Chapter 2087: Meeting Palace Master Du Again

No wonder this guy hadn't made a move after escaping—I thought he was trying to recover his strength, but it turns out he was waiting for me to come, aiming for... these divine energies!

It's even possible that the first time he caught me and extracted the Heavenly Dao Library, he knew it wouldn't succeed, deliberately setting a trap and waiting for me to come.

As for why he didn't break into this hall himself... there must be a special reason—either he couldn't, or... he couldn't get through!

If this is the fake Master Kong, then the will inside the hall was left by the real Master Kong, who must have employed some means to prevent him from entering, just like... the clone couldn't enter this hall.

"Could it be..."

A thought emerged. Zhang Xuan's heart stirred. He glanced at his clone not far away, who looked cocky, showing no embarrassment or awareness of being rejected by the temple, only regretting not having shown off. Only then did he seal that will and breathe a sigh of relief.

"Now is not the time to think about this. I can't let this guy get away. If he really refines the divine energy, I won't be able to fight him..."

Suppressing these thoughts, Zhang Xuan showed concern.

This Master Kong's combat strength alone is no weaker than mine. Once he breaks through and becomes a true god, let alone me, even if there were more false gods, they wouldn't stand a chance!

Before, the Upper Firmament lacked the power to break through; now with this golden gas, the breakthrough is a foregone conclusion.

I must find a way to stop him!

But... he tore through space and fled. Not to mention where he went, I myself need a way to leave here!

The altar was destroyed, cutting off the return passage. Originally, if I obtained the golden gas and broke through to godhood, I could easily tear through space, but now... that path is completely blocked!

"This Master Kong could traverse space, probably using the Profound Mirror Sect's Profound Mirror and the Ethereal Immortal Sect's Ethereal Boots!"

Recalling how the other had escaped earlier.

The Ethereal Boots, though not a false god artifact, possess a special ability that allows one to step through space and traverse it. Combined with the Profound Mirror, even I couldn't stop him!

He has such items; I don't. If I don't find a way quickly, it might truly lead to widespread suffering.

Though anxious, he wasn't panicked. He slowly pondered the events of these past days.

"Master Kong was here and seized the 'God' character. The founding patriarch of the Lingyun Sword Pavilion also seized half a character here. This shows that this is the real divine temple... The one I entered before was most likely fake!"

If I hadn't entered this hall, I might have thought the place where I was besieged by ten false god experts was the real temple. Now it seems this is the real one!

That place... might have been a trap deliberately set by Master Kong to lure me in, or even the true headquarters of the Divine Temple!

Otherwise, how could it easily enter folded space?

And the so-called headquarters of the Divine Temple—how could it be completely empty? And with an explosive formation set up in advance... that clearly doesn't make sense!

If this is the temple, then... thousands of years ago, the place connected by the Heavenly Bridge was here. That's why Master Kong and the founding patriarch of the Sword Pavilion could successfully enter!

Otherwise, without an altar and with the passage blocked, how could those two have seized the God character?

How could they have returned to the Upper Firmament and founded their sects?

"If this is the temple, then the Heavenly Bridge must exist..."

He observed carefully.

Where the altar had been destroyed was empty, as if standing in the void, surrounded by darkness with no sign of life.

Using his Eye of Insight, he scanned all around but found no trace of the Heavenly Bridge.

Could he be wrong?

He circled again but still found no passage. It seemed this palace was isolated and floating in the void. Zhang Xuan was at a loss, when his eyes fell on two pillars that pierced into the void.

He had seen these two pillars as soon as he arrived.

They plunged into the void with no end in sight, and he didn't know what material they were made of, but at least they were at the false god level. Given his strength, he couldn't damage them.

"Could it be... these are the so-called Heavenly Bridge?"

There were no passages elsewhere; he had checked several times. Perhaps these two pillars were the key!

"Let's go up and take a look!"

He put the clone into his storage ring, shook his body, pressed against the pillar, and climbed up.

The pillar was immeasurably high. Zhang Xuan kept climbing upward, watching the palace grow smaller until it became a dot.

After climbing for two full hours, he broke through a membrane, and a light appeared in the dark void. Suddenly, Zhang Xuan felt space invert. What had been upward climbing instantly became downward, and he was holding the pillar, about to fall from the sky at any moment.

This had happened when he entered the Heavenly Bridge via the Sky-Connecting Stone—different times and spaces gave different sensations.

In the temple, it felt like climbing upward; now it seemed like descending, with the temple actually above.

Turning his body, he looked down.

A majestic palace came into view.

"Is this... the temple I entered before?"

He recognized it at a glance.

It was the one he had come to via the Heavenly Bridge some time ago, where he encountered many false god experts, fought a great battle, and was rescued by Master Kong.

"So these two palaces are connected..."

Only then did he realize that these two pillars were precisely connected to the top of the palace. He had thought they were merely decorative, but after all this time, this hall was not the end.

Only by climbing the pillars could one enter the true divine temple.

"That Master Kong should have returned here..."

His eyes lit up. Suppressing his aura, Zhang Xuan arrived at the top of the palace.

That fake Master Kong had rescued him here. If what he said was true, those people were his subordinates... This palace was precisely the enemy's lair!

Having obtained the golden gas, if he truly wanted to break through, he would probably be here too!

He would find a way to seize the gas again. As long as he broke through... the enemy would no longer be a concern.

Sliding quietly down the palace wall, he walked into the hall.

Whether because no one could enter or because no one dared to intrude, there were no guards in the hall. Zhang Xuan slipped inside.

The hall was vast and empty. Pressing close to the wall, Zhang Xuan walked inward. Just as he was looking for where Master Kong might be, footsteps sounded.

"The Sect Leader has ordered that woman to be executed!"

Two figures approached, talking as they walked.

There was hardly anyone here, so they had no need for concealment or caution.

"Executed?"

"Yes. Before, we kept her because we needed her power to recite the incantation and activate the altar. Now that the Sect Leader is about to break through to godhood, he doesn't need the altar; he has the power to do anything. Whether she lives or dies no longer matters..."

"That's true. Once the Sect Leader becomes a god, we'll surely benefit greatly. If we obey, we might even have a chance!"

"Indeed. Let's get on with it..."

Their voices faded into the distance.

"Recite the incantation, activate the altar? Could it be... Palace Lord Du?" Zhang Xuan raised an eyebrow.

Palace Lord Du had been captured. When he saw her last time, she seemed to be in this hall. It appeared she was still here.

And from their tone, they were already planning to kill her.

"Better rescue her first..."

His eyes narrowed. Without wasting words, he flickered behind the two men and swung the Tongshang Sword.

Sword light radiated outward.

Puchi! Puchi!

These two pseudo-god realm experts didn't even have time to react before their heads fell to the ground. At the same time, their bodies were collected into a storage ring.

At the peak of the Immortal Lord realm, he could easily kill an ordinary pseudo-god with one sword strike. Now, not only had he broken through, but he had also created a sword technique that surpassed the Heavenly Dao. Killing by surprise was effortless, without making a sound or even stirring any spiritual energy fluctuations.

After killing these two, he transformed into one of them. With a grab of his hand, he took the other's clothes from the ring and put them on. No matter how you looked, he was identical, with no flaws to be found.

Disguised, Zhang Xuan continued walking forward.

Although this palace was spacious, there were not many halls, and the direction the men had taken was straightforward. Even without interrogation, he knew where Palace Lord Du was imprisoned.

Walking straight ahead, he soon saw a sealed room before him. Flipping his wrist, the keys from the two men appeared in his palm. He gently unlocked the door and pushed it open, stepping inside.

There he saw a middle-aged woman, her hands and feet bound with chains, sitting in the room. Her hair was disheveled, her spirit listless, and her aura extremely weak—she was severely injured.

At this moment, Du Qingyuan was already awake, completely different from the delirious state he had seen before.

"Is he going to kill me?"

Seeing Zhang Xuan enter, Du Qingyuan thought he was one of the enemy's pseudo-gods. Her face showed no expression, as if she already knew the outcome.

Zhang Xuan did not answer. Instead, he closed the door behind him.

"Go ahead. Since the altar was destroyed, I knew I had lost my value and would only end up dead..."

Du Qingyuan snorted.

The altar was a treasure she had refined; if it was destroyed, she could naturally sense it.

The enemy had captured her to make better use of the altar. Now that even that treasure was broken, she knew without thinking that her death was imminent, and there was no reason for her to live.

"Since I'm going to die anyway, I hope you can grant me some dignity..."

Du Qingyuan's expression was somewhat desolate.

She had never expected that after dominating the world all her life, she would die in such a small room.

Raising her hand, she pulled out her hairpin, smoothed her jet-black hair with her fingers, tidied her clothes slightly, and slowly stood up, looking at the Zhang Xuan before her. "Do it!"

Having said that, she clasped her hands behind her back and closed her eyes, awaiting death. Just as she was certain there was no escape, a faint voice reached her ears.

"Palace Lord Du, we meet again."

She quickly opened her eyes and saw the pseudo-god before her transform into a young man in his twenties.

"Zhang Xuan?"

Du Qingyuan's body stiffened, then she began to tremble with excitement.