Chapter 2049: The Sunken City

"An altar?"

Fuchenzi was startled.

The reason the Star-Chasing Palace was feared by other sects was primarily its ability to offer sacrifices to the gods and communicate with them.

For success, the offering was only one part; the altar, as the vessel, was the most indispensable.

The Divine Temple had come to pressure the Star-Chasing Palace, and what they wanted was this very thing!

"This is the foundation of the Star-Chasing Palace. How could we give it to others? The Palace Master deliberately stalled for time and left alone, hoping to find a suitable place to sacrifice to heaven and convey this matter to the gods! Let them decide!"

Chu Yin explained.

"So that's how it is..."

Fuchenzi understood, and Zhang Xuan, hidden behind the beam, also realized.

Earlier, he had wondered why they had the disciples imitate the teacher and where Palace Master Du had gone. So this was the reason.

Now that the Star-Chasing Palace was under the watch of the Divine Temple, it could no longer perform sacrifices. They had to find a hidden place to report this news to heaven. That was why they had Chu Yin disguise herself as Palace Master Du to buy time.

Unfortunately, the experts of the Divine Temple seemed to have already seen through their plan and had sent people to follow Palace Master Du.

"Senior Fuchenzi, my teacher is likely being pursued by the Divine Temple. I beg you to go and rescue her..."

After explaining, Chu Yin knelt down.

"If I can help, I will not refuse..."

Nodding, Fuchenzi then looked over with a serious expression: "But you must first tell me where Palace Master Du went and where she plans to sacrifice! So I can find her and think of a way to save her!"

"This..."

Chu Yin looked at the Grand Elder, and both paused.

The Palace Master's whereabouts were the utmost secret; before leaving, she had specifically instructed that no one be told.

"The Divine Temple has already sensed your intentions. Barring unforeseen circumstances, they have already sent people after her. Palace Master Du is likely in danger. If you still hesitate and refuse to speak frankly, I can do nothing."

Seeing their expressions, Fuchenzi frowned: "If you lose the sect's supreme treasure and, moreover, cause Palace Master Du's death, the entire Star-Chasing Palace will be utterly destroyed..."

The Grand Elder and Chu Yin clenched their fists simultaneously.

They knew he was right.

Losing the supreme treasure would strip the Star-Chasing Palace of its greatest reliance and trump card, just like the Lingyun Sword Pavilion losing its Divine Sword Intent.

Under such circumstances, if Palace Master Du also met with an accident, even if the Star-Chasing Palace wasn't destroyed by the other five major sects, the sea creatures they had offended over the years would surely rush over and annihilate the entire Star-Chasing Island!

Therefore... no matter what, both the sect master and the altar must not be lost!

"Senior Fuchenzi, it's not that we don't trust you, but... the sect master's whereabouts involve too much..." The Grand Elder paused, hesitating.

"In that case, I will no longer involve myself in this matter... At worst, I'll go back and face the Hall Master's punishment!"

With his hands behind his back, Fuchenzi leaped up, about to fly out of the hall.

"Senior, please stay..."

The Grand Elder gritted her teeth.

He was their last hope. If they let him leave, the sect master might really be killed by the Divine Temple.

Fuchenzi stopped and looked at the two.

"Senior... would you mind showing me your identity token?"

The Grand Elder said.

"That's simple!"

Flipping his wrist, Fuchenzi produced a token. On the back were carved the characters "Tong Shen" (Communicating with the Divine), giving off an ethereal, immortal aura with profound artistic conception that even a great calligrapher like Zhang Xuan could not replicate.

"It is indeed the token of a Tong Shen Temple elder..."

The Grand Elder breathed a sigh of relief.

No wonder she was cautious; involving Palace Master Du's life and death, even she could not take it lightly.

"Senior, forgive my offense. It's not that I am overly cautious, but the experts of the Divine Temple are truly too powerful. I had no choice!" Returning the token, the Grand Elder was full of apology.

He had just saved them, and now she was doubting him—it was truly embarrassing.

"No matter... It's only right!" Fuchenzi was unconcerned.

"Thank you for your understanding, Senior!" The Grand Elder nodded and said: "To be honest, if Palace Master Du hasn't been caught up by the Divine Temple, she should have already entered the Sunken City!"

"The Sunken City?"

Fuchenzi was startled: "That place is fraught with danger; normally no one dares to enter casually. Why would Palace Master Du go there?"

Not only was he surprised, but Zhang Xuan was also taken aback.

He had heard of the Sunken City. His disciple Bai Ruanqing's grandfather, Elder Bai Ye, had once entered it and was severely injured, on the verge of death. It was only saved by the gourd bathwater, which led to the master-disciple bond with this disciple.

From his reading, he knew this place was extremely dangerous. Even peak Immortal Lord realm experts who entered would have a ninety percent mortality rate... Why would Palace Master Du go there just for a sacrifice?

It was too dangerous!

"The Sunken City is indeed dangerous, but it is the only place on the continent that can block the Divine Temple's surveillance. Only here can one successfully sacrifice to heaven without being discovered..." the Grand Elder said.

Her reasoning was correct, but there was another reason she didn't mention: the Divine Temple had seen through their plan. The Palace Master had also anticipated this. Outside, she could not defeat the Divine Temple's pseudo-god realm experts, but in the Sunken City, full of dangers, who would live and who would die was uncertain!

Although she too would be in danger, if she could take the Divine Temple's experts down with her, it would be a consolation for the Star-Chasing Palace and not disgrace the ancestors.

"I see..."

Fuchenzi nodded: "Now that I know, I will immediately go to the Sunken City to search. I hope Palace Master Du is still safe!"

With that, he shook his body and flew straight outward, disappearing in the blink of an eye.

"Thank you!"

The Grand Elder and Chu Yin clasped their fists simultaneously.

"Follow and see..."

Moving his body, Zhang Xuan drifted out of the hall like a breeze and flew straight in the direction Fuchenzi had disappeared.

His purpose in coming to the Star-Chasing Palace was to find Du Qingyuan and ask about Luo Ruoxi. Since this Palace Master was likely in the Sunken City, he naturally had to go there too.

If he didn't make it in time and she was killed by someone else, he would truly have no one to turn to.

The Tong Shen Temple elder Fuchenzi was extremely fast. By the time Zhang Xuan came out, he had already vanished, his whereabouts unknown.

"Eye of Clarity!"

The patterns in his eyes writhed, and the traces of airflow left by the recent flight appeared clearly before him.

Zhang Xuan followed closely.

Soon, he left Star-Chasing Island and continued forward. Several more traces appeared before him, as if others were also chasing after Fuchenzi.

"Those five from the Divine Temple... Aren't they injured?"

Counting, there were exactly five traces. Zhang Xuan frowned.

Without a doubt, they were left by those Divine Temple people earlier.

As expected of Divine Temple experts—they pretended to flee injured but actually used some secret technique to secretly follow this Tong Shen Temple elder.

"Pseudo-god realm experts are indeed not foolish..."

He sighed again.

Knowing they couldn't get information from Chu Yin and the Grand Elder, they used their opponent to learn the news—impressive!

Knowing his speed couldn't match that of pseudo-god realm experts, he flipped his wrist, summoned the giant shark, and flew rapidly along the traces.

Half a day later.

After flying another million kilometers, the traces disappeared.

He stopped the giant shark, put it back into the beast pouch, and looked around.

Before him lay a desolate desert, endless yellow sand stretching as far as the eye could see.

"The traces stop here... Could the so-called Sunken City be within this yellow sand?"

Since the traces vanished here, it meant the Sunken City was not far.

He carefully recalled the explanations about the Sunken City from the books.

"The Sunken City, existing for who knows how many years, has been present since the indigenous life of Star-Chasing Island, hidden within the vast desert..."

Soon, he reviewed all the relevant books in his mind.

The Lingyun Sword Pavilion, the Ten Thousand Beasts Gate, and the Seven Stars Tower all had records about this place.

"It should be nearby!"

Looking around, after a moment, he raised his eyebrows and arrived at a small sand dune.

At first glance, this place looked no different from anywhere else, but upon careful observation, it exuded an ancient, timeless aura, as if beneath the yellow sand lay a city that had sunk into the world.

Landing on the sand, he slowly walked around the dune.

Raising his eyebrows, he stomped hard on a spot on the ground.

Whoosh!

A tremendous suction force appeared, and he instantly fell from the air.

Hastily circulating his energy to balance the suction and stabilize himself, he found that before him was no longer a desert but a vast space, as if he had entered another world.

An ancient, dilapidated city appeared in his sight, surrounded by a desolate, age-old atmosphere.

Everything before him was barren, with almost no vegetation. The ground was covered in swamps that seemed ready to swallow anything that touched them, trapping it forever.

"Is this the Sunken City?"

Zhang Xuan's expression turned serious.

He had always heard that this place was extremely strange, and now it seemed indeed so.

He had thought it was a dangerous location like the various sects, but he never dreamed it was a folded space hidden within the desert.

He looked up and surveyed the area.

The path he had taken was gone; even with his sensitivity to space, he could not detect it.

In other words... he was now trapped here, unable to leave!

"Take things as they come. Since... Palace Master Du has come, perhaps I can find her."

Calming his mind, he cast aside negative emotions and looked at the massive city before him, flying straight toward it.

Buzz!

He had not flown far, not yet entered the city, when he felt a bone-chilling cold. Then, he saw a sword beam shoot straight out from the swamp, aiming for his chest.

At the same time, another sword beam fell from above, intersecting with the first, as if to kill him in one strike.

"Ambushed..."

His pupils contracted, and Zhang Xuan's whole body stiffened.

He had only thought of tracking the Divine Temple people, never expecting... that they had already detected him and were waiting here!