Chen Xuan found Guo Yun's reply somewhat unexpected, yet within reason. After all, someone capable of standing in the very center of the Wanren Sacrifice ought to have some extraordinary qualities.
Walking through the still-dark tunnel, Chen Xuan sighed, "Why does it feel like you people are hollowing out the capital until it's like an ant nest?"
Look at all these twists and turns, with so many branching paths in between. Without someone to lead the way, they would waste so much effort.
Guo Yun led the way at the front. Catching Zhang Mian out of the corner of his eye looking eager to explore a side tunnel, he issued a warning, "Step in there and you'll be engulfed in poisonous miasma. Within half a quarter of an hour, your entire body will rot away, and you'll die."
Hiss—
How ruthless!
Though he had no idea if it would work on him now.
Zhang Mian's peeking, probing body froze. He pulled back his neck and obediently followed behind.
The secret passage he knew was much smoother overall, without all these terrifying-sounding choices.
Chen Xuan was deep in thought. He could sense an uncomfortable aura emanating from within—a feeling he had never experienced before.
Could this be a benefit brought by cultivating immortality?
"We're here."
After walking for about two hours, the three of them finally reached the exit.
Guo Yun triggered some mechanism, and the door at the end slowly swung open.
"Grandpa's bedchamber?"
Stepping out and looking at the familiar surroundings, Zhang Mian's jaw nearly dropped.
Chen Xuan raised an eyebrow. The bedchamber of a sovereign?
If outsiders found out about this, assassinating the ruler would be far too easy.
Guo Yun knew far too much; he seemed much more like a legitimate successor than this so-called imperial grandson, Zhang Mian, though there was no telling if Zhang Mian's mind was racing.
Guo Yun stepped out cautiously and checked the surroundings, his face darkening. "Your Majesty, something has happened."
It was a statement of certainty, without a shred of doubt.
"Grandpa's in trouble?!"
Zhang Mian snapped back to reality.
Chen Xuan sighed, "Not only is your Majesty in trouble, but we're in trouble too."
He knew it! How could there possibly be no preparations made?
Guo Yun and Zhang Mian exchanged a blank look. "What?"
"Clap, clap, clap!"
While the two of them were still clueless, applause sounded from outside, and the door was pushed open with a creak.
"I never expected to run into a fellow cultivator here."
The familiar face that appeared was none other than Zhang Yan.
He wore a blood-red robe embroidered with dark silver patterns that looked like ripples of fresh blood gleaming in the sunlight.
Chen Xuan knew that was a magical treasure with quite decent defensive power.
Tch! It sure is nice to have a powerful backer!
Having viewed Zhang Yan's memories, Chen Xuan naturally knew where this magical treasure came from.
He wondered if his current self could break through it.
"Brother—older brother?" Zhang Mian was dumbfounded.
With a face as stern as water, Guo Yun quietly stepped in front of Zhang Mian. "...First Prince."
His tone carried no respect whatsoever, as though he were simply addressing a familiar face on the street.
"Guo Yun?" Zhang Yan finally deigned to shift a fraction of the gaze glued to Chen Xuan. "You're still alive?"
"Thanks to the Prince's mercy in sparing my life," Guo Yun replied, his tone neither servile nor overbearing.
"Hmph," Zhang Yan sneered. "It was the old emperor who saved you, wasn't it?"
He looked Guo Yun up and down. "And it's a good thing he did."
Guo Yun had no idea what Zhang Yan meant by a good thing, but Chen Xuan did.
"Stop struggling and come quietly with us, unless you want me to break all your hands and feet," Zhang Yan warned, casting a glance at Guo Yun and Zhang Mian before they could resist.
A mere trace of the pressure emanating from him was enough to let them know the vast disparity in their strength.
Chen Xuan stepped forward, shielding the other two behind him. He narrowed his eyes and said, "Perfect. There are a few things I don't understand—mind if I ask a fellow Daoist for some pointers?"
"...Please."
Zhang Yan stared for a long time at this black-robed youth whom he had never met before, yet who always gave him the eerie feeling of being completely seen through. He stepped back half a pace and made an inviting gesture.
Chen Xuan took the lead and stepped out of the hall.
Sure enough, the outside was already surrounded.
It seemed that not only the surface of the imperial palace, but even the ant nests beneath it were under the other's complete surveillance. To think he had painstakingly walked for so long—if he had known, he would have just met them at the front entrance.
"The Wanren Sacrifice. The array is carved quite well."
With his hands behind his back, Chen Xuan looked at the familiar plaza and nodded.
He was no longer his past self; while other arrays might be somewhat unfamiliar to him, he wouldn't miss a single detail of an array already deeply engraved in Zhang Yan's memory.
"It seems Your Excellency has quite deep ties with my Soul Refining Sect."
Zhang Yan hadn't expected this youth to see through it at a single glance, and his vigilance deepened considerably.
It was very strange. The opponent's cultivation level fluctuated erratically, making him feel at times as though he were facing an equal, at times that the opponent's cultivation was far more profound than his own, but most of the time giving the impression of being much weaker—around the Seventh Layer of Qi Condensation.
Since he was at the Qi Condensation Great Circle and on the verge of Early Foundation Establishment, he should have been able to effortlessly crush anyone in the Qi Condensation Stage, and even against someone in Early Foundation Establishment, he would have had a fighting chance.
Yet facing this black-robed youth, he dared not act rashly.
"Of course I'm familiar with it. You're the one who told me all about it."
Seeing the Wanren Sacrifice in the plaza on the verge of completion, Chen Xuan knew that today's battle was unavoidable.
Though he had originally intended to take a more roundabout approach, if the Wanren Sacrifice were fully completed, it would become rather troublesome.
Taking advantage of the fact that it wasn't finished yet, he would leverage some clever momentum.
And by the way, properly settle the accounts from his past life!
?!
Zhang Yan dodged Chen Xuan's sneak attack, panic surging in his heart.
How was this possible?!
The move the opponent used was actually his own self-comprehended technique!
Having failed his sneak attack, Chen Xuan inwardly sighed—there was still a gap in their strength.
"How do you know my technique?"
Zhang Yan was immensely proud of creating a new technique while still in the Qi Condensation Stage; he had planned to hone it further before returning to ask his master for refinement.
He never expected to see it wielded by an outsider first, and executed with even greater maturity than his own.
"Like I said, you told me."
Since the fight had already begun, there was no turning back.
Chen Xuan gripped his sword in one hand while flicking out talismans with the other.
Had he known he would have to fight this guy head-on, he wouldn't have wasted so many talismans earlier. He had heard this stuff was quite expensive.
"Boom, boom, boom—"
The talismans exploded. After a single volley, the palace they stood in was already teetering on the verge of collapse.
Guo Yun and Zhang Mian remained a safe distance away and were not caught in the shockwave.
"Is this what immortals fighting looks like?!"
Zhang Mian stared slack-jawed at the fierce battle unfolding before him.