After returning to the inn, Xu Zimei tied up Gongsun Tianxun without paying heed to the now-unsettled Tianlun Sect.
"Who are you exactly?" Young Master Tianxun looked at Xu Zimei and asked.
"Even if I told you, you wouldn’t recognize," Xu Zimei shook his head.
"What do you want? I can give you anything," Young Master Tianxun said, not willing to give up.
"There’s no need to make this so stiff."
"What I want, you can’t give," Xu Zimei shook his head.
He was not in a hurry, calmly waiting for Gongsun Hongtian to come to him.
Otherwise, on normal days, trying to find Gongsun Hongtian would be as difficult as ascending to the heavens.
Strangely, even though Young Master Tianxun had been kidnapped, one would have thought that the Tianlun Sect would have immediately pursued Xu Zimei to kill him.
But after the initial disturbance within the Sect, things returned to calm.
However, countless eyes were now watching around Yueyang Inn where Xu Zimei was staying.
At this moment inside the Tianlun Sect, the Council Hall was in complete disarray.
The Junior Sect Master was the heir to the sect and the only son of Gongsun Tianxun, so he was naturally of great importance.
The only composed one was the man sitting at the head, who quietly tapped the armrest of his chair.
"Enough, quiet down," Gongsun Hongtian said indifferently.
He was wearing a brown robe, with red hair on his head that spread out like a lion’s mane.
His face radiated dignity, a commanding presence without anger.
His eyebrows were thick, his voice conveyed a deep resonance.
"Sect Hierarch, we must prioritize saving the Junior Sect Master," an elder spoke from below.
"Is the background of those people clear yet?" Gongsun Hongtian asked.
"We’re still investigating, no clues yet," someone responded from below.
"But according to our informants, after they abducted the Junior Sect Master, they remain inside Yueyang Inn within the city and have not left."
"That’s right, their target isn’t Xun’er. They won’t harm him for the time being," Gongsun Hongtian said.
"Before that man left, he said he wanted you, the Sect Hierarch, to meet him at Yueyang Inn tomorrow," an elder said.
"They’re after me, interesting," Gongsun Hongtian shook his head and said.
"Then I shall meet him tomorrow."
A night passed without words, and Xu Zimei’s life remained unchanged, still eating and drinking as usual.
By noon the next day, the area near Yueyang Inn was deserted.
The residents had been driven to the nearby markets.
That afternoon, a tall man slowly walked in.
The man entered the inn, took a quick look around, and saw Xu Zimei sitting at a side, eating meat.
He walked over slowly and sat down across the table.
"How may I address the two of you?" Gongsun Hongtian asked with a smile.
"Just passers-by, our names aren’t worth mentioning," Xu Zimei waved his hand dismissively.
"May I know what you want with me? Has my Tianlun Sect offended you in some way?" Gongsun Hongtian continued to ask.
"No grievances or grudges, I just wish to borrow your head for a moment," Xu Zimei said.
Upon hearing Xu Zimei’s words, Gongsun Hongtian’s gaze sharpened.
He then chuckled and said, "But you would need the ability to do so. Are you only going to threaten me with my son?"
"You’re mistaken, I never thought of using your son to threaten you," Xu Zimei gestured dismissively.
"I just wanted to meet you, otherwise such a busy person as yourself would be impossible to see."
Gongsun Hongtian snorted coldly and immediately thrust his hand towards Xu Zimei with a suppressive gesture.
In his palm, countless streams of Spiritual Energy burst out, but Xu Zimei was not to be outdone and he punched towards the large hand.
Their fists and palms collided, with countless strands of Spiritual Energy exploding around them.
Gongsun Hongtian’s face showed a trace of surprise as he felt the force coming from the palm, his body directly falling backward.
With a "boom," the table between them shattered instantly.
Gongsun Hongtian slowly stood up and said, "I indeed underestimated you."
This time, he didn’t hold back, and a supremely strong aura burst forth from him.
Under this aura, numerous tentacles flew out from the void behind him.
Compared to the tentacles of Young Master Tianxun before, his tentacles appeared even more enormous.
And the air around them almost congealed into substance.
Unlike Young Master Tianxun’s simplest of emotions, Gongsun Hongtian’s Cultivation Technique had clearly reached a much deeper realm.
Each tentacle seemed sentient, each with life.
They were imbued with the most powerful strength, countless tentacles entwined together, at times forming blades, at times becoming battle-axes, and at times resembling monsters.
These innumerable tentacles flipped the entire inn over, bringing it crashing down.
For a moment, dust flew everywhere, and numerous gazes turned toward this place.
Four elders arrived from above the firmament, stepping on air and taking their places in the four directions, allowing no one to come close.
"These are the four protectors of the Tianlun Sect," someone whispered nearby.
"All four protectors have emerged; what has happened?"
The four protectors did not strike; they simply isolated the battlefield, letting no one disturb the area.
Watching countless tentacles slay toward him, Xu Zimei drew the Tyrant Shadow, and a sky full of Blade Intent swept across.
But these tentacles were exceptionally hard, and after several slashes, not even a trace was left.
Xu Zimei didn’t dodge, allowing all the tentacles to slay towards him.
A series of "rumbling" explosions sounded.
The floor beneath his feet shattered completely, and the tentacles struck Xu Zimei’s back with force.
Xu Zimei looked up, his gaze neither happy nor sad, as if he felt no pain.
Countless Power Vortexes spun wildly inside his body.
His arms’ veins bulged as he grabbed two of the tentacles and flung them forcefully.
To Gongsun Hongtian’s surprise, these countless tentacles were forcibly thrown away.
The next moment, a deafening roar resonated beside him.
Xu Zimei’s vision darkened, feeling a massive creature crash into him.
His body uncontrollably flew backwards.
Xu Zimei’s body crashed through the air for dozens of meters before coming to a stop.
He flexed his muscles and stood up from the ground.
Behind Gongsun Hongtian, a colossal monster stood arrogantly between heaven and earth.
Xu Zimei had never seen this monster before.
It somewhat resembled an octopus, with countless tentacles.
But it had a complete body, a bare head, a robust build, and from its mouth, it periodically spat bubbles, emitting strange cries.
This appeared to be Gongsun Hongtian’s True Fate.
His True Fate had fused with Gongsun Hongtian, and the countless tentacles behind him became even more powerful.
His entire being seemed somewhat ferocious as he charged towards Xu Zimei.
"Heaven-reaching Trilife Gate," Xu Zimei snorted coldly.
A beam of light radiated down from the firmament above him, accompanied by the simultaneous opening of the Gate of Life and Death and the Gate of Immortality.
The aura inside Xu Zimei felt like a vast sea, sweeping forth and engaging with Gongsun Hongtian in combat.
At the very least, Gongsun Hongtian possessed the strength of an Immortal King.
Each of his strikes was awe-inspiring and surged forward, in an instant, the sky shattered and the earth split, causing Tianlun City to tremble endlessly.