Chapter 2060: Meeting Han Jianqiu

"Palace Master Kong has always been mysterious. Thousands of years ago, he dominated the world, contending with our founding ancestors. Now those ancestors have long turned to dust, yet he remains vigorous. His cultivation level has long surpassed imagination!"

Gu Zhuiyun said, "With such status, he shouldn't be greedy. What harm is there in lending it out for a month?"

Han Jianqiu frowned: "Are you here to persuade us? To lend out our sect's treasure as well?"

Gu Zhuiyun said, "That's right. We're doing this for your own good. Now our Misty Immortal Sect and the Profound Mirror Gate have united, sharing the same spirit. Once the Heavenly Bridge is successfully crossed, the number of demigods will greatly increase, along with demigod-level weapons. For you three major sects, catching up won't be so easy..."

Han Jianqiu and the others fell silent.

What the other said was true. The balance among the six major sects was maintained because none possessed demigod divine weapons, and each had only one demigod-level powerhouse.

If someone broke the balance, the future would be hard to predict.

It was highly likely that sects which had endured for thousands of years would be absorbed into other factions, mercilessly crushed by the wheels of history.

"Since the benefits are so great, why didn't Palace Master Kong come in person instead of sending you?"

Elder Kuixiao said.

For just a one-month rental of treasures, offering such generous compensation and even providing a path for the sect to advance... Under normal circumstances, if Palace Master Kong made the request, no one could refuse!

But... why didn't he come himself?

Instead, he sent these two?

Gu Zhuiyun said, "Palace Master Kong has more important matters to attend to and can't spare the time... However, before the Heavenly Bridge opens, he will definitely rush to the Heaven-Connecting Stone! But by then, even if we give you the data on the temple warriors, what use would it be? Without advance preparation, having missed the opportunity for targeted training... knowing it would be too late!"

Cultivation is not something achieved overnight.

Knowing the flaws and problems in cultivation in advance, without targeted practice, one still cannot surpass those freaks from the temple.

"Please consider quickly. After the inauguration ceremony for Sect Master Zhang Xuan, he should be heading to the Heaven-Connecting Stone. If you haven't decided by then, you'll have voluntarily lost the opportunity..."

Gu Zhuiyun said no more and stood up: "That's all I have to say. I'll take my leave now!"

With that, he turned and flew out, with Bai Xuansheng following closely.

After the two disappeared, the room fell into silence again.

"Elder Han Jianqiu, I'll take my leave as well..."

Elder Kuixiao stood up first.

"I'll take my leave too..."

Elder Qinyuan followed suit, and the two also vanished from the room.

"No, I must quickly send a message to the sect master and discuss this matter with him..."

Seeing everyone leave, Han Jianqiu paused for a moment, then hurriedly got up.

This matter involved the future of the sect and was not something he could decide alone; he had to consult the sect master.

While he went to consult the sect master, Elder Kuixiao, who had left the room, flew a short distance and stopped, with Elder Qinyuan appearing before him.

"The Star-Chasing Palace and the Lingyun Sword Pavilion must have learned something, which is why they share a single sect master and have fully united. The Profound Mirror Gate and the Misty Immortal Sect have agreed to the requirements of the Divine Temple, effectively forming an alliance of three sects. That leaves only you and me..."

Elder Kuixiao gave a bitter smile.

The situation was more severe than imagined.

"Why don't we also join forces?"

Elder Qinyuan nodded.

He had a bad temper and acted impulsively, but that didn't mean he was stupid.

The current situation was clear to the other party, and he could see it too.

If their two sects didn't join forces, they would likely be picked off one by one by both sides and eventually disappear completely.

"Alright, in that case, I'll immediately send a message to our sect master, Liu Yang, asking him to return at once and meet with your sect master, Zheng Yang, to discuss the details of the alliance!"

Elder Kuixiao said.

"Mm, I'll also notify Sect Master Zheng Yang immediately!"

Elder Qinyuan nodded.

The two simultaneously took out their communication jade slips and sent their messages.

...

Having secretly regulated his breathing and fully recovered his cultivation, Zhang Xuan had just returned to Star-Chasing Island when he flipped his wrist, and a communication jade talisman appeared in his palm.

"Sect Master, please come to the Sword Pavilion's Star-Chasing Path station immediately!"

Attached was a map marking the location of the station.

"Just in time, I can ask how I went from elder to sect master..."

Seeing it was a message from Han Jianqiu, Zhang Xuan shook his head, turned his body, and flew off in the direction indicated on the map.

Previously, he was just an ordinary elder in the Sword Pavilion. How did he suddenly become the sect master in the blink of an eye... And everyone else seemed to know, but he himself had no idea.

He hadn't flown far, just a few kilometers, when he flipped his wrist again, and another jade talisman appeared before him.

"Sect Master, please come to Changyuan Tower for an important discussion!"

The message was from Elder Qinyuan.

"Changyuan Tower?"

Unexpectedly, both major sects were looking for him at the same time. Zhang Xuan frowned, checked the location, and found that Changyuan Tower was not far from the Lingyun Sword Pavilion's station, so he relaxed.

After thinking for a moment, he shook his body, and a clone appeared before him, disguised as Zheng Yang.

"You go to Changyuan Tower and see what's going on..."

Before he finished speaking, another jade talisman appeared in his palm, with a line of text: "Sect Master, please come to Qingyuan Pavilion for an important matter..."

The message was from Elder Kuixiao.

"Hmm?"

Zhang Xuan was stunned.

He had been planning to send the clone disguised as Zheng Yang while he went to the Lingyun Sword Pavilion, but now all three major sects wanted to see him at the same time. What should he do?

"First go to the Sword Pavilion, and you go to Changyuan Tower... No, you'd better come with me; we'll go together later!"

Just as he was about to send the clone, Zhang Xuan shook his head.

At this moment, he and his clone were like a split personality. Although they shared the same origin, the clone had inherited some of his latent tendencies—loving to show off and be flashy, completely unlike his own low-key, graceful, and cultured demeanor!

If the clone went and caused trouble, it would only add to the chaos. It was better to keep it by his side.

He put the clone into his storage ring and, moving at lightning speed, arrived at the Lingyun Sword Pavilion's station half a minute later.

"Sect Master..."

Han Jianqiu quickly bowed and recounted what had happened in detail: "...What should we do now? Should we join forces with the Divine Temple?"

"The Divine Temple offers a demigod-level magic weapon and passage through the Heavenly Bridge in exchange for borrowing the six major sects' founding treasures for a month..."

Zhang Xuan frowned, somewhat puzzled.

In the past, he would have agreed directly.

After all, the sect master of the Divine Temple was the Teacher of Ten Thousand Ages from the Master Teacher Continent.

Whether in character or virtue, he had always been an object of admiration. Although he didn't know the reason, there must be a justification, and it was worth following...

But now, he didn't think that way!

Fuchenzi's collusion with the temple could be dismissed as Palace Master Kong's ignorance, but... the token he gave, which immediately attracted temple experts to attack when used—that was a bit suspicious!

"I'll decide after I meet Palace Master Kong..."

Zhang Xuan said.

He couldn't agree for now. Whether this Palace Master Kong was actually Master Kong was just his speculation; only by meeting him in person could he know for sure.

"Alright!"

Han Jianqiu responded, then looked at him with curiosity: "Sect Master, did you receive some information that made you agree to succeed as the palace master of the Star-Chasing Palace?"

"It's a long story..."

Zhang Xuan recounted the temple's coercion of the Star-Chasing Palace, the alliance of the Divine Temple, and the disappearance of Du Qingyuan.

As for the identity of the Seven Star Tower's sect master, Liu Yang, he did not reveal it.

After hearing this, Han Jianqiu's face grew solemn, and he was silent for a moment: "Du Qingyuan and I are familiar. Although she is a woman, her cultivation is unfathomably deep. Even I would have little confidence in defeating her. For such a strong person, holding an altar, to vanish without a trace... there aren't many on the entire continent who could do that!"

Zhang Xuan asked, "Do you know how many people on the continent possess such strength?"

If the opponent wasn't overwhelmingly stronger, she could still have sent a message.

For instance, the demigod-level old man who came to kill him earlier—though his methods were unprecedentedly powerful and Zhang Xuan couldn't defeat him, it wouldn't have been difficult for him to send a message about his situation!

Du Qingyuan couldn't even do that, which gave some idea of the opponent's strength.

"The temple stands aloof. Every temple warrior is immensely powerful, not to mention the gods who control the power. If a god truly exists, they would undoubtedly be the strongest on the continent. Even if all the sect masters of the six major sects combined, they couldn't withstand a single finger from such a being!"

Han Jianqiu said.

Zhang Xuan nodded.

Although he had never seen a god, he had some understanding of the power such a being possessed.

If the temple truly had such a powerful figure, Du Qingyuan would indeed have been helpless.

"Then there's the Divine Temple's palace master, Palace Master Kong. Thousands of years ago, he could snatch a single character from the temple. His strength is beyond imagination. Even if he isn't a god, he must be close..."

Han Jianqiu continued.

"Mm!" Zhang Xuan nodded.

Able to single-handedly create the Divine Temple and snatch a character from the temple, Palace Master Kong's strength was beyond doubt.

"As for others, I'm not sure. However, since the Abandoned Continent is a place abandoned by the gods, it must have been closely connected to the gods in the past. Whether there are still powerful beings living there, I don't know..."

Han Jianqiu explained.

Zhang Xuan frowned.

He had always heard that the Upper Firmament was a place abandoned by the gods, but he hadn't thought much about it.

Only something that once belonged to you can be abandoned; otherwise, how could such a statement exist?

In other words, the Upper Firmament might have once belonged to... the Divine Realm!

It was entirely possible that some even more powerful beings existed there.

After chatting for a while longer, realizing that the Upper Firmament was more complex than he had imagined and not as simple as it appeared, Zhang Xuan shook his head and stopped dwelling on the issue: "What exactly is going on with me being the sect master?"

Han Jianqiu recounted in detail how the sect master had been established earlier.

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

Zhang Xuan smiled bitterly.

So they had done it for his own good. However... the temple seemed unconcerned about the thoughts of the six major sects and ordinary people. Not only did they know he was the sect master of the Lingyun Sword Pavilion, but they also knew he was the sect master of the Seven Star Tower, the Ten Thousand Beasts Gate, and the Star-Chasing Palace... yet they still captured people!

They showed no fear at all!