Chapter 2057: Ambushing the Temple's Strong

With his current strength, he couldn't even see through the other's exact cultivation level!

So far, the highest cultivation among the false gods he had encountered were Han Jianqiu, Fuchenzi, and that middle-aged man from Lingyun Sword Pavilion, but compared to this old man before him, they all seemed far inferior!

He carried a power that devoured heaven and earth, and the surrounding darkness and starry sky seemed to emanate from within him, pitch-black like ink, making it impossible to break free or escape.

"Taming four false god-level immortal beasts, killing Fuchenzi and Yingchen—no wonder the master values you so much, telling me to act quickly as soon as you appeared..."

Without denying it, the old man looked over and said, "Unexpectedly, in just over ten days, you've reached this level. Even for me, capturing you easily wouldn't be so simple!"

"You know I killed Fuchenzi and that middle-aged man?"

Zhang Xuan's heart tightened.

Yingchen must be that middle-aged man from the Temple, whose name he hadn't known before since it was never mentioned.

But among the false god-level strong he had killed, three in total, the one worthy of such mention and appearing alongside Fuchenzi was this man.

However... when he killed those two, it was in the Sunken Sky City, and he had sealed the surroundings to prevent discovery—how did the other know?

Moreover, taming the four immortal beasts was done secretly, using the identity of Liu Yang. If the other said it outright, didn't that mean even his identity as the master of the Seven Stars Tower had been detected?

Was this the Temple?

Their sources of information were too terrifying!

"If the Temple wants to know, there's nothing it doesn't know!" The old man said calmly, looking at the young man before him. "Come with me. Even with your four beast pets and the Temple's false god-level artifact, you still have no chance against me!"

"How do you know without trying?"

Raising his brows, Zhang Xuan wasted no words. The four false god-level immortal beasts appeared before him and charged at the old man. In the next moment, ten immortal swords at the peak immortal sovereign level cut through the air, leaving traces that shattered space, slashing straight down!

The four divine beasts, ten immortal sovereign swords, and the false god-level artifact iron chain seemed to beat the starry sky into falling, yet for some reason, they couldn't reach the old man. It looked like only a few steps away, but it felt like a horizon away.

"Space particles?"

Zhang Xuan's pupils contracted.

Soul-shifting travel relied on moving through the gaps between space particles.

He had encountered this situation before, back in the Master Teacher Continent, where space turned into particles, and no matter how fast one flew, they couldn't get any closer.

Could it be that this old man had also achieved this, shattering the space before him into particles, causing one to fall into it like quicksand, rendering even the strongest cultivation useless?

"No, it's not space particles. It's that his starry night is like a domain—once trapped inside, one must obey the rules he sets. If he doesn't allow approach, as long as one's strength doesn't exceed his, they can't get close!"

He quickly realized.

Space particles shouldn't have such power, because at the false god level, spreading immortal force could block such force. But now it couldn't, clearly indicating it wasn't that, but a more formidable ability.

It was somewhat similar to Kong Shi's unique 'One word sets the rules, ten thousand laws follow'!

In other words, within this starry sky he had been pulled into, the rules were all set by the other—how could he fight?

"Little chick, are you dead or not?"

Knowing he had underestimated the Temple's super strong, Zhang Xuan couldn't help but summon the little yellow chick from the beast pet pouch.

If anyone could counter the one before him, it was probably this guy.

Though usually unreliable and only knew how to eat, his ability was undeniable.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

The little chick lay in the beast pet pouch, motionless.

This guy had been silent after stealing a drop of divine blood. It had been over two days, and still nothing. Zhang Xuan gritted his teeth in anger but had no way.

Really unreliable.

"Can't rely on this guy, only on myself..."

Raising his brows, Zhang Xuan looked at the old man before him.

The other still hadn't moved, standing there as quiet as a painting, a faint smile on his face as he looked over. But for some reason, Xuanbei Turtle, Big Shark, and the other beasts couldn't get close, and even their attacks seemed frozen in time, unable to reach him.

"Don't waste your efforts. Here, even if you truly had false god-level strength, you couldn't hurt me..."

The old man smiled faintly, then suddenly clapped his hand.

Slap!

Xuanbei Turtle and the other beasts immediately lay flat on the sea surface, as if a huge rock pressed on their backs, unable to move, let alone attack.

"This is our Temple's treasure, I'll take it back..."

Pressing the four divine beasts down, the old man gently grabbed with his hand. The iron chain, floating in the air and ready to ambush at any moment, flew over and landed quietly in his palm.

"Now!"

Seeing the iron chain in his palm, Zhang Xuan wasn't disappointed but instead breathed a sigh of relief, his brows shooting up.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

The corpses of two Pseudo-God realm experts appeared abruptly.

Boom! Boom!

Two massive explosions twisted the space before them, collapsing inward. The stars fixed in the sky, like the curtain of night, were torn, revealing folds and cracks.

Pfft!

The old man hadn't expected this Zhang Xuan to be so ruthless—refining the corpses of Pseudo-God experts, detonating them directly, and even using a Pseudo-God divine weapon as bait... without caring for its survival!

After this explosion, that weapon would surely be severely damaged, nearly ruined.

"Damn it, I didn't want to kill you..."

Eyes bloodshot, face covered in blood, the old man roared.

"Truly formidable..."

Seeing that even this hadn't killed the other, only gravely wounded him, Zhang Xuan couldn't help but praise.

The corpses of two Pseudo-God experts had been refined into Soul-Less Golden Men along the way. Though disposable, if they could take down an expert he couldn't match, it was absolutely worth it!

He had calculated for a long time how to make these two get close, and after much thought, decided to place them on the iron chain.

This iron chain was a defensive treasure of the temple, extremely precious. The opponent, seeing him pledge loyalty, would surely use other means to subdue it, while Zhang Xuan used the principle of a storage ring to seal the two corpses in a narrow space at the end. Once the chain was seized by the opponent, he would detonate them directly!

It had indeed worked wonders.

But he hadn't expected this fellow to be so powerful. Two Pseudo-God experts self-destructing simultaneously at such close range—even four divine beasts might not withstand it—yet he only suffered some injuries and was fine!

No wonder only one had come to besiege him this time. It seemed the temple knew that ordinary Pseudo-Gods would die no matter how many came, so they sent the strongest one directly!

With such strength, it was fortunate he had prepared in advance; otherwise, he would truly have been doomed.

Die!

With a roar, the old man in the air charged toward him. As soon as he moved, space twisted, and a large patch of black mist appeared.

This mist, like thick smoke from burning, made it impossible to discern direction. The earlier explosion had cracked the domain-like treasure, allowing these things to spread.

"Do you think this level of trapping formation can stop me?"

Recognizing the formation's type, the old man gritted his teeth: "As long as it can't trap me, even gravely wounded, I can still slaughter all four of your divine beasts and take you back to see my master. Besides, this injury is nothing!"

Rumble!

Immortal power boiled, and spiritual energy from all sides surged in. The old man's injuries visibly healed.

He had activated some special secret technique, forcibly suppressing such severe wounds.

"I know you have strong recovery abilities, and I know your master is even more formidable. But... do you really think this is just a simple trapping formation?"

Seeing his actions, Zhang Xuan seemed to have anticipated it and smiled lightly.

"It isn't?"

The old man was stunned, then his pupils contracted, and his body trembled involuntarily: "You brought out the decaying aura of the Sunken Void City and merged it into the formation?"

"Correct. If you weren't injured, this decaying aura couldn't harm you. Even gravely wounded, with your control over power, it might not penetrate deeply... But unfortunately, you wanted to capture me and used a method to quickly recover your injuries. To do that, you had to absorb a large amount of spiritual energy. So it was simple: these black gases, along with the spiritual energy, entered your meridians and have already seeped into your internal organs!"

Zhang Xuan said.

Having entered the Sunken Void City and discovered how powerful the decaying aura was, how could he not collect some?

However, this thing was like a slow poison. If the opponent shielded against it with power, it could still invade over time, but the effect would be less than satisfactory and wouldn't solve the immediate threat.

So he had to force the opponent to try to heal.

Once healing required spiritual energy, it had to be drawn from the surroundings. Thus, it was like taking a slow poison while supplementing with great tonics—in an instant, these special energies invaded all meridians throughout the body, as if he had stayed in the Sunken Void City for who knows how long.

Pfft!

Coughing up three mouthfuls of black blood, the old man trembled incessantly, feeling as if he were about to explode.

He had come confidently, thinking that even if the other had some clever tricks and decent strength, facing him would only lead to death. He never dreamed it would end like this!

Sizzle sizzle sizzle!

The decaying aura roamed through his body, worsening his injuries. His vision darkened, and he swayed unsteadily, as if about to fall from the air at any moment.

"You're ruthless, but even gravely wounded, you can't kill me..."

Knowing that killing the opponent was now impossible, the old man gritted his teeth, leaped upward, and flew straight into the sky.

The mission had failed, and he was severely injured. Now he could only return as quickly as possible and have his master help expel this decaying aura.

Otherwise, within half an hour, he would die completely, becoming a pitch-black corpse.

"Trying to leave?"

Zhang Xuan smiled faintly: "Too late..."

Boom!

With his words, a spear shot through the air, stabbing down toward his head. "Pfft!" It pierced through his shoulder, pinning him in midair.