Chapter 218: My Master Is Definitely Stronger Than Yours

After Li Ya's sudden disappearance, Zhang Bukui panicked.

He leaped into the air, scanning the vast temple complex, only to find endless courtyards stretching beyond the horizon. No matter how hard he searched, Li Ya was nowhere to be seen.

Not just Li Ya—he couldn’t see a single living soul.

His panic deepened as he began flying around in search of his missing companion.

"Li Ya!"

He shouted at the top of his lungs—but received no response.

The eerie sense of dread around him intensified.

No matter which direction he flew, he saw no people, no exit, and worse—the same courtyards seemed to repeat.

Gradually, even his mind felt sluggish.

Before he knew it, he stumbled into one of the courtyards.

The world spun.

His eyelids grew heavy.

A wave of overwhelming drowsiness struck him. His knees buckled, and he collapsed to the ground, barely holding himself up with his hands.

"Damn it... No... I can't pass out here..."

He struggled to keep himself conscious.

Then, he heard footsteps approaching.

With great difficulty, he turned his head and saw a blurred, shadowy figure walking toward him.

It appeared to be an old monk dressed in ragged robes.

The monk squatted beside him.

Zhang Bukui still couldn’t see the old monk’s face—only his skeletal, ghostly hands with overgrown fingernails.

A primal sense of terror seized Zhang Bukui.

At that moment, a faint, distant chirping sound reached his ears.

It sounded familiar—as if he had heard it somewhere before.

The old monk’s body suddenly trembled, turning toward the sound as if he were shouting at something unseen.

Then—he vanished into thin air.

At the same time, Zhang Bukui felt something land on his shoulder.

His consciousness snapped back to clarity as his vision steadied.

Regaining full awareness, he quickly stood up and looked over his shoulder—only to find a sparrow perched on him.

"It’s you!"

Zhang Bukui exclaimed in surprise.

This was the same sparrow that had led him to an ancient cave, helping him acquire a demon core and learn the Axe Techniques. He would never forget it.

He instinctively reached out to grab the sparrow, but it fluttered away, landing atop the courtyard wall and chirping nonstop.

Though he didn’t understand bird language, he could tell from its gestures that it wanted him to follow.

Without hesitation, he chased after it.

Eventually, the sparrow perched atop a stone statue.

Zhang Bukui stepped closer and was shocked to discover that the statue’s face belonged to Li Ya!

The statue’s body was that of a Buddha draped in a monk’s robe, but with Li Ya’s face.

It looked incredibly unsettling.

Zhang Bukui immediately tried to wake Li Ya, but no response came.

Meanwhile, the sparrow—who was actually Gu An—watched in silence, sighing inwardly.

"This kid has a strong body and decent cultivation, but his divine sense is still too weak. He needs more training."

Gu An flapped his wings and began pecking at the statue's face, hoping to give Zhang Bukui a hint.

Sure enough, Zhang Bukui caught on.

"I got it! Step back!" he said.

Gu An flew away, and Zhang Bukui clenched his fist.

With a powerful punch, he shattered the statue’s head.

RUMBLE—

The ground trembled violently, and the sky shifted.

The once clear blue sky was suddenly replaced by a blood-red night, filling the air with a haunting and oppressive aura.

Zhang Bukui looked around and found that all the stone statues had transformed into skeletal remains, their empty eye sockets radiating eerie malice.

Looking up from above, he saw that the previously endless temple complex had shrunk—it was now only a hundred meters across.

Not far ahead, Li Ya was tied to an ancient tree, a ghostly hand covering his mouth while another pressed against his chest, preventing him from breaking free.

These two ghostly hands extended from behind the tree, making it impossible to see the full entity.

"Li Ya!"

Zhang Bukui roared in anger, summoning his stone axe as he leapt forward.

Just as he entered the courtyard, the temple doors swung open.

"Impressive… To see through my formation. Not bad, young human."

A hoarse, ancient voice echoed from the darkness within the temple.

Then, an old monk emerged.

He was skeletally thin, his skin dark and covered in corpse spots, and his lifeless white eyes stared straight at Zhang Bukui.

Without hesitation, Zhang Bukui swung his axe.

"Mountain Cleaver!"

A single swing split the temple in two, continuing through several walls and extending beyond the temple grounds.

Gu An—still in sparrow form—perched on a distant rooftop, silently observing.

He wouldn’t fight directly, but he could assist Zhang Bukui using his divine sense.

Thus, the battle began.

The entire temple was soon reduced to rubble, as waves of spectral entities emerged from underground, swarming toward Zhang Bukui.

"Who is interfering?!" the old monk suddenly roared.

Every time he nearly struck Zhang Bukui down, an invisible divine force would disrupt him, throwing his mind into disarray.

Gu An, of course, remained silent.

Meanwhile, Zhang Bukui fought on, completely immersed in battle.

While assisting Zhang Bukui, Gu An’s divine sense also scanned other parts of Divine Anomaly City.

The city's powerful restrictions couldn’t stop his Infinite Free Step.

He could lock onto Zhang Bukui’s aura and step in or out freely.

Upon entering, he finally understood just how massive Divine Anomaly City truly was.

There were at least a thousand pocket dimensions, with some as vast as the Taicang Empire.

If one combined all the city’s internal space, it would be larger than the entire continent itself.

In one such world, Gui Jiuxiao and An Hao were being pursued, their attackers from the Seven Star Spirit Realm, led by a Scattered Immortal.

Elsewhere, Nine-Fingered Divine Lord battled an endless army of spectral entities, his powerful techniques unmatched.

Curious, Gu An killed one of the ghosts—yet gained no lifespan.

Immediately, he abandoned any notion of exploring the city further.

These ghosts seemed bound to a power beyond his comprehension.

Whoever created Divine Anomaly City was definitely beyond the Celestial Ascension Stage.

Half an hour later, Zhang Bukui finally managed to kill the old monk—though in truth, it was Gu An’s divine power that finished him off, while Zhang Bukui’s axe strike followed through.

Yet, even after killing the monk, Gu An gained no lifespan.

Zhang Bukui landed on the ground, breathing heavily.

He rushed to Li Ya, cutting away the ghostly hands binding him.

Li Ya collapsed, but Zhang Bukui caught him.

Turning back, Zhang Bukui saw that the sparrow had vanished.

He didn’t have time to dwell on it—his priority was to help Li Ya recover.

"Li Ya! Wake up!"

As he channeled his spiritual energy to heal him, he kept calling his name.

Back in Xuan Valley, Gu An sat before his pill furnace, preparing to refine elixirs.

For cultivators like Zhang Bukui and Li Ya, Divine Anomaly City was an incomprehensibly distant place, but for Gu An, it was merely a single step away.

He had just returned from the mysterious city after helping his friends, and now he waited in Xuan Valley, anticipating further developments.

As he placed medicinal herbs into the furnace, his thoughts drifted.

“The Immortal Spirit of Divine Anomaly City…”

Moments ago, he had sensed something peculiar.

Something beyond mortal comprehension.

In a dimly lit corridor, An Hao and Gui Jiuxiao moved swiftly, their footsteps echoing.

Suddenly, Gui Jiuxiao stopped, leaning against the ancient stone walls.

“We can stop here for now.” He spoke in a low voice.

An Hao scanned their surroundings. “Where are we?”

Earlier, they had escaped from one of the city’s smaller worlds, only to plunge into this seemingly endless passageway.

They had passed through dozens of crossroads, becoming utterly lost in the labyrinthine structure.

Even worse—they couldn't break through the walls or ceiling.

Even their divine senses failed to penetrate them.

This unnerving reality made An Hao uneasy.

Gui Jiuxiao sat down, producing a small cauldron and setting it before him.

Then, he lit two incense sticks and placed them inside.

An Hao frowned. “What are you doing?”

A trickle of black blood seeped from the corner of Gui Jiuxiao’s lips. Yet, he forced a grin.

“The Seven Star Spirit Realm bastards fight without honor. They sent two Scattered Immortals to deal with me. Of course, I couldn’t win—but if Qin Xunyin can call for reinforcements, so can I!”

An Hao’s eyes widened. “Wait—you’re from overseas! Who can you even summon?”

Gui Jiuxiao snorted.

“Heh. My master surpasses Scattered Immortals. The moment this incense burns, he’ll sense my distress and come to our rescue.”

An Hao froze.

Someone beyond the Scattered Immortal Stage?!

That level of power was unimaginable.

After a brief moment, An Hao sat down beside him and smirked. “Well, if you’re calling your master, then I’ll call mine too.”

Gui Jiuxiao scoffed. “Your master? Please. There’s no one in Taixuan Sect strong enough to compare to mine.”

An Hao replied firmly:

“My master is definitely stronger than yours.”

Gui Jiuxiao glared at him. “Kid, don’t disrespect my master!”

An Hao almost retorted, "Then why are you disrespecting mine?"

But before he could speak—

The corridor trembled.

A massive killing intent surged from the shadows.

“Damn it! They’re already here!”

Gui Jiuxiao jumped up, grabbing the small cauldron containing the incense.

Then, he grabbed An Hao with his other hand and shot forward at full speed.

Despite being at the Ninth Level of the Nirvana Stage, even Gui Jiuxiao couldn’t break through the walls or ceiling.

All he could do was fly low, weaving through the passageways.

From behind, Qin Xunyin’s voice rang out—twisted with manic glee.

"Gui Jiuxiao, you can’t escape!"

Lü Baitian stood with a group of Taixuan Sect cultivators, staring at the city's towering ancient gates.

They discussed their strategy for entering the city.

Then—

A sudden, earth-shattering aura swept across the land.

The pressure was so overwhelming that everyone outside the city turned to look.

In the distance, a streak of radiant light tore across the sky.

Faster than a shooting star, it pierced through the heavens and vanished into Divine Anomaly City.

It was so fast that nobody saw what was inside the light.