Austen's speed was incredible. He glanced back, seeing that the mysterious youth hadn't pursued him, and assumed the latter had given up. A hint of relief flickered across his tense face.
Suddenly...
"Heavens, why is it dark?"
Austen looked up in confusion, only to behold a sight that chilled him to the bone.
A colossal square seal hovered above his head, descending upon him with irresistible force.
Austen gripped his White Jade Sacred Spear, twirling it fiercely, and thrust it towards the seal.
Zhang Fan had now condensed his Yuan Dan, and the spiritual energy contained within was so dense it rivaled that of a late-stage Core Condensation realm cultivator. With full power, he could now barely unleash the full might of the Mountain River Seal.
The power of a high-grade spirit treasure, fully activated, was far beyond what the already heavily injured Austen could withstand. His spear thrust met no resistance from the Mountain River Seal.
Amidst Austen's furious and unwilling roar, the Mountain River Seal mercilessly crushed down, smashing into the ground and creating a vast, perfectly square pit.
Zhang Fan, with Xue Jing beside him, descended before the Mountain River Seal. With a casual flick of his wrist, the colossal seal shrank to palm-size and landed in Zhang Fan's hand.
Below in the pit, Austen lay on the ground, his pristine robes stained with dust and blood, his aura weak and his appearance utterly pathetic.
"Austen, with your meager abilities, you still dared to contend with my master for the opportunities left by Zi Wu Heavenly Immortal. Truly, you are ignorant of your own limits."
Xue Jing, seeing Austen's wretched state, felt a surge of satisfaction.
"Your master?"
Austen looked at Zhang Fan in disbelief. As his opponent, Austen knew all too well how proud and cold-blooded Xue Jing was. He had previously used Xue Jing's arrogance against him to injure him, but he never expected Xue Jing to submit to this mysterious youth.
"If I'm not mistaken, you should have also inscribed the Six Paths Golden Core Dao Patterns. on this planet, besides the Zi Wu Yuan Fruit which can enhance the quality of one's Golden Core, there is likely only its companion flower."
Zhang Fan gazed down at Austen, his expression calm.
"Cough cough... You even know about the Zi Wu Yuan Fruit's companion flower. It seems your origins are far from ordinary. No wonder even that fellow Xue Jing would surrender to you."
Austen coughed up a mouthful of blood, his apprehension towards this mysterious youth growing. He had obtained the Zi Wu Yuan Fruit's companion flower from the periphery of the opportunity zone. After consuming and refining it, he discovered that his Golden Core Dao Patterns had increased by one, and his cultivation realm had also broken through to the mid-stage Golden Core realm. It was then he dared to confirm he had arrived at the opportunity zone left by Zi Wu Heavenly Immortal. Otherwise, how could such a celestial treasure be nurtured on this planet with its sparse spiritual energy and meager resources?
Thus, he had begun searching in that area and finally discovered the immortal mansion left by Zi Wu Heavenly Immortal. Austen was ecstatic and prepared to break open the mansion's gate to seize the Zi Wu Yuan Fruit. Success would have allowed him to achieve the first-grade Golden Core that countless Golden Core cultivators dreamed of. However, when he actually made his move, he discovered that the mansion's gate was protected by a defensive barrier. No matter what method he used, he couldn't break through the barrier. This made him realize that the opportunity had not yet arrived for its opening, and with his strength, he couldn't force it open.
Therefore, Austen returned to the Holy See to enter seclusion, aiming to maximize his strength, eliminate Xue Jing from the Blood Clan, and then await the opening of the opportunity zone. He never expected that before he could even head to the Blood Clan, Xue Jing would come knocking, bringing with him an even more powerful mysterious youth who had reduced him to this state. This drastic turn of fortune made Austen feel that his life was truly too difficult. The first-grade Golden Core was within his grasp, only to face imminent death. This filled Austen with deep unwillingness.
"Tell me where Zi Wu's opportunity zone is, and I will grant you a swift death." Zhang Fan's eyes seemed to swirl with countless stars, causing Austen's gaze to gradually blur.
In the blink of an eye, Austen's eyes regained clarity. He met Zhang Fan's gaze, a hint of mockery in his eyes, and scoffed, "Your methods are indeed impressive, subtly invading my soul. Unfortunately, your spiritual sense power is too weak; controlling me is utterly impossible!"
Seeing this, Zhang Fan couldn't help but sigh lightly. Although his spiritual sense power had been growing rapidly with his breakthrough, it now rivaled that of a Golden Core realm cultivator. However, Austen was also a Golden Core realm cultivator and hailed from the Myriad Domains Starry Sky, having cultivated spiritual sense techniques. Even in his current heavily injured state, he was not someone Zhang Fan could easily control.
"If you wish to know the location of Zi Wu Heavenly Immortal's opportunity zone, you'll have to search for it yourselves. You should know that with Zi Wu Heavenly Immortal's means, he could easily isolate spiritual sense probes. This planet, though not vast, would take you hundreds, perhaps thousands, of years to find this opportunity zone!"
Austen stared at Zhang Fan's predatory eyes without the slightest fear, instead laughing maniacally. His current predicament was entirely due to this mysterious youth, who had severed his path to immortality. Anything that could cause this mysterious youth discomfort would bring him joy.
"Finally, allow me to give you a grand gift!"
Austen suddenly stood up, holding his White Jade Sacred Spear, and poured all his Golden Core spiritual energy into it!
"Go!"
Austen hurled the White Jade Sacred Spear towards the sky!
"Stop!"
Xue Jing, seeing Austen's action, instantly understood his intent. He tried to stop Austen, but it was already too late. The White Jade Sacred Spear turned into a streak of light, like a shooting star, soaring into the sky. Its speed far surpassed the limit attainable by Golden Core cultivators, as the speed of a magic treasure was inherently different from that of a cultivator.
Everyone looked up at the White Jade Sacred Spear. In less than a breath, it vanished into the clouds, its speed unabated... It pierced the atmosphere and entered space, where it exploded with a deafening roar. In the void, a blinding white holy light erupted, illuminating half the planet. The self-detonation of a mid-grade spirit treasure produced an impact far exceeding that of humanity's ultimate technological weapon, the nuclear bomb. It generated a powerful shockwave that spread in all directions. The White Jade Sacred Spear was Austen's life-bound divine weapon. Its explosion inflicted another severe blow upon Austen. Already injured, the backlash brought him to the brink of death. Yet, Austen felt no sorrow, only a sense of perverse satisfaction! With a mad smile on his face, his aura grew weaker and weaker until it finally vanished completely...
The Arbitrator of the Holy See, who had established and led his church to glory on Earth for a thousand years, was dead.
"Master, he..." Xue Jing stood frozen, unsure what to do in the face of Austen's insane act.
"I know. He used the spirit treasure's self-detonation to use the explosion's residual energy as a beacon for those Golden Core cultivators searching for opportunities in the Milky Way. Sooner or later, Earth will be discovered. And then..."
Zhang Fan didn't need to finish. Xue Jing understood perfectly what would happen next. Although he and Zhang Fan were the most powerful beings on Earth, their strength would be insignificant once the Golden Core cultivators from the Wu Shan Star Domain descended. After all, among those searching for opportunities were a large number of second-grade Golden Core cultivators, and even some who had reached the peak of the second-grade Golden Core realm. With their current strength, they would be utterly unable to resist.
...