Chapter 2088: The Headquarters of the Divine Temple

She first learned of this young man from the Spirit God.

At the time, she found it strange—how could a mere mortal from the lower realm be worthy of the Spirit God's favor, even becoming her lover?

Later, summoned by Emperor Chenyong, she took the opportunity to descend with her will. Although she still found him unremarkable, she approved of his actions and brought Wu Chen up.

Afterward, learning that he had entered the Abandoned Continent and become the sect master of the Lingyun Sword Sect in such a short time, she was utterly astonished.

Only then did she understand why the Spirit God had taken a liking to him.

She rushed to find him but missed him completely.

Later, pressured by the Divine Temple, she fled with the altar using various methods, only to be discovered by that Hall Master Kong and ultimately captured here.

She thought she would never see him again, but unexpectedly... he had come here, disguised as one of their false gods.

With a faint smile, Zhang Xuan summoned the Tongshang Sword into his palm: "Please step back, Palace Master Du!"

Du Qingyuan knew this was not the time for reminiscing; she stepped back and raised her wrist.

Zhang Xuan took a deep breath, flicked his longsword, and sword aura howled forth.

Clang, clang, clang, clang!

With four consecutive sounds, the iron chains and ankle shackles were all severed and fell to the ground.

These restraints could trap a false god; though not quite at the false god level, they were close. But with Zhang Xuan's current strength, even false god-level weapons were not difficult to break.

"Drink it!"

He cut the iron chain, took out a jade bottle of little yellow chicken bathwater, and handed it over.

Du Qingyuan opened her mouth and drank it. Moments later, her beautiful eyes went wide.

She knew well the extent of her injuries, and with her end approaching, she had thought her cultivation was nearly ruined, with no hope of recovery. She never dreamed that a single bottle of his liquid would solve all problems and completely restore her body.

Zhang Xuan said, "No time to explain. Let's go quickly!"

"Alright!" Du Qingyuan also knew this was hardly a good place for explanations. She circulated her immortal power, cleaned off the disheveled state of her appearance, and restored the dignity and looks befitting a sect leader. Only then did she breathe a sigh of relief and follow behind.

Seeing that this woman, even in such a situation, still cared about looking good or not, Zhang Xuan looked helpless and pushed open the door to leave the room.

The surroundings were still empty, without a single figure.

With the person rescued, he was too lazy to continue the disguise, restored his original appearance, and continued walking inward.

"The exit is that way..."

Du Qingyuan frowned.

The deeper they went, the greater the danger. This Zhang Xuan might not know the strength of that Hall Master Kong, but she knew it very well—unmatched at the same level, comparable to a deity!

Not only that, but he also had over a dozen subordinates at the demigod level. Once discovered, it would be too late to escape.

"Let's not rush to find the exit for now... Let's go find that Hall Master Kong first!"

Zhang Xuan smiled.

Having an avatar and having comprehended the [Heaven Has Compassion] technique and sword art, as long as that Master Kong hadn't broken through to the divine level, he wouldn't be afraid even facing him head-on, let alone caring about other small fry.

The reason he had disguised himself earlier was fear of being discovered and causing chaos, and also to first kill Palace Master Du or take her hostage.

Without this worry, he no longer feared anything.

"Looking for Hall Master Kong?"

Du Qingyuan was startled: "We're no match..."

Before she could finish, footsteps sounded, and then a puzzled voice came over: "Who are you? Ah, it's Palace Master Du, how did you get out? Someone..."

The voice echoed throughout the hall.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Wind whistled as a series of figures appeared in front and behind, blocking both the way forward and the way back.

"Thirteen false gods..."

Her delicate body swayed, and Du Qingyuan nearly fainted.

If they had quietly escaped just now, nothing would have happened, but this guy insisted on looking for some Hall Master Kong... Now, thirteen false gods, each no weaker than herself, how could they fight?

Having narrowly escaped death, she had just felt relieved when in an instant she fell into despair again.

Spirit God, you never said that the person you liked was so unreliable...

"So it's Sect Leader Zhang... Since you're here, don't leave!"

A false god in the crowd recognized him, his eyes lighting up, and the others also showed fervent interest.

They knew very well how much the Sect Leader valued this Zhang Xuan; if they could capture him, the reward would be enough to last a lifetime!

Clatter!

The false gods each drew their weapons, and in an instant, the hall was filled with boiling killing intent.

Every hair on her body stood on end, Du Qingyuan pressed against his back: "I can at most hold off two... I saw just now, I can tear an opening right in front of me; you find a way to escape... I definitely won't make it out!"

Although her injuries had healed, the damage she had suffered was too great; her soul had not fully recovered, and with the altar destroyed, her strongest means were lost.

Being able to block two opponents of the same level was already impressive.

"Escape?"

"Yes! I'm already very grateful that you came to save me, but... the Star Chasing Palace still needs you, the continent still needs you; you must not act on impulse..."

Du Qingyuan's eyes showed determination.

"Well... I don't seem to be acting on impulse!"

Seeing her like this, Zhang Xuan shook his head with a wry smile.

"Everyone attack together; when the Sect Leader returns and sees we've captured this man alive, he will surely reward us..."

Seeing that the two, instead of fleeing, were whispering to each other under siege, the leading false god let out a loud shout.

Whoosh!

The crowd could no longer hold back and moved in unison.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

Streams of power crisscrossed from all directions, like cages and shackles, instantly enveloping the hall and sealing off every possible escape route!

"Zhang Xuan, run..."

Not expecting these people to coordinate so perfectly at the first move, blocking the passage she had just identified, Du Qingyuan's eyes reddened. With a loud shout, she flipped her jade hand and was about to charge forward.

Suddenly, her vision blurred, and the overwhelming power vanished. She then saw Zhang Xuan, somehow already among the crowd, holding a man by the neck, lifting him in his hand, and walking slowly back: "Where is your Hall Master Kong?"

It was the very leader who had shouted for bloodshed.

"He... he... went out..." the leader stammered, drenched in sweat and trembling incessantly.

"Not here?"

Zhang Xuan frowned.

He had thought Master Kong was here, planning to snatch back the golden gas. Not here... then where had he gone?

If he allowed the other party to absorb it and become a god, the consequences would be unimaginable—there would truly be no way to deal with him.

"I don't believe you..."

With a gentle squeeze, the leader immediately stopped breathing. At the same time, Zhang Xuan extended a thought, sweeping over him. After a moment, he frowned again: "He really isn't here..."

He naturally didn't believe the other's words; as he killed him, he performed a soul search.

The result matched what the man had said—this Hall Master Kong had not returned since leaving just now.

While Zhang Xuan was displeased, Du Qingyuan nearby stood dumbfounded, her face full of disbelief.

Just moments ago, everyone was murderously ready to strike, and she had thought she was doomed. How... in the blink of an eye, had he captured and killed this leader?

Most importantly, why hadn't any of the others rushed over?

"They..."

She couldn't help pointing.

The remaining twelve pseudo-god realm experts, who had been so murderous, now stood motionless, their eyes filled with intense terror, as if they had seen something utterly horrifying.

"What's wrong?"

Dropping the leader's corpse, Zhang Xuan took out a handkerchief and wiped his hands.

"Why don't they rush over..."

Du Qingyuan gritted her teeth and said.

"They're all dead by my hand, so of course they won't rush over..."

Zhang Xuan laughed in spite of himself.

He had thought it was something serious, but it was just this.

Since they had made their move, he hadn't held back. He had used "Heart Like a Double Silk Net, with a Thousand Thousand Knots," and in almost no time, the twelve had stopped breathing.

As for the leader, he had deliberately spared him to ask questions.

"Dead?"

Du Qingyuan was stunned. She approached a pseudo-god and gently touched him.

Thud!

The corpse fell to the ground.

The ground shook, and the remaining eleven also collapsed in unison.

Du Qingyuan pinched her arm hard, wondering if she was seeing things.

When had he made his move?

How had he done it?

Thirteen pseudo-gods, all slain in an instant... how was that possible?

Had this guy really only arrived in the Abandoned Continent about a month ago?

How did he cultivate?

She felt a pang in her chest...

Earlier, she had thought he was too far from the Spirit God to be worthy of her. In one month, he had gone from the Fourth Level of Ancient Sage to this level, where even pseudo-gods were no match... Would he be as strong as the Spirit God in another month?

Why did it feel like her own cultivation, compared to his, was like a turtle crawling?

"Wait a moment..."

She turned to look at the young man, wanting to see what he was capable of, only to find him walking cheerfully to each pseudo-god corpse, stripping the storage rings from their fingers.

After finishing, he collected all the corpses into his own storage ring.

"Not bad, didn't expect the pills to be enough just like that... The people of the Divine Communication Hall really are rich!"

After examining all the rings, Zhang Xuan's eyes lit up.

Earlier, he had been agonizing over where to find the remaining seventy top-grade Yuan Force Pills. Now, having killed fifteen pseudo-god realm experts here, not only had he gathered enough, but he also had several dozen extra.

The people of the Divine Communication Hall were truly wealthy!

"Hall Master Kong isn't here, and there's no danger. Wait here while I look around elsewhere..."

Without further ado, Zhang Xuan flickered and vanished from the spot.

"Look around elsewhere? Look for what?"

Du Qingyuan stood bewildered, at a loss.

Ignoring the confused Palace Master Du, Zhang Xuan was making his way along the hall's corridor toward the innermost room.

From the soul search just now, he had confirmed that this was indeed the headquarters of the Divine Communication Hall, while the place Master Kong had taken him to earlier was merely a branch hall!

Since it was the headquarters, it must hold many treasures. Since he was here, and Master Kong had taken his golden gas, he had to recoup his losses somehow—he couldn't just take the hit for nothing!

So, during the soul search, he had specifically looked and indeed found that the Divine Communication Hall headquarters had a treasure vault.

And that was exactly where he was heading now.