Chapter 2129: Breakthrough, Upper Grade Deity

Ignoring the trembling Phosphorus Armor Beast, Zhang Xuan looked carefully and indeed recognized the kneeling girl as Wu Xiaoxiao, whom he had seen before at Lingji Mountain.

This girl seemed to have undergone a complete transformation, washing her marrow and cutting her tendons; her appearance was far more beautiful than before, and her temperament had also changed, so at first glance, he hadn't recognized her.

“She took… the pill I made?”

He soon understood.

Such a change could only be caused by a pill containing the aura of the Heavenly Dao.

After giving instructions, the divine beast flew down and landed in the courtyard.

Sun Qiang came over.

“What’s going on?” Zhang Xuan asked.

“Reporting to Young Master, this person claims to be the city lord of Yeming City, here especially to apologize!” Sun Qiang recounted what had happened in detail.

Zhang Xuan then looked at the city lord, Wu Fangqing.

He was a middle-aged man in his forties, with eyes as deep as the ocean, radiating immense power.

As the Phosphorus Armor Beast had said, he was unfathomable.

“City Lord Wu is too kind; it was just a misunderstanding!” Zhang Xuan smiled slightly.

While he observed the other, Wu Fangqing also looked at him. After a moment, he couldn’t help shaking his head inwardly.

The one before him was truly a peak Lower Grade Deity, with nothing special about him, appearing utterly ordinary. If one didn’t know in advance that he possessed the bloodline of an Emperor Lord, one would never imagine he had such a startling identity.

“Although it was a misunderstanding, it is still unforgivable. This is a small token from my city lord’s mansion; I hope Young Master Zhang will not refuse!”

Wu Fangqing handed over a storage ring.

Unable to fathom why the city lord was acting this way, Zhang Xuan hesitated for a moment but finally nodded.

The other party meant well, and he couldn’t turn away goodwill; besides, he was still in Yeming City and couldn’t afford to sour relations with this man.

Seeing him agree, Sun Qiang quickly stepped forward and took the ring.

“This way, please!”

He invited the two kneeling outside to rise and enter the room. After they took their seats as host and guest, Zhang Xuan looked over with slight confusion: “I am merely an ordinary Lower Grade Deity, new to Yeming City. May I ask… why is the city lord being so courteous?”

This was also something he couldn’t understand.

He had only been in Yeming City for a day and had kept a low profile. Why would the esteemed city lord not only come personally but also offer such generous gifts?

“I have heard about Young Master Zhang from my daughter. You saved her life; no matter how courteous I am, it is only fitting…” Wu Fangqing hurriedly said.

Since the other’s bloodline was so pure yet no news had spread, it indicated he was traveling incognito. Exposing it might cause even greater trouble, so it was better to play dumb.

After asking a few more questions and sensing the other was evasive, Zhang Xuan stopped inquiring.

Soon, the other left.

Opening the storage ring and glancing inside, Zhang Xuan couldn’t help marveling at the city lord’s generosity.

He had directly given ten thousand divine coins in cash, along with an Upper Grade Divine Artifact longsword and countless medicinal herbs.

A mere life-saving grace could never warrant so much.

However, since the other wished to build a connection, he didn’t bother overthinking it. He had Sun Qiang bring over the items Qi Ling’er had brought, and according to a special method, he placed the Mayang Beast Blood and the Green Beast Ancient Herb together.

Returning to his room and setting up seals, Zhang Xuan released his Witch Soul, continuously absorbing the special power from the two treasures.

Since he had found the beast blood, he naturally wanted to quickly advance his soul power and spirit. No matter where he was, strength was paramount; with absolute strength, everything else was insignificant.

Zizi!

The spiritual energy from the two treasures surged into the Witch Soul, visibly increasing his mental strength. Combined with the Spring and Autumn Canon, his progress was rapid.

After an unknown time, with a crisp sound like peeling an egg, the soul’s absorption of spiritual energy stopped. The suspended Green Beast Ancient Herb and Mayang Beast Blood trembled lightly and simultaneously burned to ashes.

“What a pity…” Shaking his head, his soul returned to his physical body, and Zhang Xuan sighed.

He had thought that combining the two treasures would allow his soul to smoothly break through to the Heavenly Deity realm, granting him Heavenly Deity-level strength. But now it seemed he had been too naive.

His Witch Soul, having undergone thunder and heavenly fire along the way, was already exceptionally tough, far beyond ordinary people, making breakthroughs naturally more difficult.

Though the Mayang Beast Blood and Green Beast Ancient Herb were powerful, they only advanced him to the peak of Upper Grade Deity, still some distance from the Heavenly Deity realm.

However, with both his physical body and soul improved, his true qi could also break through without further restraint.

After stabilizing his spirit for a while, he took out a Divine Origin Pill and swallowed it. His true qi circulated along a special route, quickly breaking through the Lower Grade Deity realm.

With an ample supply of Divine Origin Pills, he didn’t fear waste and kept swallowing them, his cultivation rising steadily.

Boom!

Outside, in just a few seconds, his entire aura underwent earth-shaking changes. His cultivation advanced from peak Lower Grade Deity to early Upper Grade Deity.

If not for the fact that the spiritual energy in the Lower Grade Divine Origin Pills was too weak for him, he could have pushed straight to the peak realm.

Even so, the progress was enormous.

Combined with his peak Upper Grade Deity physical body and soul, he could even fight an ordinary Lower Grade Heavenly Deity!

Whether he could defeat Zhang Jia was uncertain.

In less than a day in Yeming City, his true strength had already reached the city’s peak.

“Let’s see if I can create a sword technique suitable for now…”

Consolidating his cultivation, Zhang Xuan pondered.

The Thousand Knots Sword Technique he had created before, though still powerful, no longer matched his current cultivation and couldn’t perfectly integrate the mantra “Harmonious brotherly love, diligent servant’s strength.”

Moreover, the most critical point was that the Thousand Knots Sword Technique was a trapping martial skill with limited offensive power. Against truly formidable opponents, its might was clearly insufficient.

Sword forms danced in his mind as various techniques flowed. After an unknown time, Zhang Xuan shook his head again and stopped.

A sword technique surpassing the Heavenly Dao was not easy to create. He had managed to create the Thousand Knots Sword Technique back then because he had fought with Kong Shi’s clone, who had drawn upon the power of the Heavenly Dao to control him.

Now, he clearly felt the sword technique was in his mind, ready to burst forth at any moment, yet he always felt a thread was missing.

“I probably need to fight someone, push myself to the limit!”

Knowing that seclusion would be ineffective, he shook his head and walked out of the room.

From the start of seclusion to its end, because he had used the Spring and Autumn Canon, only about twenty seconds had passed outside, yet his cultivation had undergone earth-shaking changes.

He was now several times stronger than before.

…

“The Divine Mountain is about to open; why is the young master in seclusion now?”

Outside the room, Sun Qiang looked at Zhang Jia, who was guarding the door, full of anxiety.

He had obtained the Divine Mountain quota yesterday, and now it was about to open. To find the divine aura, they had to go to the city lord’s mansion quickly, but… the young master chose this time to go into seclusion!

It might be too late!

“We can’t disturb him; whatever it is, we’ll talk after he comes out of seclusion…” Zhang Jia blocked him.

“Did the young master say when he would come out? Miss Zhao Ya and the others—if we don’t leave soon, it will be too late. Isn’t the young master going to watch?” Sun Qiang asked.

Entering the Divine Mountain to find the divine aura was certainly dangerous. Was the young master going to ignore everything? Had he nothing to say?

“The young master didn’t say how long the seclusion would last, but even the fastest seclusion takes several hours, maybe a day or two! When I go into seclusion, I often take one or two months, eating fruits when hungry, drinking spring water when thirsty… Otherwise, what’s the point?” Zhang Jia shook his head.

Since it was seclusion, it meant abandoning all distractions and focusing on cultivation, not paying attention to anyone for a short time. Otherwise, what was the point of secluding?

“This…” Sun Qiang fell silent, then gritted his teeth: “Forget it, we’ll go ourselves. By the time the young master comes out, maybe we’ll already be deities…”

He turned his fat body to leave when he heard the door “creak” open. Zhang Xuan walked out, smiling slightly: “Let’s go together. How could I miss it when you’re seeking the divine aura to become deities?”

“Young master, aren’t you in seclusion?” Sun Qiang was stunned.

“It’s already over!” Zhang Xuan nodded.

“Over?” Zhang Jia frowned from the side.

From entering to coming out, not even a minute had passed. What kind of seclusion was that?

Since when was seclusion so frivolous?

Full of doubt, he looked carefully at the young master. His face twitched, and his body trembled again, nearly fainting.

“Young master, you… broke through to the Upper Grade Deity realm?”

As a Heavenly Deity, and with the other not concealing it, he could naturally see the cultivation. In just a few dozen seconds, the young master before him had broken through the Lower Grade Deity realm and reached the Upper Grade realm…

“Yes, by the way, since you’re a Heavenly Deity with strong strength, why don’t you attack me so I can see my power after the breakthrough?” Too lazy to explain, Zhang Xuan’s eyes lit up.

He hadn’t been able to create the sword technique earlier. Since the other was a Heavenly Deity with such strength, perhaps he could provide pressure and inspire some insight.

“This… alright!”

Marveling inwardly at the young master’s speed of progress, Zhang Jia gritted his teeth, clenched his fist, and punched fiercely.

Boom!

The ground shook, and waves of air rolled. As soon as he struck, he displayed his greatest power. A Heavenly Deity indeed showed extraordinary skill; the entire courtyard seemed unable to bear it, on the verge of collapse.

A Heavenly Deity was equivalent to a Saint Domain expert in the Master Teacher Continent, definitely a top-tier powerhouse.

“Heh!”

Zhang Xuan smiled faintly, not dodging, and lightly tapped.

Hum!

Zhang Jia’s fist immediately stopped in midair, unable to advance an inch, as if frozen.

“This…” Knowing that continuing would not only fail to harm the other but might injure himself, Zhang Jia withdrew his fist, full of disbelief: “Young master, not only has your true qi cultivation increased, but your aura is stable, and your soul has also reached the peak of Upper Grade Deity…”

“I had enough time, so I broke through,” Zhang Xuan nodded.

“Enough time?” Zhang Jia trembled.

Don’t tease people like that…

A seclusion of less than a minute… and you call that ample time?

Yet in such a short seclusion, not only did you advance two major levels in cultivation, but your soul improved even more…

How did you do it…

Zhang Jia felt he had gone completely mad.