Chapter 2116: Re-entering the City of Empty Traps

The Four Great Sects have all seen new Pseudo-God realm experts emerge. Across the continent, people of this level are also increasing. It was initially believed that cultivation would flourish, reaching new heights, but if they cannot withstand Hall Master Kong... everything will become history.

"There really isn't, unless..." Du Qingyuan paused.

"Unless what?"

"We can find the source of the decaying qi in the City of Decaying Emptiness!"

After pondering for a moment, Zhang Xuan frowned. "The source of the decaying qi? What's the point of finding that?"

He had visited the City of Decaying Emptiness once, and the decaying qi inside was terrifying. Even his Heaven's Path Qi couldn't withstand it; he could only rely on the little yellow chick's bathwater for defense. If a Pseudo-God realm expert touched this, they couldn't dispel it. If he hadn't been there, Jiang Yao would surely have turned to dust by now... What good would finding it do?

"Legend has it that the City of Decaying Emptiness... is not a city of the Forsaken Continent, but a city that fell from the God Realm! It contains the corpses of deities!"

"Fell from the God Realm?" Zhang Xuan was taken aback.

Han Jianqiu and the others exchanged glances, unable to believe it. The City of Decaying Emptiness had always been a forbidden land for all cultivators, with almost no one daring to set foot there. This was the first time they had heard such a claim.

"Yes," Du Qingyuan said, "this city suddenly descended from the sky thousands of years ago! At that time, countless people were drawn to venture in, but the result... as you should know, they all died! Almost no one knows about this matter. I also heard the Spirit God mention it inadvertently..."

"The Spirit God?" Zhang Xuan's body tensed.

"Yes, when she heard about the City of Decaying Emptiness, she was silent for a while, then inadvertently said it was a city that fell during a battle in the God Realm... There are many corpses of deities inside! As for the decaying qi, it is the divine qi emanating from the decaying corpses of deities, which was polluted by the unique forces of the Forsaken Continent and thus formed! If we can find the source, perhaps... we can find unpolluted divine qi, allowing people to successfully break through!"

"This... is divine qi?" Zhang Xuan was stunned. With a flick of his finger, a wisp of decaying qi appeared at his fingertip.

When he went to the City of Decaying Emptiness, he collected a lot of this and used the opportunity to kill a Pseudo-God realm elder from the Hall of Divinity. All this time, although he found it strange, he never thought it was special. But listening to Du Qingyuan's explanation, and taking a closer look, he indeed noticed the difference. This thing, even his Pseudo-God realm Heaven's Path True Qi, couldn't completely dissolve it. It would cause rapid decay in anyone who was injured by it, and there was no cure. Its level was clearly far superior to that of beings in the Firmament. Could it be... this is the effect of divine qi? Thinking about it carefully, it was indeed possible. Only deities would possess such an ability, to make even peak Pseudo-God realm experts unable to withstand it.

"This was just something the Spirit God said casually. Whether it's true or not, it's impossible to confirm. Even if it is, it's hard to say if the source is unpolluted. What's more, this thing is too terrifying; if you touch it, you will surely die... So, even though I know this information, I have never verified it!" Du Qingyuan continued.

"No need to verify. If she said it, it's very likely true..." Zhang Xuan nodded. The decaying qi was indeed somewhat special and puzzling, but to confirm it based solely on this would certainly be wrong. Yet, he... trusted Luo Ruoxi!

After pondering for a moment, Zhang Xuan instructed, "Since this is a path, Palace Master Du and I will go to the City of Decaying Emptiness now... You all stay here and make all necessary preparations!"

If this was a method to break through to a deity, he had to try. Even without the pressure from Master Kong, he would risk it purely for the sake of breakthrough. Only by breaking through to a deity could he escape the shackles of the Firmament and enter the God Realm! Only then could he find Luo Ruoxi, who had left...

"Rest assured, Teacher, we will definitely make ample preparations..." Han Jianqiu's gaze was firm.

"Teacher?" Palace Master Du was stunned. "Han Jianqiu, what did you just call him? You... took Zhang Xuan as your teacher?"

After she appeared, everyone had been asking about breaking through to a deity. Zhang Xuan was low-key and unwilling to say much, so until now, she had been unaware.

"Yes," Han Jianqiu laughed. "Kui Xiao, Qin Yuan, and I have all taken the Sect Master as our teacher, becoming fellow disciples..." If he hadn't taken him as a teacher, he would never have gained his current strength, breaking through to the peak of the Pseudo-God realm in one fell swoop.

"All of you took him as your teacher?" Palace Master Du was dumbfounded. The former Sect Masters of the Three Great Sects, the most peak figures on the continent, had actually taken this young man, who was only about twenty years old, as their teacher... How did this feel so unbelievable?

"Actually, if you're willing, you can also take me as your teacher, I don't mind!" Seeing her full of shock, Zhang Xuan smiled. His only goal was the Heaven's Path Record. Besides, they were just ordinary disciples, not direct disciples, so it didn't matter how many there were.

"No need..." Shaking her head, Palace Master Du politely refused. It wasn't that she didn't want to, but that she found it truly difficult to accept.

"Let's go!" Knowing that she wasn't willing and thus couldn't generate a Heaven's Path Record, Zhang Xuan said no more and immediately flew towards the City of Decaying Emptiness, with Palace Master Du following closely behind.

Having comprehended Heaven's Heart, not only did his strength increase, but his speed also became faster. Whereas it previously took half a day to reach, they now arrived in just two hours. They entered smoothly. With their previous familiarity, they quickly arrived at the spot where he had rescued Jiang Yao.

"We need to find the center of the City of Decaying Emptiness... This isn't it yet!" Glancing around, Du Qingyuan knew that although she hadn't re-entered since learning that information, the successive ancestors of the Stargazer Palace knew a great deal about this place. It was precisely because of this that Jiang Yao was able to lure Floating-Substance and others into a trap, almost getting them killed. They continued forward.

Under the enhancement of the Eye of Insight and his extraordinary strength, the decaying beasts formed by the decaying qi were no match, easily defeated with a casual strike, so they encountered no dangers along the way. Following behind the young man, Du Qingyuan saw the strange things she dared not approach being casually killed and couldn't help but sigh with emotion. The strength of the person before her was truly immense; she couldn't fathom how he had cultivated! In just over a month, he went from Ancient Sage Fourth Layer to this realm... She wouldn't dare to dream of such a thing.

"Searching like this, it's impossible to find the source!" After flying for another half an hour, still finding nothing, Zhang Xuan stopped.

"Then what should we do?" Du Qingyuan frowned. Although she knew a fair bit about this place, she hadn't delved deeply into it. As for how to find the source, she was completely lost. Otherwise, she wouldn't have been wandering around aimlessly with him, at a loss for what to do.

"Like this..." After pondering for a moment, Zhang Xuan had an idea. His clone appeared before him. With his current strength, there were few in the Firmament who could harm him, so even if his clone's existence was revealed, it wouldn't matter much.

"A clone?" Du Qingyuan was momentarily stunned, a little perplexed. She couldn't find it herself. Could it be that this clone had a better method?

"Stand still!" Ignoring the bewildered Palace Master Du, Zhang Xuan took out the Wutong Robe Sword and stabbed straight at it. Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle! As soon as it was injured, the surrounding decaying qi gathered towards it. Previously imperceptible decaying qi immediately revealed its form.

"If this is the source, more decaying qi will gather towards it; otherwise, less will!" Zhang Xuan explained his objective.

"That's right!" Palace Master Du's eyes lit up. Like a water current, facing the flow, the pressure would be greater, and going against it, the pressure would be less. This way, the source could be determined. Of course, such subtle differences would be imperceptible to ordinary people, but for two Pseudo-Gods, it was quite obvious.

"That way!" Quickly discerning the direction from which the decaying qi originated, Du Qingyuan pointed.

Zhang Xuan nodded and, taking his clone with him, quickly flew in that direction. After flying a short distance, whenever they found they couldn't determine the location, he would stab his clone with a sword. After doing this seven or eight times consecutively, his clone was nearly driven to madness from the repeated stabs, and a decaying hall appeared in their sight.

Before this hall collapsed, its height and breadth were unknown. Even now, as ruins, it still stretched for over ten li, with broken bricks and tiles displaying a grayish-black color. There was no vegetation here; it was barren, and gusts of chilling wind occasionally blew through, sending shivers down one's spine.

"Is this it?" Frowning slightly, Du Qingyuan was somewhat skeptical. Although the decaying qi was strange, it could still give rise to some formidable vegetation. But this place had nothing, making it seem unlike the source.

"It should be..." Zhang Xuan nodded. His clone's wound was still oozing blood, and judging from the gathering decaying qi, the so-called source had to be this place, nowhere else.

"Then let's hurry and search!" Du Qingyuan stopped talking nonsense. Her body flickered as she flew along the ruins, carefully observing everything, afraid of missing any detail.

Zhang Xuan was not in a hurry. Instead, he exchanged glances with his clone and sensed again. A moment later, he stopped at a pile of broken tiles and rubble. Spreading his five fingers, he abruptly lifted downwards. Countless ruins tumbled upwards, revealing a broken, uneven ground beneath. The ground was covered in streaks of dark black patterns, as if stained by something.

Descending, Zhang Xuan's Wutong Robe Sword moved, digging up a stone from the ground. Its interior seemed permeated by blackness, completely dark, shining with a peculiar light, as if it wanted to seize someone's soul, giving off an eerie and monstrous feeling. He gently touched it with his finger. A book appeared.

"Divine Blood Stone, formed by the immersion of a deity's blood..." There was a detailed record on it.

"It really is this thing..." He nodded, then Zhang Xuan frowned. When he saw them, he felt the patterns looked familiar, but the color was off. So he dug out a piece to study, and through the Library, it was indeed confirmed. If this was Divine Blood Stone, then... these dark black patterns were precisely etched by flowing divine blood!

It's just... this kind of Divine Blood Stone, why does it feel so rough, completely different from what Luo Ruoxi's blood formed? Could it be... that even divine blood itself has different grades?