The black silhouettes before him looked like mist, as if they had no physical body at all. However, they were extremely powerful, and they were able to withstand his sword qi without any weakness at all.
Zhang Xuan's face turned grim. Could they be … Withered Beasts?
He had read about them in the books that he had read previously.
They were lifeforms unique to the City of Collapsed Space. They were nourished by the power of decay, and they were incredibly savage. Once they were injured, the black aura would invade one's body and corrode one's zhenqi, making it nearly impossible to heal them.
Back then, Elder Bai Ye was injured by one of them.
Let's see how powerful you are!
After confirming the other party's identity, Zhang Xuan decided not to back down anymore. He turned the Tongshang Sword around and launched dozens of sword qi at the Withered Beasts.
The sound of a stone piercing through the wind could be heard.
As long as one had sufficient zhenqi, they would be able to learn the sword art easily. However, the more unskilled a sword art was, the more difficult it was to master.
In the several thousand years of history of the Ascendant Cloud Sword Pavilion, there were only a handful of people who had managed to master the sword art, and Zhang Xuan was definitely one of them.
Executing the sword art, dozens of sword qi harnessed the might of a Heavenly High Immortal each, and they landed squarely on the Withered Beasts.
Peng peng peng!
The Withered Beasts were reduced to dust, causing the already dilapidated ruins to crumble once more.
"They don't seem too powerful …"
Seeing that a single surge of sword qi had managed to kill a single beast, Zhang Xuan heaved a sigh of relief. However, before he could finish his words, the black silhouettes before him suddenly flickered once more. As if they were invulnerable, they charged right toward him.
"This …"
Zhang Xuan's face darkened.
A moment later, the shattered Withered Beasts began to heal once more, as if his sword art was completely ineffective.
"Could they be soul-type existences?"
Zhang Xuan drew his Primordial Spirit out and struck the Withered Beasts with his palm.
Heavenly Demon Great Sorrow Palm!
He had modified Ancient Sage Qiu Wu's secret art to make it even more profound. This was especially so when executed by his Primordial Spirit, so its offensive prowess was far stronger than before.
The palm strike struck, and the Withered Beasts shattered. However, just like the sword qi from before, the Withered Beasts recovered in a few breaths.
Zhang Xuan was completely at a loss for what to do.
If these Withered Beasts continued to attack him, even if his zhenqi, he would not be able to withstand it!
"Eye of Insight!"
Zhang Xuan tried a few more methods, but none of them worked. The runes in his eyes wriggled, and he saw that something was wrong.
Every time a Rotten Beast was killed, a stream of black gas would flow out from the ruins and nourish it. After absorbing the black gas, the Rotten Beast would be full of energy again and continue to fight.
"These Decay Beasts are formed from the Decay Qi in the ruins. As long as the Decay Qi is not extinguished, the beasts will not die …"
Realization dawned upon him.
It was no wonder that he was unable to completely destroy these things despite using all of his methods. These things did not devour the air of decay, but were formed by the condensation of the air of decay. As long as this dilapidated air remained, they would never be destroyed.
"Destroy the already dilapidated buildings, and make new traces appear in the places of decay!"
Zhang Xuan raised his eyebrows and sent another wave of sword qi toward Zhang Xuan.
This time, the attack was not directed at the Decay Beast, but at the already dilapidated building.
Rumble!
Rubble flew everywhere, and the dilapidated building caved in once more, revealing new traces of decay.
With the appearance of new traces, the Decay Beasts could no longer be bothered with the Decay Beasts anymore. Instead, it piled up and corroded the Decay Beasts. After a few slashes, the Decay Beasts were decapitated, and they would not be able to take form again in the short term.
"It won't be long before new Decay Beasts are formed! And there will be even more of them! "
Seeing that his conjecture was correct, Zhang Xuan was astonished.
There was indeed something peculiar about the City of Collapsed Space.
While destroying the buildings and forming new traces of decay was able to disperse the Decay Beasts, the buildings would not be able to withstand more than a few rounds of destruction. More importantly, as more and more of the Decay Beasts were corroded, the energy of decay would grow stronger and stronger, and the number of Decay Beasts would increase as well.
In other words, while they might be able to escape from the calamity by destroying the buildings, those who would come later would face greater and greater dangers.
"I wonder where the Decay Beasts come from. It's already beyond the comprehension of Ancient Sages and Semi-Divinities …"
With a deep frown, Zhang Xuan decided not to think too much about it and continued onward.
With the experience he had with the Decay Beasts, Zhang Xuan and his clone proceeded forward cautiously. They did not even dare to pick up the medicinal herbs on the ground.
After advancing for around ten minutes, they suddenly felt zhenqi surging up ahead. It seemed like there was a battle going on.
Nodding to his clone, Zhang Xuan stealthily made his way forward. After circling around a dilapidated wall, two figures appeared before him.
They were the two of the four Heavenly High Immortals who had barged into Starchaser Palace.
One of them had lost an arm, while the other had a hideous wound on his chest. The wound was festering, and it was emitting a foul stench.
"I'll take you down with me!"
Roaring furiously, the two Heavenly High Immortals brandished their swords and pierced toward one another.
Their zhenqi was roughly on par with one another, so it was hard to tell who was stronger.
"Why are they fighting among themselves?"
Zhang Xuan frowned.
He thought that he had encountered Fu Chenzi or Palace Master Du, but who could have thought that the two Heavenly High Immortals would be fighting one another so viciously?
"No, that's not right. They must have fallen into an Illusion Formation …"
A moment later, Zhang Xuan noticed that something was amiss.
He had met the warriors of the Hall of Gods several times, and he knew that none of them had any emotions. However, the two of them were fighting one another valiantly, and every single move they made was aimed at one another's vitals.
Perhaps, there was an Illusory Formation operating in the surroundings.
Activating his Eye of Insight, Zhang Xuan swiftly scanned the surroundings.
A deep frown appeared on his forehead.
As a formation grandmaster, his understanding of formations had long reached the peak of the Azure. If there was an Illusory Formation in the surroundings, there should have been a fluctuation in spiritual energy, resulting in the formation of a spiritual energy vortex.
However, through his Eye of Insight, the surroundings were completely silent. He did not notice any disturbance in spiritual energy, and he was unable to find any formation flags or formation core either.
"If it's not an Illusory Formation without formation flags and formation core, then what could it be?"
Zhang Xuan scanned the surroundings once more, and soon, a few unique flowers appeared before him.
These flowers were scattered around the ruins in a symmetrical manner, and the air of degeneration was being absorbed into them, making them appear exceptionally beautiful.
"This is … the Inner Demon Flower!"
The Inner Demon Flower was a legendary plant. It emanated a unique aura that could induce inner demons in one, similar to the Bloodsoaked Stone. Under normal circumstances, even if a cultivator were to approach it, they would not be affected. The only exception was … attacking it would trigger a backlash.
Could it be that the duo had attacked all of the Inner Demon Flowers simultaneously, resulting in a collective backlash. Even the Heavenly High Immortals were unable to extricate themselves from the illusion?
"No, that's not right. Someone must have set up a trap for the duo …"
Zhang Xuan pondered for a moment before coming to a realization.
There was a unique energy fluctuation around the Inner Demon Flowers. If someone were to enter this area, they would come into contact with this energy and eventually attack the Inner Demon Flowers, resulting in a disturbance in one's mind.
Most likely, these two Heavenly High Immortals had fallen into this trap, resulting in their current state.
"Could it be that … Palace Master Du left them behind?"
The reason why the Hall of Gods had come here was to capture Palace Master Du. Given that the other party knew how dangerous this place was, it was likely that they had a deep understanding of the City of Collapsed Space and intended to make use of the environment to kill Du Qingyuan.
"Forget it … It's best that they're killing one another!"
Having figured out what was going on, Zhang Xuan heaved a sigh of relief. With a leap, he prepared to leave this area so as to not come into contact with the Inner Demon Flowers.
However, barely after flying a few meters, he suddenly came to a halt.
"This won't do. It's too wasteful to leave just like that … Since I'm going to die anyway, I might as well do a good deed!"
Focusing his attention, Zhang Xuan flicked his finger, and dozens of surges of zhenqi shot into the surroundings.
Weng! With a stomp of his foot, a ring-shaped barrier suddenly appeared in front of the Inner Demon Flowers, blocking their path.
With the appearance of the barrier, the two Heavenly High Immortals were no longer affected by it. The redness in their eyes slowly receded.
"What's going on?"
"What's going on with us?"
Regaining their consciousness, the two Heavenly High Immortals came to a halt.
"The two of you were under the control of the Inner Demon Flowers, and you were killing one another earlier!"
While the two Heavenly High Immortals were perplexed, Zhang Xuan suddenly walked over.
"Inner Demon Flowers …"
Seeing that Zhang Xuan had caught up to them, the two Heavenly High Immortals heaved a sigh of relief. Cold sweat trickled down their foreheads.
They had heard of the Inner Demon Flowers before, and they knew that it possessed incredible might. Who could have thought that they would actually fall for it?
"In order to prevent the two of you from continuing to fight and injuring one another, hand your swords to me!"
Zhang Xuan said as he walked up to them.
The two Heavenly High Immortals frowned.
"Hurry up! Once the Inner Demon Flowers attack again, you won't be able to hold on for much longer.
Zhang Xuan bellowed as he clenched his fists tightly.
The two Heavenly High Immortals were already at the end of their tether, so how could they possibly stop Zhang Xuan?
"You …"
The two Heavenly High Immortals frowned.
"Alright, there's no need to think too much about it. I'm doing this for the two of you …"
Zhang Xuan patted their shoulders consolingly before stowing the two Heavenly High Immortals into his storage ring. With a push of his foot, he leaped into the air.
"Alright, you guys have fun …"
Boom!
With a resounding explosion, the barrier that they had set up earlier suddenly exploded, and the energy of the Inner Demon Flowers began to spread once more.
"What are you doing?"
Feeling their eyes reddening once more, the two Heavenly High Immortals were on the verge of going insane.
Isn't this fellow here to save us?
Why is he getting the Inner Demon Flowers to attack us again?
What do you mean by having fun? What are we supposed to do?
"I'll kill you!"
Unable to comprehend the situation, the two Heavenly High Immortals' vision blurred, and they found themselves falling into the illusion once more.
Peng peng peng peng!
Even though they had lost their weapons, they didn't hold back at all. Every single one of their palms was filled with strength, and every single one of them was determined to kill the other party.
Pu pu pu!
Soon, the two Heavenly High Immortals collapsed to the ground with blood spurting from their mouths.
Even at their last breaths, they couldn't understand why their companion would allow them to kill one another after taking away their weapons.
"Let's go!"
Zhang Xuan knew that this would happen to them, so he didn't bother wasting his breath on them.
Since they were going to die anyway, he couldn't afford to waste their weapons. As for their corpses … he had plenty of them in his storage ring, so it didn't matter to him.
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