Half a day later, Zhang Xuan and Jiang Yao returned to Starchaser Palace.
First Elder Zhao Yue couldn't believe her eyes when she saw Jiang Yao.
She thought that their parting would last forever, but who could have thought that she would return alive?
"It's all thanks to Sect Leader Zhang Xuan!"
Jiang Yao explained.
"Sect Leader Zhang Xuan? Sect Leader Zhang of the Ascendant Cloud Sword Pavilion? "
Zhao Yue was taken aback.
Jiang Yao nodded. "Is Sect Leader Zhang back yet?"
Zhao Yue shook her head.
"That shouldn't be the case. I sent a message to her as soon as I was safe, and she should have returned by now. Why isn't she here yet?"
The place that Zhang Xuan had gone to wasn't as far away as the City of Collapsed Space. Logically speaking, she should have returned first, so why wasn't there any news from her?
"Let's wait for a while. She might have been delayed by something!"
Zhao Yue said with a smile. "Our sect leader is powerful, and no one knows that she has left secretly. Even you and I aren't aware of it. She shouldn't be in any danger!"
"Un." Jiang Yao nodded.
They had no idea when Zhang Xuan had left and where she had gone, but they were certain that she wasn't as far away as the City of Collapsed Space.
After arranging Zhang Xuan's lodging, the two elders began to panic when they saw that Du Qingyuan was still nowhere to be seen.
"Let's head to the Hall of Worship and contact Sect Leader Zhang."
Jiang Yao frowned.
They had been with Palace Master Du for more than a thousand years, so they were well aware of her temperament. As long as she received news, she would have rushed back without any delay.
Yet, there was no news from her at all. Could it be that she was in danger?
They quickly made their way to the Hall of Worship.
In a spacious room, they saw an altar similar to the one they had seen before.
There was no pressure from the gods on this altar, so it was unlikely that they had sacrificed any god blood. A moment later, flames began to burn on the surface of the altar.
Starchaser Palace was able to communicate with gods from other worlds through rituals, let alone those from the same world.
The flames began to twist, as if summoning something. Elder Jiang Yao dripped three droplets of blood into the altar, and the flames began to distort, forming the shape of a human.
Just as the flames were about to take form, with a loud pop, the flames suddenly burst apart.
Zhang Xuan frowned.
He had read books on the rituals of the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe, and such a situation could only mean one thing — something had happened!
As expected, upon seeing this sight, Jiang Yao and First Elder Zhao Yue's faces paled. Their bodies swayed unsteadily, and they nearly collapsed to the ground. "Something happened to the sect leader …"
"What happened?"
Zhang Xuan asked.
"Under normal circumstances, the Sacrificial Altar would send a strand of the Sect Master's will to confirm her situation before exploding. The Sect Master … is very likely to be in mortal danger …"
Jiang Yao was very anxious.
Zhang Xuan's pupils shrank.
The other party had devised several methods in succession and even used Jiang Yao to lure the people from the Temple away. Could it be that … they had still been discovered?
If that was really the case, then the Divine Palace was really too terrifying!
"What do we do now?"
Jiang Yao looked at First Elder Zhao Yue who was not far away.
In order to ensure her safety, the sectmaster didn't tell anyone when she left. Even they didn't know where she had gone.
Since they didn't know her exact location, it was likely that she had hidden all possible routes. How were they supposed to find her then?
After a moment of hesitation, First Elder Zhao Yue flicked her wrist and took out a jade token. "Before leaving, the sect leader instructed us to crush this jade token if she doesn't return …"
After saying those words, she crushed the jade token lightly.
Weng!
There was a flash of light, and a line of words floated into the air.
"If I don't return, I am to appoint Zhang Xuan of the Ascendant Cloud Sword Pavilion as the new sect leader. Heed his commands and heed his every command!"
"This …"
After reading the words on the jade token, First Elder Zhao Yue and First Elder Jiang Yao glanced at one another before hurriedly turning their gazes over.
Zhang Xuan was also dumbfounded.
Palace Master Du actually left a message for him to become the new sect leader … What was going on?
"Is your palace master … this person?"
Zhang Xuan pondered for a moment before tapping his finger. A silhouette of a person appeared before him.
It was the deity who had appeared from the heavens to take away Sovereign Chen Yong's soul back then.
"It's her!"
First Elder Zhao Yue nodded.
"As I thought …"
Zhang Xuan smiled bitterly.
He had already guessed this when he found out that the person in Starchaser Palace was an Otherworldly Demon who had absorbed the spiritual energy of the mercury.
He had thought that he would be able to meet her soon, so he didn't ask anyone about it. Who could have thought that something would happen?
That person knew about his relationship with Lozosy, as well as where the latter had gone. If something were to happen to her, he would have lost his source of information.
After confirming the other party's identity, he finally understood why the other party wanted him to become the new sect leader.
The only one in the world who could cause a Semi-Divinity realm cultivator to go through such a drastic change was the Hall of Gods.
And the only one who could stand against the Hall of Gods was him, the new sect leader of the Ascendant Cloud Sword Pavilion, who had comprehended the Gods' Sword Intent!
Of course, while others might not know the names of Liu Yang, Zheng Yang, and the others, Du Qingyuan, who had saved Wu Chen, had definitely heard of them. Perhaps, she had already guessed that they were the same person.
That was also why she had decided to pass the position of the head of Starchaser Palace to him.
With this, the Four Sects would be able to ally with one another to deal with the Hall of Gods.
"Sect Leader Zhang …"
Jiang Yao and Zhang Xuan turned to Zhang Xuan and said, "Since the sect leader has made such a decision, she must have her own plans. What do you think we should do?"
The two of them had seen Zhang Xuan summon four Semi-Divinity realm tamed beasts with their own eyes, so they didn't doubt his strength.
Furthermore, since the sect leader had already made such a decision, they would just have to follow her orders.
"Since Palace Master Du has said so, I'll accept the position of the head of Starchaser Palace."
Zhang Xuan nodded in agreement.
He had long been at odds with the Hall of Gods. Since that was the case, there was no harm in bringing another sect along.
Besides, Starchaser Palace could find a way to communicate with Lozosy.
"Alright, we'll begin preparing for the inauguration ceremony. Sect Leader Zhang, you should rest for the time being. Most likely, the other five sects will be here tomorrow to witness the inauguration ceremony."
First Elder Zhao Yue said with a smile.
The five sects had already gathered for the Azure Bridge, and most of them should be here tomorrow. Since that was the case, it would be good for them to witness the inauguration ceremony together.
She had no idea why Zhang Xuan wanted the head of the Ascendant Cloud Sword Pavilion to take charge of Starchaser Palace, but once she did so, it would mean that the two sects would be on good terms with one another. Even the Hall of Gods would have to restrain itself a little.
"Alright," Zhang Xuan nodded.
It wouldn't be too difficult for him to become the head of any sect. In any case, he would just have to leave the matter to someone else.
While the two elders were making preparations for the inauguration ceremony, Zhang Xuan was also in a good mood. Without any hesitation, he headed straight to the library of Starchaser Palace.
Even though his cultivation had reached the High Immortal realm, he was still unable to advance further. He had to gather more cultivation techniques and secret manuals.
Half a day later, after leaving the library, Zhang Xuan found himself a silent chamber.
As expected of a sect that was able to communicate with the gods, Starchaser Palace had countless cultivation techniques and secret manuals, far surpassing those of the Ascendant Cloud Sword Pavilion, Myriad Beasts Hall, and Seven Star Pavilion.
This was especially so for their research on the soul, which far surpassed those of the other sects.
With a thought, the light in the library flickered, and a High Immortal-tier Heaven's Path Soul Art appeared.
Following which, Zhang Xuan compiled all of the High Immortal-tier cultivation techniques together with those of the other three sects.
Soon, a new book appeared.
"There are only three flaws, and they can be fixed with just a few treasures …"
Zhang Xuan heaved a sigh of relief after browsing through the book.
There weren't too many High Immortal-tier cultivation techniques in Starchaser Palace, but there were plenty of annotations and insights. Assimilating them all into the book, Zhang Xuan was able to fix the flaws in the book down to just three.
"Water of Heavy Silver, Metal of Starglory, and Leaf Sucking Grass …"
The three flaws corresponded to three treasures, and each of them was extremely valuable. Their value was on par with that of the diamond crystal.
"Leaf Sucking Grass … I managed to obtain quite a few stalks back in the City of Collapsed Space, and I can use them right away. Furthermore, they are much more potent than ordinary medicinal herbs …"
Zhang Xuan calculated the treasures in his possession.
While the City of Collapsed Space was fraught with dangers, there were plenty of treasures here. At the very least, he had obtained quite a few Leaf Sucking Grass, which was more than enough for him to cultivate.
"As for the Metal of Starglory … I happen to have one in Bai Xuansheng's storage ring!"
Back at the Sea of Little Mirror, he had secretly stolen the storage ring of the head of the Blackmirror Citadel, Bai Xuansheng. This time, he had discreetly checked the storage ring in Starchaser Palace, and there were quite a few treasures in there. There were two Heavenly High Immortal-tier artifacts, as well as all kinds of medicinal herbs, ores, and cultivation resources. In fact, there just so happened to be a Metal of Starglory.
In that case, the only treasure he needed was the Water of Heavy Silver.
Just like the Dragon Orb, the Water of Heavy Silver existed in the depths of the ocean, making it extremely difficult to find. Even the Seven Star Pavilion, which often sold treasures, was unable to find it.
"I should head to the Ethereal Hall to take a look. It would be best if I could buy it and put a bounty on it …"
Since there were records of the Water of Heavy Silver in the books, and it was clear that it was beneficial to his cultivation of Heaven's Path Divine Arts, it was likely that someone in the world had used it before.
Just because the Water of Heavy Silver couldn't be found in the Seven Star Pavilion and Starchaser Palace didn't mean that it couldn't be found in the Ethereal Hall.
The Ethereal Hall was located all over the Master Teacher Continent, and it sold all kinds of treasures. In terms of the variety of treasures, it was likely that the Water of Heavy Silver far surpassed that of the Seven Star Pavilion. Even so, I should be able to find some useful information through the Ethereal Hall.
With such thoughts in mind, Zhang Xuan quickly left the room and looked for First Elder Zhao Yue.
"Starchaser Palace is located on Starchaser Island, so there's no barrier between it and the outside world. This is a High Immortal-tier Ethereal Token. You can use it to enter the Starchaser Palace."
First Elder Zhao Yue passed a Ethereal Token over.
Just like the Seven Star Pavilion, Starchaser Palace was located in the middle of a large city. There was no need for a network to isolate it, so one could enter the Ethereal Hall directly.
"Thank you!"
Since First Elder Zhao Yue had the Ethereal Token, there was no need for him to search for it anymore. Heaving a sigh of relief, Zhang Xuan returned to the silent chamber. He was just about to enter the Ethereal Hall to look for the Water of Heavy Silver when a thought suddenly surfaced in his mind.
"The reason why I was noticed by the Hall of Gods twice was because I was in the Ethereal Hall … Could it be that the same thing happened this time as well?"
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