Chapter 387: Seclusion to Heal Wounds

Watching Wu Jian flee in a panic, a look of relief appeared on Zhang Nuo's sallow face. Just moments ago, under the strike of the "Heavenly Dao Spirit Sword," none of Zhang Nuo's various Magic Treasures had been able to defend against it. Seeing the giant sword about to slash into him, he had been forced by desperation to activate the "Puppet Doll"!

This substitute puppet had been tempered by Infant Fire within Zhang Nuo's body for several decades, though it had not yet reached the stage of perfection. If the situation had not been critical today, Zhang Nuo would not have released it so easily!

Turning his head to glance at the paper-like humanoid figure behind him, he saw it slowly dissolving, and in the blink of an eye, it turned into a patch of spirit light and vanished completely!

Zhang Nuo felt a pang of heartache; in order to take the strike of the "Heavenly Dao Spirit Sword," this substitute puppet had been destroyed, with no possibility of being refined back into his body.

Although he had lost a puppet, his life had been saved. However, besides the puppet doll bearing the brunt of the attack, Zhang Nuo's own body had also endured the remaining force!

Even after tempering his physical body with "Red Glow Fire," "Immovable Underworld King," and "Eight Extremes Demon Veins," the force of that strike was truly too great, and Zhang Nuo still could not bear it. Do not be fooled by the nonchalant appearance he had put on for Wu Jian; in reality, he was already severely injured!

Wu Jian had been frightened by Zhang Nuo's appearance for a moment, and furthermore, his own Spirit Power was exhausted, so he dared not continue the battle and fled in a panic. If he had been bolder, and the two had truly fought to the death, it would have been hard to say who would live and who would die!

A bitter smile appeared at the corner of Zhang Nuo's mouth. It seemed there was truly some luck involved today. With a movement of his Divine Sense, he retrieved all the Magic Treasures scattered around. Upon internal inspection, he saw that the Flying Sword, Measuring Heaven Ruler, and Four Spirits Square Cauldron inside the Nine Dragon Sword Case all had varying degrees of damage!

Facing such a massive attack, it would be a miracle if these few Magic Treasures had no damage at all! However, minor damage to Magic Treasures was not an issue for Zhang Nuo at all! As long as the Magic Treasures were not blasted into slag, he could use the crystals produced by the Mysterious Heaven Gold-Devouring Insect to repair them!

Looking around, he saw that within a radius of several hundred miles, the landscape had already changed drastically; the ground was a scene of ruin, and not even a single intact plant remained! He secretly made up his mind that if he met Wu Jian again, he would never give him the chance to activate the "Heavenly Dao Spirit Sword"!

The power of this sword was truly too terrifying; it could simply be described as shattering the heavens and splitting the earth! Steadying his mind, Zhang Nuo barely managed to extract a few wisps of Spiritual Qi from his Divine Sea, then transformed into a streak of light and flew toward Yulong Immortal Mountain!

After this battle with Wu Jian, he no longer had the ability to destroy the camps of the three major sects! If he did not leave quickly, someone else might come to kill him!

In his severely injured state, even a cultivator at the Golden Core Late Stage could likely take his life with ease!

Avoiding the people of Taixu Palace along the way, Zhang Nuo carefully snuck back to the foot of Yulong Immortal Mountain. Looking at the Mountain Protection Array composed of five-colored glow, he extended a palm and pressed it lightly against the Restriction, and as he closed his eyes slightly, his figure was enveloped and pulled inside by the barrier of light.

In the main hall of Yulong Immortal Mountain, Zhang Nuo sat on a chair, his complexion still looking extremely poor. Standing beside him were Yang Huzi and Liu Qingshan, respectively. These two looked at Zhang Nuo with concern, both feeling an indescribable sense of awe in their hearts!

Zhou Huizheng, sitting in the main seat, was even more stunned, his jaw nearly hitting the floor! After hearing Zhang Nuo's account, a thought rose in the hearts of all three: Zhang Nuo was simply not human! He was a god!

Setting aside the battle with Nanxuan Laozu, the mere fact that he could be struck by Wu Jian's "Heavenly Dao Spirit Sword" and not die was already absolutely shocking!

Although Zhang Nuo did not know about Wu Jian's "Heavenly Dao Spirit Sword," Zhou Huizheng and the others were well aware of it. This sword was a Magic Treasure of the Mysterious Heaven Grade! But what Wu Jian held was only a broken blade!

Do not be fooled by it being only a broken blade; the power it unleashed was definitely not to be underestimated. Previously, Wu Jian had only used the "Heavenly Dao Spirit Sword" five times, and every person he killed was illustrious; he had even once killed a cultivator who had one foot across the threshold into the Spirit Severing Stage!

Listening to Zhou Huizheng's account, Zhang Nuo also broke out in a cold sweat. His originally sallow complexion gradually turned somewhat pale, and the palm he pressed against the back of the chair was sweating profusely!

"Fourth Brother! Let me tell you, that battle between you and Wu Jian was even more perilous than killing Ji Gui! This time, you have truly become famous!"

Reaching out to pat Zhang Nuo on the shoulder, Yang Huzi said, looking at Zhang Nuo with envious eyes! Truly, one cannot judge a person by their appearance, just as one cannot measure the sea with a bucket. The seemingly plain and unremarkable Zhang Nuo could actually accomplish such astonishing feats!

"Ouch!"

Zhang Nuo was already injured, and he had been anxious to return to explain the situation to Zhou Huizheng and the others, not daring to delay along the way. By now, he had already reached his limit, and being patted like that by Yang Huzi, a wave of intense pain immediately surged through his body!

Hearing the cry, Yang Huzi hurriedly retracted his hand and then gave a very apologetic, bitter smile! It seemed that even though Zhang Nuo had survived the attack of the "Heavenly Dao Spirit Sword," his body had paid a great price!

"Pavilion Master! During this time, while I was killing cultivators in the recuperation camps on the outskirts, I discovered that Taixu Palace has gathered many cultivators from who knows where! These people are clearly Loose Cultivators!"

Rubbing the spot where Yang Huzi had patted him, Zhang Nuo turned his face and said to Zhou Huizheng.

"We had already investigated this. The reason Wei Laogui was able to gather so many people is because he made a promise!"

"What promise?"

Zhang Nuo blinked, greatly puzzled. With the strength of Taixu Palace, what kind of conditions could they offer to make these Loose Cultivators risk their lives for them? Moreover, when he and Yang Huzi had destroyed those precious materials in the "Rare Gold," that was basically the entire foundation of Taixu Palace!

"Wei Laogui told them that if they could take Yulong Immortal Mountain, every cultivator who participated in the battle would be allotted a Cave Abode for cultivation on Yulong Immortal Mountain! Such an advantageous condition—even I would be tempted if I heard it!"

Zhou Huizheng said with a hint of self-mockery! Hearing this, Zhang Nuo swallowed a mouthful of saliva and remained speechless for a long time!

Wei Shang doing this was clearly intended to drive the Giant Spirit Pavilion to its death! To be able to obtain a Cave Abode on the seventh-ranked Immortal Mountain was something many Loose Cultivators would never dare to dream of!

This seemingly thankless approach by Wei Laogui was actually accelerating the destruction of the Giant Spirit Pavilion! One must ask, on the Immortal Illusion Continent, among the Loose Cultivators living at the very bottom, who does not want a chance to get ahead? For the sake of future development, even taking some risks is worth it!

"What an insidious method!"

Zhang Nuo let out a heavy breath. It seemed that the Giant Spirit Pavilion was currently on the cutting edge, and one mistake would surely lead to the disaster of the sect's annihilation!

"Hmph! Wei Laogui underestimates us too much. Does he think he can break through Yulong Immortal Mountain with those cultivators gathered by scraping together scraps?"

Yang Huzi snorted coldly, saying with great disdain. After several confrontations with Taixu Palace, he had discovered that those gathered Loose Cultivators had no combat effectiveness at all; after a few charges, many of them had been killed!

"Third Brother! Do not look down on those Loose Cultivators; there are many formidable figures among them! It is just that we haven't encountered them in this short time!"

Fearing that Yang Potian might be careless, Zhou Huizheng warned him sternly!

"Pavilion Master, for some time now, Taixu Palace seems to have been much quieter. Could they be brewing some scheme?"

Liu Qingshan was cunning and experienced; after a brief calculation in his heart, he felt that things were unusual!

"At this time, we can only respond to the changing situation with constancy!"

With a look of helplessness on his face, Zhou Huizheng gave a bitter smile and said:

"Fourth Brother, you go back and heal your wounds first! Also, you can rest assured and leave the affairs of the Pavilion to us! Unless it is absolutely necessary, we will not disturb you!"

Through this incident, Zhou Huizheng was even more convinced of one thing: Zhang Nuo had no intention of leaving due to the changes that had befallen the Giant Spirit Pavilion! And with Zhang Nuo's supernatural powers, he was also of huge help to the current Giant Spirit Pavilion!

Zhang Nuo's injuries were very severe now, but with the help of the Purple Mansion Immortal Cave, he believed that within a few months, he should be mostly recovered. By that time, Zhang Nuo would definitely be a sharp sword! A sharp sword capable of severely damaging Taixu Palace!

Hearing this, Zhang Nuo did not stand on ceremony; he took his leave directly and flew toward the location of the Purple Mansion Immortal Cave. Along the way, the disciples of the Pavilion were all overjoyed to see Zhang Nuo return. As Zhang Nuo approached the Immortal Cave, his gaze fell upon a cultivation spot!

He saw Ye Ling'er still sitting steadily upon it, as if she had not left since the day she entered! Zhang Nuo felt speechless! This former Senior Sister was really something else! To actually occupy a cultivation spot the whole time!

Zhang Nuo scanned the surroundings and happened to see an empty cultivation spot. He immediately flew over and sat down, pointing one hand at the giant crystal in the center. A wisp of Spiritual Qi burst forth from the surface of the crystal and flowed slowly into Zhang Nuo's body!

Zhou Huizheng was true to his word; more than two months passed, and he never came to bother Zhang Nuo! Using this time, Zhang Nuo finally stabilized the injuries within his body!

This day, he rose and came to a room in the Purple Mansion Immortal Cave. He reached out and cast several incantations, setting up a Restriction over the entire room, then took the Spirit Beast Bag from his bosom, opened it, and released the "Mysterious Heaven Gold-Devouring Insect"!

As soon as this insect landed, he saw it holding the egg that had fused with the soul of the "Qiongqi Beast" in its arms, sleeping soundly, with drool even dripping onto the egg!

Zhang Nuo frowned; this little fellow was simply a sleepyhead! It was rarely awake!

"Xuanjin! Xuanjin! Wake up quickly!"

Reaching out to pat the little face of the Gold-Devouring Insect, Zhang Nuo called out repeatedly!