behind the two figures, and the Wutong Robe Sword flashed.

Sword energy diffused outwards.

These two pseudo-god realm experts didn't even have time to react before their heads were severed and fell to the ground. Their bodies were then simultaneously placed into his storage ring.

At the peak of Immortal Lord, ordinary pseudo-gods could be easily killed with a single sword strike. Now, he had not only broken through but also created sword techniques that surpassed the Way of Heaven. Assassinating them was effortless, creating not a ripple of movement, nor even a spiritual energy fluctuation.

After killing them, he changed into the appearance of one of the guards. With a grab, he put on the guard's clothes from the ring. No matter how one looked, he was identical, without any flaws.

With his disguise complete, Zhang Xuan lifted his foot and continued walking forward.

Although this palace was vast, it didn't have many halls, and the direction they took was very specific. Even without interrogation, he knew where Palace Master Du was being held.

Walking straight ahead, he indeed saw a sealed room appear before him. With a flick of his wrist, the keys from the two men appeared in his palm. He gently unlocked it, pushed the door, and walked inside.

He then saw a middle-aged woman sitting in the room, her hands and feet bound by iron chains. Her hair was disheveled, her spirit was listless, and her aura was very weak; she was severely injured.

At this moment, Du Qingyuan was already conscious, completely different from the unconscious state he had seen her in before.

"Is he going to kill me?"

Seeing Zhang Xuan enter, and thinking he was one of the pseudo-gods, Du Qingyuan showed no expression on her face, seemingly already aware of her fate.

Zhang Xuan didn't answer, and closed the door behind him.

"Do it. The altar was destroyed, so I knew I had lost my value, and there was only death awaiting me..."

Du Qingyuan scoffed.

The altar was a treasure she had refined, so she could naturally sense its destruction.

Their purpose in capturing her was to better use the altar. Now that even this treasure was broken, there was no doubt her death was imminent; there was no reason left to live.

"Since I'm going to die anyway, I hope I can have some dignity..."

Du Qingyuan's expression was somewhat despondent.

She had never expected to dominate the world her entire life, only to die in such a small room.

She raised her hand, removed her hairpin, smoothed her dark, beautiful hair, tidied her clothes slightly, and slowly stood up. She looked at Zhang Xuan before her: "Do it!"

After speaking, she put her hands behind her back, closed her eyes, and awaited death. Just as she believed there was no escape, a faint voice reached her ears.

"Hello, Palace Master Du, we meet again!"

She quickly opened her eyes and immediately saw that the pseudo-god before her had changed his appearance, becoming a young man of around twenty.

"Zhang Xuan?"

Du Qingyuan's body stiffened, and in an instant, she trembled with excitement.