2017 A Failed Disguise

Han Jianqiu had formally introduced the Six Sects to him before. The Sevenstar Pavilion was known for operating the largest business and market in the Forsaken Continent, selling all kinds of powerful artifacts and weapons.

200 Superior Immortal Pills would be a ma.s.sive wealth anywhere else, such that even a city of the scale of the Wuhai City didn’t have it. However, if it was the Biyuan City, the heart of the operations of the Sevenstar Pavilion, it just might have such wealth.

It didn’t take long for the immortal beast to land before the ma.s.sive square within the city.

“Hall Master Zheng, that’s the Sevenstar Pavilion,” the disciple introduced with a smile.

He was extremely familiar with Biyuan City as he frequented this place.

Turning his gaze over, Zhang Xuan saw a cl.u.s.ter of buildings towering before him. All in all, there were seven of them, and they were positioned in a manner reminiscent of the Big Dipper Formation. Together, they formed a ma.s.sive formation that harmonized together with the stars in the sky.

It seems like the Sevenstar Pavilion mustn’t be underestimated either even though it mainly deals with commerce… Zhang Xuan thought.

There was bound to be something extraordinary about the Sevenstar Pavilion for it to become one of the Six Sects of the Forsaken Continent.

In terms of its infrastructure, the Sevenstar Pavilion didn’t appear to be as imposing as the Ascendant Cloud Sword Pavilion or the Myriad Beasts Hall. However, those who had some understanding of formations would know that it was no easy feat to align the cruxes of a formation together with the stars in the sky, and that was exactly what the Sevenstar Pavilion did.

With the protection of this formation, it would be extremely difficult for anyone to harm the Sevenstar Pavilion.

“Hall Master Zheng, do you wish to enter the premises to take a look?” the disciple asked.

“It’s fine. May I know where the Ethereal Hall of the Biyuan City is at? Bring me over,” Zhang Xuan said.

There was no artifact or weapon that he needed to acquire, so he wasn’t too interested in exploring the Sevenstar Pavilion. Besides, if he were to enter the premises and the other party were to insist on him becoming their sect leader, what was he supposed to do?

Outstanding people simply stood out like fireflies in the night no matter where they went. Even if he tried to dim his glow, others would still be attracted to him like moths drawn to the flame.

It was more than enough for him to be the leader of two major powers! Any more than would just be plain troublesome.

“The local branch of the Ethereal Hall is located right next to the Sevenstar Pavilion,” the disciple replied.

Zhang Xuan turned his gaze over and saw a tall tower located not too far away from the Sevenstar Pavilion. This tower wasn’t as imposing or bustling as the Sevenstar Pavilion, but its presence was still extremely conspicuous as well.

He quickly made his way over and entered the Ethereal Hall behind the crowd.

“How much does a True Immortal realm Ethereal Token cost?” Zhang Xuan asked.

“2700 Star Coins or Ethereal Coins!” the receptionist replied.

“I’ll take one,” Zhang Xuan replied as he heaved a sigh of relief.

As it turned out, the value of the Ethereal Coin here was roughly the same as that in Wuhai City. As such, 2700 Ethereal Coins was still well within his spending power.

After acquiring the Ethereal Token, Zhang Xuan rented a silent chamber. He instructed the disciple of the Myriad Beasts Hall to wait outside for him while he set up several Isolation Formations around the room before taking a seat.

Holding the Ethereal Token in his hand, he swiftly activated it before immersing his consciousness into it. Before long, he was already amidst the virtual Ethereal Hall.

He headed straight for the receptionist and pa.s.sed Kong s.h.i.+’s token over before saying, “I would like to purchase some cultivation resources.”

Upon seeing the token, the attendant’s eyes immediately widened in shock. She quickly told Zhang Xuan to “Please wait a moment” before hurriedly heading to the room behind the counter.

Soon, an elder walked over and bowed deeply to Zhang Xuan.

“Esteemed guest, the token you hold is the insignia of our hall master, which grants you the same privileges as our hall master within this store. May I know what you intend to buy?”

“I would like to purchase 200 Superior Immortal Pills,” Zhang Xuan replied.

“200 Superior Immortal Pills?” the elder nearly leaped in shock.

For many years he had worked in the Ethereal Hall, but he had only seen customers purchasing at most ten Superior Immortal Pills in a single seating. Yet, for this young man to purchase 200 of them at once, was he planning on snacking on them during his leisure time?

It was important to note that Superior Immortal Pills were actually incredibly expensive. Each of them was listed at a price of 20,000 Ethereal Coins. To put it in other words, this was a ma.s.sive transaction worth 4,000,000 Ethereal

Coins!

This amount of wealth was already more than enough for one to buy an entire city!

“Indeed. Don’t beat around the bush and tell me straight if it’s possible to make this transaction,” Zhang Xuan replied with a frown.

“This…” The elder hesitated for a moment before saying, “If we were to gather everything we have in Biyuan City, we should be able to put together 200 Superior Immortal Pills. However, we would have to report this transaction to the headquarters for approval before going ahead with it. Please give me a moment.”

“Un, feel free to do whatever you need to,” Zhang Xuan replied with a nod.

After consulting the headquarters, the elder returned with a smile on his lips, “The headquarters have approved the transaction. Esteemed guest, you just have to activate the Teleportation Formation on your Ethereal Token in order to withdraw your goods!”

“I’ve troubled you,” Zhang Xuan nodded before retracting his consciousness from the Ethereal Hall.

Returning back to the silent chamber, Zhang Xuan tapped his finger on his Ethereal Token lightly.

Hu!

Twenty jade bottles materialized right before him. Each of these bottles contained ten Superior Immortal Pills each.

“Here are 200 Superior Immortal Pills. If you still aren’t able to break free of your seal after swallowing them… Well, just wait and see how I’ll deal with you then!” Zhang Xuan summoned the Dongxu Gourd out from his dantian and harrumphed.

“Rest a.s.sured, I am a legendary beast who has once ruled over the lands. I’m just temporarily trapped in this bizarre form. Once I gather sufficient energy, I would be able to break free of my seal and revert back to my almighty self…” the Dongxu Gourd boasted proudly.

“You can stop bragging now. Hurry up and get on with it,” Zhang Xuan waved his hand dismissively. He couldn’t be bothered to listen to the Dongxu Gourd’s boasting.

The Dongxu Gourd hopped over to the jade bottles, and with a sharp intake of breath, it swallowed all 200 Superior Immortal Pills at once.

Geji! Geji!

Despite swallowing everything at once, the Dongxu Gourd didn’t seem to be stuffed in the very least. Instead, its aura grew stronger and stronger.

What the Dongxu Gourd had swallowed previously were Standard Immortal Pills, but these two hundred pills over here were all Superior Immortal Pills. The difference in the potency of the two pills was ma.s.sive. Before long, the Dongxu Gourd began trembling nonstop.

Boom!

An indomitable aura burst forth from the Dongxu Gourd, causing spatial cracks to appear in the surroundings. It seemed like even the stable s.p.a.ce in the Forsaken Continent was unable to withstand the overwhelming strength that the Dongxu Gourd was emanating.

“Remarkable…” Zhang Xuan’s eyes lit up in excitement.

It looked like the Dongxu Gourd hadn’t been lying to him.

Just by this aura itself, the Dongxu Gourd would definitely be able to defeat any High Immortal easily. At the very least, the black-robed Heavenly High Immortal expert he had encountered back then would be no match for it at all!

With this, he was a.s.sured that the 200 Superior Immortal Pills hadn’t gone to waste!

It was fortunate that he had set up additional layers of barriers around this private chamber in advance, or else this commotion would have surely attracted many people over.

As the Dongxu Gourd gathered more and more energy, slight cracks began appearing on its top. The cracks slowly crept downward, and it looked as if the Dongxu Gourd was ready to break free at any moment.

“Soon…” Zhang Xuan watched the scene with bated breath.

To be honest, he was filled with curiosity as to what the Dongxu Gourd truly was. The latter had claimed that it was a legendary beast that ruled over the lands, but Zhang Xuan really could hardly imagine just what form it could possibly take.

Kacha! Kacha!

The cracks slowly inched downward, all the way till it reached its first b.u.mp before abruptly coming to a halt. Somehow, it wouldn’t move any lower than that anymore.

At the same time, the aura the Dongxu Gourd was emanating began dying off.

“What’s wrong?” Zhang Xuan asked in bewilderment.

“This…” the Dongxu Gourd chuckled in embarra.s.sment. “I think that I might have underestimated the energy I require. I still need a little more than this… Why don’t you get another 200 Superior Immortal Pills for me right now? I promise you that I’ll really, really break free this time around!”

“Another 200 Superior Immortal Pills?” Zhang Xuan nearly fainted on the spot.

Did you think that Superior Immortal Pills were cheap sweets that you can buy as and when you like?

The heck! How could 200 Superior Immortal Pills not be enough for you? Are you a black hole?

Even though Kong s.h.i.+’s token allows me to purchase as many cultivation resources as I require, the problem here is that Biyuan City doesn’t have that many Superior Immortal Pills to give me!

If I were to ask for any more than this, Kong s.h.i.+ might just start coming after me!

“Why don’t you just hole yourself up in that gourd of yours for life?” Zhang Xuan scoffed speechlessly.

He was still thinking that he would no longer have anything to fear once the Dongxu Gourd broke free of its seal, but it seemed like his luck was really darned.

He must have been a fool to take the unreliable Dongxu Gourd’s word for it!

“If you don’t have any pills, weapons would do as well. You know, I have been quite interested in that Tongshang Sword of yours for some time now…” the Dongxu Gourd exclaimed anxiously.

Those words sent a shudder down the blade of the Tongshang Sword.

However, Zhang Xuan simply glared at the Dongxu Gourd coldly as he ordered it to get back into his dantian. Shaking his head in disappointment, he left the silent chamber.

His goal for dropping by Biyuan City was to release the Dongxu Gourd’s seal, but it didn’t seem like things would work out for now. Just thinking about the matter left him feeling a little glum inside.

“Hall Master Zheng!”

Upon seeing Zhang Xuan, the disciple from the Myriad Beasts Hall rushed forward to greet him.

“Let’s get on our way,” Zhang Xuan shook his head helplessly, not bothering to explain the matter.

Since he was unable to release the seal on the Dongxu Gourd, he wasn’t willing to waste any more time on this for the time being. It would be hard for him to gather any more cultivation resources from the Biyuan City’s Ethereal Hall anyway.

He would just have to find some other way to get it done when he arrived at the Sea of Exiled Stars.

“Yes, Hall Master Zheng!”

The disciple clapped his hand, and the aerial immortal beast flew out from his tamed beast sack. He quickly leaped onto its back.

Zhang Xuan was just about to do the same as well when he suddenly narrowed his eyes in alarm. He could feel a chilling sensation engulfing his entire body.

This was the scent of danger.

“d.a.m.n it! Run…” Zhang Xuan shouted

But before he could finish his words, the body aerial immortal beast before him suddenly began bulging outward.

Boom!

It exploded into a mess of bloodied flesh and bits of bones.

The abrupt explosion of a Lesser High Immortal realm beast released a wave of energy so great that the disciple that was on its back was blasted into the air before cras.h.i.+ng heavily onto the ground. There were many burn marks all over his body, and it was hard to gauge whether he was still breathing or not.

Peng!

On the other hand, Zhang Xuan drove his zhenqi and quickly formed a protective energy barrier around him to ward off the shockwave. Despite his swift reaction, he was still forced several steps back from the impact.

And before he could even recover, he felt another chilling sensation headed right toward his back once more.

Sou sou sou!

Six surges of energy darted right toward him from his front, back, left, right, top, and bottom, threatening to crush him.

“Darn it!” Zhang Xuan clenched his fists tightly as he whipped out the Tongshang Sword.

He quickly executed a defensive swordplay, forming a spherical layer of sword qi around him.

Peng peng peng!

The six surges of energy struck the spherical layer of sword qi he had formed around him like a truck, causing his hand to numb under the sheer impact. The six simultaneous blows from six different directions nearly caused him to blackout.

Pu!

After deflecting the sixth blow, a spurt of blood escaped from his lips. Even though he had managed to deflect the brunt of the attacks, the sheer might of the offense had still jolted his innards, causing him to sustain some internal injuries.

“To be able to fend against my attack despite being caught off guard… You are indeed a worthy opponent,” a voice sounded.

Zhang Xuan quickly drove his Heaven’s Path zhenqi to recover from his injuries as he raised his head to look toward the origin of the voice.

There were three figures standing before him, and they all had youthful appearances. Despite their seemingly young age, their cultivations were at Heavenly High Immortal realm, similar to the black-robed figure he had faced from the Hall of G.o.ds previously. However, these three had a more domineering presence, such that it felt as if they could tear apart s.p.a.ce with just a wave of their hands.

This made Zhang Xuan’s body stiffened a little as it dawned upon him the situation he was in.

He quickly took a look around him and found that he had already been pulled into a folded s.p.a.ce. Even the earlier explosion of the Lesser High Immortal realm beast had been confined within this folded s.p.a.ce.

“Why did the three of you a.s.sault me?” Zhang Xuan questioned with a wintry expression on his face.

“Why? You should know that better than anyone else, right? Zhang Xuan!” the youth that stood at the forefront remarked coldly.

You are from the Hall of G.o.ds?” Zhang Xuan asked.

He was confident in his disguise. Not even Hall Master Qin from the Myriad Beasts Hall had been able to see through it. Yet, the other party was able to point out his real ident.i.ty right away without any hesitation.

He really couldn’t understand how did this happen. Just what about his disguise had given him away?