Chapter 2096: Crisis

Protect the Sovereign!

Han Jianqiu shouted.

The four great sects and countless cultivators above the Immortal Lord level from the ocean simultaneously flew up, blocking in front of Zhang Xuan like a city wall.

Mere scum!

Master Kong snorted and waved his hand behind him.

Whoosh!

From the torn space, countless strong figures emerged: Bai Xuanzheng, the sect master of the Mysterious Mirror Sect; Gu Zhuiyun, the sect master of the Ethereal Immortal Sect; and the experts of the two great sects—all were present.

Among them, the number of Immortal Lord experts was several hundred, no less than the combined forces of the four great sects and the ocean.

They are the Immortal Lords of the Divine Hall and the other two great sects...

Everyone's hearts tightened.

The Divine Hall, having operated for thousands of years, had over twenty False Gods, let alone Immortal Lords, whose numbers exceeded five hundred!

Adding the remaining two great sects, the total number was staggering.

Ignoring Han Jianqiu and the arrangements of those behind him, Master Kong looked at Zhang Xuan and smiled slightly: "What, have you already prepared the altar, waiting for me?"

To break through to the divine realm, what he needed to do was extract the Library of Heaven's Path from Zhang Xuan's body.

Originally, other methods could also achieve this, but the loss would be immense. With the altar, it would be much easier.

Han Jianqiu, lead the Immortal Lords and above to resist! The rest, continue...

Knowing that once the opponent made a move, it would be hard to withstand, Zhang Xuan shouted and turned to look at the hundred thousand True Immortals below, continuing his lecture: "The Way of Martial Techniques..."

His voice was unhurried, without any panic, but instead carried a calmness that quieted the restless hearts of the listeners.

Courting death!

Seeing that this man ignored him and was still lecturing, Master Kong's face darkened, and he gave an order.

Boom!

Bai Xuanzheng, Gu Zhuiyun, and the remaining False Gods of the Divine Hall charged forward, and the many Immortal Lords also struck out in unison.

Protect the Sovereign!

With a loud shout, Han Jianqiu rushed to meet them.

The divine sword intent spread, and sword energy crisscrossed the sky.

False Gods clashed with False Gods, Immortal Lords fought Immortal Lords—the battle began with no quarter given.

In just a few breaths, Immortal Lords fell from the sky, corpse after corpse raining down like a downpour.

The once lofty and mysterious Immortal Lords now experienced life-and-death calamities like ordinary beings.

Although the four great sects and the ocean were inferior in numbers to the combined forces of the Divine Hall, Mysterious Mirror Sect, and Ethereal Immortal Sect, their combat prowess was formidable, and the two sides were locked in a stalemate, with neither able to win in the short term.

For the Sovereign, for the continent!

He Jingxuan, the top core disciple of the Lingyun Sword Pavilion, flew up.

Ever since Bai Ruanqing became the Sovereign's disciple and surpassed him, he had trained relentlessly. Now, although still at the peak of True Immortal, he was no weaker than an ordinary Immortal Lord.

Kill one and break even, kill two and make a profit!

Another core disciple, Liu Yulian, flew out, laughing heartily, a woman who was no less brave than men.

For the king's master!

Crabs, lobsters, and other creatures from the ocean also charged forward.

Although their combat power was greatly diminished away from the ocean, their sheer numbers, hard shells, and invincible defense made up for it.

The battle between the two sides, once ignited, was like a burning forest, impossible to contain.

Our turn...

Ignoring the battle and slaughter, Master Kong stepped forward, crossing tens of kilometers to hover above Zhang Xuan.

Before he even approached, the great formation arranged with a hundred thousand flags let out a soft hum, forming a massive light shield around the hundred thousand True Immortals and Zhang Xuan.

This formation, when set up, not only prevented spiritual energy from leaking but also had defensive capabilities, making it difficult even for False Gods to break through.

Whoosh!

Master Kong lightly traced his hand, and a huge crack appeared before him. He walked through it calmly.

It was as if the great formation did not exist, causing him no hindrance.

Entering the formation, he turned to look at the altar not far away. Without any visible action, Wu Chen immediately felt the altar slip from his control, trembling incessantly as if it would fly toward the opponent at any moment.

Biting his finger, blood gushed out and fell onto the altar.

Sizzle!

The altar, which had been shaking violently, was immediately suppressed. Though still trembling, it was no longer as intense.

Palace Lord Du, come help quickly!

Pale-faced, Wu Chen hurriedly called out.

Du Qingyuan came over and also channeled her power into the altar.

Only then did the altar stop shaking, hovering quietly in the air.

Without making any further move, Master Kong looked at Zhang Xuan again: "Will you strip it yourself, or shall I do it? If I do it, it won't be so simple..."

Whoosh!

Without any visible movement, the space around Zhang Xuan suddenly turned into a barrier, trapping those inside so they could neither escape nor break through.

Zhang Xuan did not reply but continued his lecture.

From the moment the other party entered, intending to seize the altar, to attacking him, the voice had never stopped.

The hundred thousand true immortals below remained immersed, oblivious to the approaching danger.

“Words bestowed by heaven, subtle and profound… they truly can beguile people into pledging allegiance. This is his specialty. You’re not weak either! Unfortunately, using it now is too late…”

With a faint smile, Master Kong raised his hand and struck toward Zhang Xuan.

“Protect the Sect Leader…”

Wu Chen and Du Qingyuan were about to rush forward to protect him when a dozen beams of light shot up from below, instantly blocking the way.

“If you want to harm our teacher, you’ll have to step over our corpses!”

More than ten young men and women struck simultaneously, and heaven and earth seemed to split open.

They were Zhao Ya, Zheng Yang, and the others!

All eleven of Zhang Xuan’s direct disciples had reached the Pseudo-God realm and had refined the Pseudo-God weapons bestowed by their teacher. Their battle prowess was formidable. United, they halted Master Kong’s palm, preventing it from advancing even an inch.

“Wu Chen, begin the sacrifice!”

Zhang Xuan breathed a sigh of relief, flicked his finger, and the gas obtained from the Sky-Sinking City landed precisely atop the altar.

“Great spirit, I, Wu Chen (Du Qingyuan), hereby conduct the sacrifice, offering the loyalty and trust of a hundred thousand true hearts in exchange for the purity of the spirit’s energy…”

Two chants rang out simultaneously. Du Qingyuan and Wu Chen stood on either side of the altar, each pointing to the heavens. Blood fell onto the altar, a beam of light flashed, and powerful spiritual energy instantly enveloped the hundred thousand true immortals.

Whoosh!

A pale yellow flame suddenly ignited atop the altar, with black gas swirling within it, showing no change.

“The hundred thousand true immortals have not yet fully opened their hearts…”

Du Qingyuan’s face darkened. “Only when the flame turns golden can the decaying aura within this breath be completely burned away!”

Having accepted the method of sacrifice, they naturally knew the conditions for success.

Only if the hundred thousand true immortals were of one mind would a golden flame appear on the altar. Pale yellow… meant that only about half were truly loyal!

“The lecture time was too short…”

Zhang Xuan shook his head.

Of the hundred thousand true immortals, only fifty thousand were of one mind, and forty thousand of those had advanced earlier… It wasn’t that his lecture was wrong, but that time was too rushed.

No matter the kind of trust, it is cultivated over time.

Even between parents and children, without ample time together, even if bound by blood, the bond will not be deep.

The same goes for the bond between teacher and student.

A teacher lectures, students learn; the teacher's words are divinely bestowed, profound and subtle. Though time can be shortened, no matter how much, it still takes time—it cannot be accomplished in one fell swoop!

Now Zhang Xuan... what he lacks most is this.

Even if given another half hour, he wouldn't be so passive.

"This... the divine aura of the Skyfall City, you actually obtained it? That skeleton gave it to you? Why? Why!"

Kong Shi, who was fighting Zhao Ya and the others, finally understood their purpose, his eyes turning bloodshot.

Du Qingyuan knew the secrets of Skyfall City; having lived for thousands of years, he knew them even better.

He had even entered it, obtained a plant, and experienced some events.

He had gone twice before, encountering that skeleton each time. Unfortunately, that fellow was extremely ruthless, attacking without a word—let alone giving anything, he suffered serious injuries and nearly died.

He himself went and got nothing, so he had to scheme to make the person before him obtain the divine aura... but why could the other get it when he went?

Unfair!

With a roar, his palm struck down again.

This time, the power was more than double that of before; the entire formation shook, space seemed to collapse, on the verge of shattering at any moment.

"Hold!"

Zhao Ya shouted, her long sword flying, sword qi converging like pillars supporting heaven and earth.

Zheng Yang also advanced, his spear flipping; the space that could collapse at any moment held firm under the spear's thrust.

Wei Ruyan, Kong Shiyu, Liu Yang, Wang Ying, Shan Xiaotian, Lu Chong, Bai Ruanqing, Zhang Jiuxiao, Yuan Tao...

Eleven direct disciples, fearless of danger, pushed their power to the extreme. Space was about to collapse, but sustained by their strength, it held on.

"They can't hold out much longer. Continue..."

Seeing Wu Chen and the others stop in surprise, Zhang Xuan instructed, knowing what was most important now, and continued his lecture.

As the divinely bestowed teaching explained more, the pale yellow flame on the altar grew darker, gradually turning golden.

"Sect Leader, to make the hundred thousand true immortals completely united in heart, it will take at least another quarter hour. I fear... they won't hold out!"

Watching the speed of the flame's color change, though fast, still required time to accumulate, Wu Chen couldn't help saying.

Zhao Ya and the others, though extremely powerful and fearless of death, could only block Kong Shi, who had reached the divine realm, for a few breaths or dozens of breaths at most—a quarter hour...

Too difficult!

Absolutely impossible!

"I know... but hold as long as you can..."

Zhang Xuan nodded.

The voice of the lecture continued without pause, while the listeners below, as if unaware of what was happening above, remained immersed, their immortal power circulating with the words.