Chapter 2019: The Gourd Breaks the Seal

Although he had never seen a magic treasure of this level, the fact that its mere appearance caused space to crack gave him the same feeling as Han Jianqiu—this disc-shaped object must have surpassed the peak of the Immortal Lord realm!

The disc-shaped weapon released light that enveloped the surroundings. Zhang Xuan immediately felt his entire body stiffen, and even his true energy could not circulate.

"Being able to force me to use the Golden Spirit Lock, you should be proud of yourself..."

The leading young man's gaze was cold.

As the other had guessed, this was indeed a pseudo-divine realm magic treasure, the Golden Spirit Lock!

This treasure could lock down any living being engaged in battle, preventing even their soul and true energy from escaping.

"Open..."

Filled with anxiety, Zhang Xuan continuously mobilized the power within his body.

But for some reason, these powers were like a flood trapped within a dam—no matter how high the waves surged, they could never break through.

Without power, he could no longer fight; he could only be captured or killed.

"Go!"

The Golden Spirit Lock descended from the sky. Before it even reached Zhang Xuan, his entire body was crushed to the point of breaking, blood spurted from his pores, and cracks appeared on his flesh.

Hum!

With a soft chime, the jade token given by Sect Leader Han Jianqiu shattered, forming a circular light shield around his body.

Whoosh!

The crushing pressure vanished. Zhang Xuan's face was pale as he hastily drank a bottle of bathwater. Only then did he feel somewhat restored, though his whole body was filled with a sense of weakness.

He had thought that, being able to fight against peak Immortal Lord realm experts, he was not far from the pseudo-divine realm. But upon encountering this weapon, he realized the gap was as vast as the difference between heaven and earth—incomparable!

No wonder the heavens were extremely fearful of 'gods'; even if not a true god, they were still so powerful that one could not resist.

"A protective talisman refined with the essence blood of a pseudo-divine realm expert? Not bad, but... how long can it last?"

Seeing the light shield appear around him, the leading young man sneered again and continuously infused his immortal power into the Golden Spirit Lock.

Rumble!

The disc-shaped lock continued to press downward, leaving dark cracks in space.

Zhang Xuan felt his chest tighten. The light shield around his body was forcibly squeezed, on the verge of shattering at any moment.

"No good. If this continues, I will surely die..."

This kind of protective talisman had a fixed amount of energy. Although it could withstand attacks from pseudo-divine realm experts, it was also time-limited. Once it broke, the disc would press down, and he would definitely be unable to resist!

"Hurry up and eat that thing!"

He shouted urgently in his mind.

"The pseudo-divine realm is too powerful. Unless... it stops attacking, I can sneakily eat it. Otherwise... I can't resist either..." The gourd wriggled.

"Stop attacking?" Zhang Xuan's face turned ashen.

If he could block the opponent, he wouldn't be in such a sorry state now.

"Come out and help..."

Gritting his teeth, no longer caring about concealment, he moved his mind.

Whoosh!

The doppelgänger immediately appeared not far away, raised its eyebrows, and charged straight at the leading young man.

Although it was also enveloped by the light from the Golden Spirit Lock, it was not greatly affected.

The doppelgänger was refined from the Nine Heavens Lotus Embryo; its strength lay in its body, not its soul. The lock could seal the soul but could not affect the physical body. Therefore, its combat power had not diminished much.

"This is a doppelgänger?"

Unexpected that this Zhang Xuan had such a powerful doppelgänger, the leading young man was startled for a moment, then sneered and threw a punch to meet it.

Bang!

His fist landed on the doppelgänger's head.

Smack!

The doppelgänger's head was flattened, but as if it felt nothing, it continued to charge forward.

Crack! Crack!

Colliding with the leading young man's chest, several of his ribs broke instantly.

"You..."

Startled, he quickly looked up and saw the doppelgänger's flattened head restore itself as if nothing had happened, completely unharmed.

"Immortal body?"

His pupils contracted, and cold sweat poured down his back.

An immortal body was said to be a power possessed only by gods. How could the other's doppelgänger achieve this? What was going on?

"I don't believe it's truly immortal..."

Gritting his teeth, he turned into a phantom and charged again.

With only one arm, he was already at a disadvantage. The opponent's doppelgänger was so formidable, and with the protective jade talisman refined by a pseudo-divine realm expert, he might not complete the mission and could even die here!

He did not dare to be careless in the slightest.

His palm danced as if it had become several arms. Immortal power surged, making the surrounding air heavy.

The severed arm did not seem to reduce his strength much; he was still terrifying.

"A trifling trick! Watch me break it easily!"

The doppelgänger, full of arrogance, made no other move and charged straight again.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The leading young man's fists once again smashed into its face, chest, stomach... leaving large craters, but still it did not stop and charged again.

Pfft!

Spitting blood, he was sent flying backward. The leading young man's heart was about to explode with frustration.

This wasn't a battle at all; it was the opponent relying on an immortal body to rampage recklessly...

Since he began cultivation, this was the first time he had fought so stiflingly!

"If you have the guts, don't use your shoulder to ram me. Fight me openly with weapons!" He clenched his teeth and roared.

"Don't use my shoulder?" The doppelgänger thought for a moment. "Fine!"

It sat down on him.

Smack!

His face burning with pain, the leading young man spat blood.

I told you not to ram with your shoulder, and you sit on me with your butt... Where is the dignity of an expert?

While the battle here was in full swing, Zhang Xuan, locked by the Golden Spirit Lock, couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

Once the doppelgänger engaged in battle, the control of the Golden Spirit Lock weakened. This was the moment to strike. Thinking this, he could no longer hold back and urgently called out in his mind: "Hurry up..."

"Alright!"

The gourd in his dantian responded, suddenly rushed out, and with a "whoosh," before the Golden Spirit Lock could react, it disappeared from its spot.

It had been swallowed.

Crack!

At the same moment, the energy light shield from the protective talisman dissipated instantly.

Fortunately, he had reacted quickly; otherwise, even if he didn't die this time, he would have been severely injured!

Sighing in relief, Zhang Xuan looked up and was about to go help the doppelgänger kill the last Immortal Lord first, when he felt the space above him shake violently, and an invincible, powerful aura spread out.

The doppelgänger and the leading young man stopped fighting and looked up at the sky in unison.

Then they saw a gourd floating quietly. Having swallowed the pseudo-divine realm weapon, it seemed to have instantly unlocked some kind of shackle, and the seal could no longer hold.

"It swallowed the weapon?"

His face turning pale, the leading young man trembled slightly.

A peak Immortal Lord realm longsword, a peak Immortal Lord realm seal, a pseudo-divine realm Golden Spirit Lock... all had been eaten by this thing!

Was it really a gourd?

"Success?"

Earlier, after feeding it two hundred top-grade Immortal Origin Pills, it said it was about to break through, but still needed one more step. Unexpectedly, after swallowing this pseudo-divine realm weapon, it finally reached its limit.

He really wanted to see what kind of divine beast could have such might and power.

An ancient divine dragon? Taotie? Or Pixiu?

Zhang Xuan's eyes lit up.

Judging by its tone and its ability to devour weapons, it was certainly not simple. He had looked up relevant books and had some concepts in mind, always wavering among these few.

An ancient divine dragon, born with the power of a true god, unfathomable.

The Taotie divine beast devours all things, with a space within its belly, eating everything.

The Pixiu divine beast only eats and never excretes, encompassing all things...

...

No matter which of these three it was, once it completely broke the seal, it could truly roam the world, unstoppable!

At least, even if a true god appeared from the temple, there would be no need to fear anymore!

Filled with excitement, Zhang Xuan couldn't help but look up.

The power above grew stronger. The folded space could barely withstand it, on the verge of annihilation. The cracks on the gourd in the air, which had only reached the first bulge, continued downward. Everyone seemed to hear the sound of "crack! crack!"

"Let's go!"

Seeing that the power had reached such a level, once the thing inside came out, he would surely be unable to resist. The leading young man tensed up, turned around, and was about to break through the folded space to leave this place.

The mission had failed; he must quickly inform his master that this fellow possessed such a powerful magic treasure!

"Leaving?"

How could Zhang Xuan let him have his way? With a flick of the Tongchang Sword, the Divine Sword Intent activated again, and he thrust forward.

The doppelgänger, the gourd, the Soulless Golden Man, the protective talisman... all his trump cards had been revealed. If he let this guy escape, what secrets would he have left?

He must kill him, absolutely not let him live!

Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding!

The leading young man no longer cared about escaping. His palm power swept out, blocking the sword energy.

Although the Divine Sword Intent was unmatched in power, Zhang Xuan's strength was still somewhat lacking. Against such a powerful peak Immortal Lord realm opponent, he still could not gain the upper hand.

Swoosh!

While he was engaged in battle, the doppelgänger charged again.

The leading young man's face darkened, and several more ribs were broken.

"Ahhh!"

He was about to explode with rage.

This was too stifling!

In his entire life, when facing opponents stronger than himself, he could easily win. This was the first time he had fought so stiflingly against someone of lower cultivation.

"I might as well die together!"

Seeing that the opponent and his doppelgänger were coordinating better and better, he knew that escape was almost impossible and he would likely be killed on the spot. The leading young man could no longer bear it. With a roar, his immortal power boiled, and he prepared to self-destruct.

Even if he couldn't escape, he would self-destruct to warn his master, letting him know that this fellow was even more terrifying than imagined!

"Damn..."

His pupils contracted, Zhang Xuan's wrist moved rapidly, and he executed a defensive sword technique, forming a huge sphere of sword energy around his body.

The self-destruction of an expert of this level could not be stopped; he only hoped to minimize the injury.

Boom!

Before the self-destruction even began, the oppressive force from the dissipation of immortal power came crashing down. Zhang Xuan felt cracks again at his tiger's mouth, and he could barely hold onto his longsword.

The blood in his entire body seemed to be pressed against the blood vessel walls, on the verge of bursting open at any moment.

"Is this the power of a peak Immortal Lord's self-destruction?"

His pupils contracted, Zhang Xuan couldn't believe it.

This was the first time he encountered a peak Immortal Lord planning to self-destruct... He never expected it to be so powerful!

Even though he had executed a defensive sword technique, and even infused it with Divine Sword Intent, if it actually exploded, he would surely suffer injuries that would take a long time to recover.

The pressure grew stronger. Just when he felt he could no longer bear it, suddenly his whole body relaxed, and the power receded like a tide.

The oppressive force brought by the opponent's impending self-destruction had completely vanished without a trace.