Chapter 2081: Zhang Xuan Breaks Through to Pseudo-God!

One after another, top-grade Origin Energy Pills were swallowed into his throat, and the special aura collected on the platform swirled around him, forming a hurricane.

Zhang Xuan sat quietly at the center of the airflow, his aura at the peak of Immortal Monarch increasing bit by bit. The shackles of his body shattered, like climbing a mountain—where the originally flat summit had once again given rise to a peak piercing the sky!

He walked upward step by step, the medicinal power of the pills circulating within his body.

Zhang Xuan seemed to see a figure on the mountaintop—Sun Qiang!

He was trapped at the very top, full of anxiety but unable to escape.

Various memories of his interactions with this fellow surfaced in his mind.

"Sir, would you like to buy a house?" This was Sun Qiang's first words to him.

"Your subordinate, Sun Qiang! Master, you can call me Xiao Qiang from now on!" This was his first words after confirming himself as Zhang Xuan's servant.

…

Time passed like flowing water. Although this Sun Qiang was sometimes unreliable and liked to show off, unlike himself who kept a low profile, after more than two years together, his nature and habits had long become familiar.

He himself had been cultivating all along, ignoring worldly affairs, and many things were handled by this man. The bond between master and servant had seeped into his bones, irreplaceable.

"I'm coming to save you…"

With a soft snort, he raised both hands and struck down with force!

Boom!

The mountain collapsed, the illusion before his eyes vanished. There was no mountain, no Sun Qiang, and no longer any shackles between cultivation realms.

The gate of the Pseudo-God realm was instantly shattered!

"So this is the bond between master and servant!"

With a slight smile, Zhang Xuan circulated his immortal energy according to the feeling in his chest.

Previously, his power had to strictly follow the Heavenly Dao technique, without the slightest deviation, in order to achieve an invincible true body with boundless might!

But now, he followed his emotions, neither deliberately restraining nor specifically adhering. When he felt it, everything became technique, everything became moves.

Using emotion as technique, using emotion as sword!

Rumble!

The sound of golden bells and stone chimes rang in his ears. Countless spiritual energies poured into his body, and his power surged rapidly!

Pseudo-God!

This realm that had trapped countless experts in the heavens had finally… arrived!

Top-grade Origin Energy Pills were continuously placed into his throat, and the spiritual energy from the platform was absorbed bit by bit.

After who knows how long, Zhang Xuan opened his eyes.

The top-grade Origin Energy Pills obtained from the Divine Communication Hall last time were completely used up, and as for the platform's spiritual energy, he had used as many as twenty portions!

Others could break through with one portion, but he alone used twenty…

"Unfortunately, I'm only at the mid-stage of Pseudo-God, still a long way from the peak…"

He sighed.

Top-grade Origin Energy Pills were still too few. Moreover, his breakthrough required extremely high spiritual energy. Thus, having only broken through to the mid-stage of Pseudo-God, the twenty pills were already exhausted, and he could no longer advance.

"This technique was created by me after comprehending emotions. Since that's the case, why not call it… [Heaven Has Affection]!"

After pondering for a moment, Zhang Xuan settled on the name.

He was able to break through to Pseudo-God because of Sun Qiang's reminder, so he first comprehended the bond between master and servant.

The bond between master and servant lies in mutual understanding.

Although Sun Qiang was only a servant, he himself could oppose the entire Master Teacher Hall for him, challenge experts stronger than himself for him—these were for righteousness and compassion.

Sun Qiang, knowing the danger, never abandoned him. Even in peril, he never leaked any information about him—this was loyalty!

The Heavenly Dao technique, now infused with emotion, was clearly different from before, as if it had gained spirituality and its own power.

"Let me test its power!"

A surge of immortal energy flowed into his palm, and he gently squeezed.

Bang!

The stable space before him immediately cracked, revealing a dark rift.

Zhang Xuan was stunned, hardly daring to believe it.

He had seen many Pseudo-God experts; his beast pets alone numbered eight… He knew this level of strength very well. Under normal circumstances, having just broken through, his combat power would at most be comparable to that Pseudo-God who had self-destructed earlier!

Unexpectedly, he could easily shatter space. It was foreseeable that even if that person self-destructed before him, he would definitely not be harmed in the slightest!

"Come out!"

With a flick of his hand, the Flood Dragon, the Nine-Headed Fire Phoenix Beast, and the Tongchang Sword appeared before him.

"Attack me with your strongest power…"

He waved his hand grandly.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

The two Pseudo-God realm immortal beasts and one Pseudo-God realm weapon formed a combined attack formation and launched a frenzied assault. Zhang Xuan sat motionless on the ground, forming a sword with his fingers and pointing repeatedly.

After a moment, the immortal beasts and weapon opposite fell from the air to the ground, unable to move.

The combined attack of three Pseudo-Gods couldn't even make him stand up!

"Master… your strength…"

The Flood Dragon and the Nine-Headed Fire Phoenix Beast were full of disbelief.

They had broken through to Pseudo-God and thought themselves very strong, able to stand at the pinnacle of the world, but before their master, they were still like rookies, utterly vulnerable.

"I had some insights and broke through to Pseudo-God."

Standing up, Zhang Xuan smiled faintly.

He put them back into the beast pet pouch, and with a thought, summoned his doppelgänger.

"Fight me with one punch!"

Bang!

Zhang Xuan struggled to his feet: "You go back first. I'll fight you again when I break through to the peak of the Pseudo-God realm!"

The doppelgänger returned to the storage ring.

Rubbing his brow, Zhang Xuan shook his head.

That freak of a doppelgänger had not only broken through to Pseudo-God but had already reached the peak of Pseudo-God in just these few days... It was perfectly normal that he couldn't defeat it.

However, having comprehended 'Heaven Has Affection,' he seemed even stronger than before. At the mid-stage of Pseudo-God, fighting against the doppelgänger's peak Pseudo-God, though he lost, the gap didn't seem too large. As long as he made another breakthrough, it was very possible that at the same level, he could surpass it!

"But... where can I find top-grade Yuan Power Pills?"

His current strength required a higher demand for spiritual energy. Ordinary pills, and even the essence blood of Pseudo-God realm experts, were useless to him now.

The only thing that helped was top-grade Yuan Power Pills, but... these things were extremely precious. Even a large sect like the Lingyun Sword Sect probably couldn't produce many.

He walked out of the meditation room and went to the treasure vault that only the sect master could enter. After a short while, he came out.

There were top-grade Yuan Power Pills, but he only found about ten.

"Let's go to the Star-Chasing Palace together!"

With his cultivation breakthrough, there was no need to stay here any longer. Zhang Xuan released the flood dragon, brought Zhao Ya, Sun Qiang, and the others aboard, and swiftly flew toward the Star-Chasing Palace.

Three days later.

Back in the main hall of the Star-Chasing Palace, he met again with elders Jiang Yao, Zhao Yue, and others, as well as Kui Xiao, Qin Yuan, Han Jianqiu, and the rest.

After inquiring, the remaining three major sects also had top-grade Yuan Power Pills, but not in large quantities—about twenty-seven in total.

That meant, all four major sects combined had thirty-seven pills.

He found a meditation room, swallowed all these pills, and his cultivation improved again, reaching the late stage of Pseudo-God.

"The higher the cultivation, the lower the effect of pills... Previously, twenty pills took me from the peak of Immortal Lord to the mid-stage of Pseudo-God. Now, thirty-seven pills only broke through the mid-stage... To reach the peak, I'll probably need at least a hundred or more!"

The higher the cultivation, the completely different the demand for spiritual energy. Twenty top-grade Yuan Power Pills could take him from the peak of Immortal Lord to the mid-stage of Pseudo-God, but going from the late stage to the peak would be hard to accomplish without a hundred pills.

However...

After scouring the four major sects, he only had thirty-seven pills. Where could he find a hundred?

"Sect Master, top-grade Yuan Power Pills can only be used by Pseudo-Gods. Under normal circumstances, the six major sects each have only one such level of expert, so the quantity is small—that's normal. But... the Divine Hall is different. It possesses a complete 'Divine' character, with countless Pseudo-God experts. There must be a lot of this level of medicine!"

Knowing his thoughts, Han Jianqiu explained.

"You mean the Divine Hall has many?"

That's right!

The twenty pills last time were obtained from the Divine Hall. The quantity of this medicine there must exceed that of the six major sects.

But... he had fought with Master Kong, and the Divine Hall's headquarters had been blown up...

Even if he went to ask, they wouldn't give it to him!

"Don't I still have that token bestowed by Master Kong? Regardless of whether they agree, seeing the token is like seeing the Hall Master. If I demand it, they have to give it even if they don't want to!"

His eyes flashed.

Previously, he had been afraid of being targeted by the Divine Hall and eventually besieged, but now that he had reached the late stage of Pseudo-God, no one in the world could match him except that Master Kong. What was there to fear?

If they actually came, it would be even better—like delivering heads and equipment.

"Can I still enter the Divine Hall now?"

He smiled slightly and looked over.

"Yes!"

Han Jianqiu nodded.

Although the Divine Hall's headquarters had been destroyed and the Hall Master had fled, the virtual Divine Hall had not been damaged. It could still transmit messages and be entered at any time.

"I'll go take a look."

Relieved, Zhang Xuan took out the jade talisman he had used before, focused his mind, and entered it.

He still used the Immortal Lord realm jade talisman.

His breakthrough to Pseudo-God was currently a secret, unknown even to Han Jianqiu and the others. When he came out, he always displayed the strength of a peak Immortal Lord.

Arriving at the front desk again, he flipped his wrist and handed over the token.

"I need a hundred top-grade Yuan Power Pills!"

Zhang Xuan said.

"A hundred?"

An elder of the Divine Hall shrank his neck, checked for a moment, and said: "We don't have that many here, but we can try to transfer some from other places. We should be able to gather them within a day..."

"Good, first bring over what you have. I'll come back for the rest in a day!" Zhang Xuan said.

"Yes!"

The elder hurried out and returned in less than half an hour, handing over several jade bottles: "Here are thirty pills in total."

"Mm."

Nodding with satisfaction, Zhang Xuan withdrew his consciousness.

Gently stroking the Divine Communication jade talisman, he had previously worried that the thwarted Master Kong might have revoked the token's authority. Unexpectedly, it was still useful.

"He must have been busy recovering his strength after escaping injured and didn't have time to deal with it. But... this is probably the only chance."

Although the other party said they could gather the remaining seventy pills in a day, once this news reached the Divine Hall's headquarters, this token would likely be invalidated, and he wouldn't be able to get any more.

After all, since they were now enemies, no one would be foolish enough to give their own resources to aid the enemy.

So, this time, he would take as many as he could. It could only be considered a one-time deal.