Chapter 1700: Repairing the Seal

"Sleeping? Is he seriously sleeping?""Who sleeps like that?"

The newly arrived black-armored man looked exasperated. "Dead or alive, I'm not an idiot; can't I tell the difference?"

"Since you don't believe me, then so be it. Attack!" Knowing that no matter what he said, the opponent wouldn't believe him, Zhang Xuan didn't bother wasting any more words. It was just an Immortal realm expert; he had already killed three, so one more wouldn't matter.

Boom! His three weapons, combined with Zhang Xuan's current strength, possessed astonishing combat power. The enemy didn't even have time to flee before he was overwhelmed and killed by the surging aura.

After successively killing four Immortal realm experts and devouring their blood and souls, the Demonic Profound Saber grew even stronger, appearing more sinister and difficult to look at directly. After collecting all the storage rings and military supplies, Zhang Xuan breathed a sigh of relief, raised an eyebrow, and rapidly flew toward the direction of the seal.

Although he didn't know the exact state of the seal, the continuous stream of invaders confirmed it was thoroughly compromised. He needed to find a way to reinforce it. Otherwise, with opponents arriving one after another as if paying casual visits, who could possibly defend the area?

After flying for a short while, he indeed saw a seal appear in his vision, with a massive hole in its center, as if it had been broken from within. Mu Wu and his group had entered through this very spot.

"Good, it wasn't completely destroyed. Otherwise, even if I wanted to reinforce it, I wouldn't be able to." Zhang Xuan breathed a sigh of relief. Although he had comprehended the True Understanding of Sealing, his own strength was too low. He could manage a repair, but completely re-establishing it to block even the opponent's Ancient Sages would be an impossible task.

"That's the Spirit Demon tribe... perhaps I should go check it out myself?" As he reached the seal, he pondered while repairing it. If the Spirit Demon tribe could come over to cause trouble, why couldn't he go and cause trouble for them? If he did that, he might be able to resolve the current crisis entirely! After all, with over a hundred subterranean caverns simultaneously under attack by the Spirit Demon tribe, and the Master Teacher Pavilion, Luo Clan, and Jiang Clan all tied down, it was truly a headache.

"First, I'll repair the seal..." Zhang Xuan sped up.

"It's been so long, why hasn't he returned?" Inside the room, Sword Saint Meng paced back and forth in the hall. Her son had said he was going to gather information, and an hour had passed without a single update, filling her with worry.

"He must have encountered something, but don't worry. Xuan'er has many abilities; he should be fine," Sword Saint Xing reassured her.

"That's an army of the Spirit Demon tribe. You saw it during our last encounter; there were tens of thousands of them. If they were to attack, even Master Yang might fall... how could he possibly withstand them?" Sword Saint Meng shook her head. Ten thousand or more well-trained Spirit Demon troops, all at Saint Realm 3-dan or above—it wasn't just her who was worried; anyone would be deeply concerned.

"Then what can we do? We don't possess his stealth abilities. If we rush in rashly and are discovered, it would only put him in a more difficult position," Sword Saint Xing stated. He, too, worried for his son, but it was evident that now was not the time to intervene.

"Miss Ruoxi, what do you think?" Unable to think of a good solution after a long while, he turned to look at her. The girl before him was remarkably calm, seemingly unconcerned, which left him puzzled.

"Zhang Xuan will be fine!" Luo Ruoxi shook her head. Not to mention his comprehension of the three True Understandings and his ability to disguise, his current strength, combined with the Dragon Bone Divine Spear, makes it nearly impossible to stop him unless an Ancient Sage intervenes! Given that, there was no need to worry.

"But..." Seeing her certainty, though unsure of its source, Sword Saint Meng frowned. Just as she was about to ask, an elder hurried over.

"Old Family Head..."

"Xuan'er is back?" Knowing this elder was responsible for intelligence, his urgent arrival surely meant news. Sword Saint Xing quickly stood up.

"No... the Spirit Demon tribe has urgently sounded the call for assembly; all their armies are gathering. I fear they're planning a sneak attack!" The elder's face was grim.

"Sneak attack?" Sword Saint Xing's expression changed, and he urgently asked, "What exactly happened? Explain in detail!"

"I am in charge of intelligence, and I dispatched scouts to investigate. However, the Spirit Demon tribe's defenses are exceptionally strong, making it impossible to get too close. About half an hour ago, a special horn suddenly sounded within their ranks. Our scouts then observed all the Spirit Demon armies slowly retreating, including those guarding formations, on lookout duty, and even their own scouts. This sudden development made us fear a trap, so our people didn't dare approach immediately. After waiting for fifteen minutes and observing no movement, they gradually advanced to investigate. They discovered that all the Spirit Demon tribe members had dispersed into ten large detachments, apparently practicing a special formation. Our scouts also vaguely overheard the commander you fought mentioning he wanted to test new tactics and was planning a sneak attack! Upon this discovery, the scouts did not dare to delay and immediately returned to relay the information!" the elder concluded hastily.

"It's fortunate the message was relayed in time. Otherwise, if their sneak attack had succeeded, the Zhang Clan would have suffered immense losses..." Realizing the immense importance of this information, Sword Saint Xing waved his hand, his voice resounding throughout the castle: "All Zhang Clan disciples, heed my command! The Spirit Demon tribe may launch a sneak attack at any moment. Everyone, to Level One alert!"

"Yes!" Upon hearing the order, the Zhang Clan members adopted grave expressions, each moving to their assigned posts, their battle spirit surging.

"Elders, follow me outside the city to confront them. We'll intercept them first and ensure their sneak attack fails!" After giving his instructions, Sword Saint Xing continued.

"Alright!" The many elders nodded in unison, and everyone flew out of the city together. Outside, the fog remained thick, obscuring visibility. Luo Ruoxi, in the air, watched for a moment, then suddenly her brows furrowed, and she flew straight ahead.

"Miss Ruoxi..." Surprised by the girl's impulsiveness, Sword Saint Xing and Sword Saint Meng exchanged a glance, both frowning.

"You all stay here and guard. We'll go and see!" Knowing that if they didn't pursue her soon, she would be lost, Sword Saint Xing didn't hesitate. He gave a quick instruction to the others, then took Sword Saint Meng and directly pursued Luo Ruoxi in the direction she had departed.

"Why is there no one?" The further they flew, the more puzzled they became. Logically, having penetrated this deeply, they should have encountered Spirit Demon tribe members. Why hadn't they seen a single soul? Regardless of a sneak attack, there should at least be normal defenses, shouldn't there? If the Spirit Demon tribe were truly so careless, they wouldn't have been able to fight the Master Teacher Pavilion for tens of thousands of years without losing ground.

"Look ahead..." Sword Saint Xing was still pondering when he heard Sword Saint Meng's voice. He quickly looked up and saw rows of Spirit Demon tribe members lying on the ground, their hair standing on end, faces black, and mouths covered in white foam... Surprisingly, they had all stopped breathing. Luo Ruoxi was kneeling amidst the deceased, her delicate brows furrowed, seemingly observing something.