# Chapter 1008: The World Shocked
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The explosion of the Sacred Source created a tremendous sound, as if the sky itself had shattered, extremely loud.
The earth within a radius of ten thousand miles shook violently. All the major forces in this region were filled with fear and unease, believing the end of days had arrived.
In the central area of the Sacred Source explosion, within a radius of several hundred miles, everything had become barren wasteland. No living thing could survive.
Such astonishing destructive power was enough to pierce through the defenses of a Saint.
Even Chu Siyuan, who had great confidence in Luo Xu, now had a solemn expression on his face, showing worry.
"No wonder I heard that the great calamity at the end of the Middle Ages shattered half of the Kunlun Realm, turning it into a scattering of islands. The battles at the Saint realm are truly too terrifying," Zhang Ruochen said to himself.
They waited for a long time, but Luo Xu did not return. Everyone became even more worried, their moods growing increasingly heavy.
Chu Siyuan rushed to the center of the Sacred Source explosion but did not find Luo Xu.
He returned to the green wooden boat, told Luo Shuihan and Zhang Ruochen what had happened, and let out a long sigh.
Zhang Ruochen's expression was very serious. "If the Abyssal Ancient Sword was not found, that means Senior Luo Xu must still be alive."
"Perhaps the Abyssal Ancient Sword was also destroyed. The destructive power of a figure at Tai Ge Wang's level self-detonating his Sacred Source is beyond your imagination," Chu Siyuan said.
Zhang Ruochen revealed a faint smile, shook his head, and gazed into the distance.
"That is..."
Suddenly, his eyes focused. He saw a green figure flying over, soon landing on the bank of the ancient river.
Luo Xu was still dressed in green robes, spotless. Only his face was slightly pale. He smiled and said, "Fortunately, I carried the Grand Supreme Bell from the Holy Academy and used it in time to block the power of the Sacred Source explosion. Otherwise, the consequences would have been unimaginable. Zhang Ruochen, this sword of yours is indeed a remarkable weapon. In the future, it may very well be able to contend with the Blood-Dropping Sword."
With that, Luo Xu returned the Abyssal Ancient Sword to Zhang Ruochen, personally handing it to him.
Chu Siyuan was very curious and asked, "After you killed Tai Ge Wang, where did you go?"
"Among the Undying Blood Clan's army this time, there were a total of five Blood Kings. Besides Zhi Yu Wang and Tai Ge Wang, there were three other Saints. I wanted to deal with them all at once, but unfortunately, I only killed one Blood King. The other two Blood Kings fled too quickly and have already disappeared without a trace."
In this great battle, three Blood Kings had died, including a core figure like Tai Ge Wang. This was indeed a heavy loss for the Undying Blood Clan.
However, the Undying Blood Clan would surely retaliate fiercely against other human cultivators. No one knew how many innocent humans would die as a result.
Luo Xu held a Sacred Source he had just seized, but he could not feel happy at all. He shook his head and let out an involuntary sigh.
Many old monsters from the evil path had witnessed this battle firsthand. They were so shocked that they could not speak for a long time.
They quietly retreated, returned to the Black Market, and spread the news.
That day, all the cultivators in Tiantai Prefecture, and even the entire Central Domain, were in an uproar. Many cultivators felt their hearts surging with excitement.
In a single day, five Saints had fallen in succession.
The names of Zhang Ruochen and Luo Xu spread once again among the cultivators, even reaching the mortal world, becoming legendary tales that peddlers and commoners loved to discuss.
Zhang Ruochen was once again pushed to the forefront of the storm.
Some people crazily worshipped Zhang Ruochen, regarding him as their idol. They believed that Zhang Ruochen was now more powerful than the Nine Realm Sons, that he was the number one talent of the Kunlun Realm, incomparable to anyone.
Others believed that Zhang Ruochen had only used secret techniques to kill the two Saints of the Demon Sect, that it was not true skill, and that he was not worthy to be mentioned in the same breath as the Nine Realm Sons.
Still others compared Zhang Ruochen and Luo Xu, discovering that the two of them actually had many similarities.
Both were born in the Demon Ridge, both had reached the supreme extreme of the Heavenly Extreme Realm, both came from the Martial Market Academy, and their romantic paths also had some similarities.
Luo Xu had fallen in love with Lin Suxian, the number one beauty under heaven, but was torn apart by the Demon Sect's Sect Leader, unable to spend their lives together.
Zhang Ruochen was about to marry Huang Yanchen, one of the Nine Realm Sons, but was forcibly separated by an edict from the Empress, ultimately forced to be apart, each in a different corner of the world.
Demon Sect Headquarters, Saintess Palace.
The Saintess Palace was one of the nine palaces of the Demon Sect, located on Tianshui Peak. It only accepted female disciples.
In the mountains, spiritual mist swirled. One could faintly see vermilion palaces and the figures of many beautiful women flying through the mountains, like a paradise where immortals dwelled.
As one of the thirteen existing Saintesses of the Demon Sect, Mu Lingxi had her own cultivation secret mansion, located halfway up the mountain, where the spiritual energy was very abundant.
A female disciple at the Heavenly Extreme Realm hurried back to Tianshui Peak, came to Mu Lingxi's cultivation secret mansion, and reported, "Saintess, there is news about Zhang Ruochen again, coming from the Central Domain."
Mu Lingxi, who had been resting her cheeks on her hands, immediately snapped out of her dazed state. A joyful expression appeared on her face. She turned into a graceful shadow, landed in front of the female disciple, and asked urgently, "Really? Really? He didn't die at Zhenyu Ancient Clan? He's still alive?"
Mu Lingxi had been forcibly brought back to the Demon Sect headquarters and placed under house arrest, but she had always been paying attention to news about Zhang Ruochen.
The last news about Zhang Ruochen had been when the Undying Blood Clan attacked Zhenyu Ancient Clan.
In that battle, all the disciples of the Saintess Palace were concerned about the safety of Palace Master Ling Feiyu. Only Mu Lingxi was worried about whether Zhang Ruochen was in danger.
For two consecutive months, there had been no news of Zhang Ruochen. Mu Lingxi had once thought Zhang Ruochen was dead and had secretly cried many times.
Recently, she had even stopped cultivating, her mind heavy with worries. She would often stare blankly into space by herself.
More than once, she had wanted to escape the headquarters and go to Zhenyu Ancient Clan to find Zhang Ruochen, but she was always intercepted and brought back by experts from the Mu Clan.
Hearing news of Zhang Ruochen again, Mu Lingxi was naturally overjoyed.
The female disciple's face showed a hesitant expression. She stammered, "Zhang Ruochen is indeed still alive, but... but..."
"But what?"
Mu Lingxi felt something was wrong. She immediately became anxious again, her nerves on edge.
"But he killed two Saints of the Divine Sect and seized the Realm Son Seal of the Divine Son, cutting off the Divine Son's legs," the female disciple said.
Mu Lingxi was stunned for a moment, then giggled. "Impossible. Although Zhang Ruochen is very powerful and unbeatable among his peers, there is absolutely no way he could kill a Saint-level figure. Someone must be framing him."
The female disciple immediately shook her head. "This matter is absolutely true. Many people witnessed it with their own eyes."
"Is that so?"
Mu Lingxi did not care about the life or death of the two Demon Sect Saints. She was only interested in Zhang Ruochen. She asked, "Zhang Ruochen does not kill people lightly. Those two Demon Sect Saints must have done something that angered both heaven and man."
"It is said that Zhang Ruochen did it to save a woman, a very beautiful woman. He took that woman and fought his way out of a Demon Sect stronghold, killing many experts of the Divine Sect. Blood flowed like rivers, and the entire stronghold was razed to the ground," the female disciple said cautiously.
This time, Mu Lingxi could no longer smile. Instead, her willow-leaf eyebrows twisted together. Her fingers involuntarily tugged at her hair.
Her expression was a mix of jealousy, curiosity, and disbelief. "For a woman, a beautiful woman, he did something so earth-shattering? Who is that woman? Is it Huang Yanchen, one of the Nine Realm Sons?"
The female disciple shook her head. "It is said that she was just a servant picked up by an Elder of the Divine Sect, with no special status."
"Impossible, absolutely impossible."
Mu Lingxi immediately shook her head. "Unless Zhang Ruochen has gone mad, there is no way he would do something so reckless."
After thinking for a moment, Mu Lingxi's two watery eyes rolled around. She said with great conviction, "Someone must be impersonating Zhang Ruochen. How infuriating. If I find out who it is, I will chop them into eight pieces."
The female disciple added a sentence in a low voice, "It is said that Zhang Ruochen used the power of time and space. There is no way someone could impersonate him."
Hearing this, Mu Lingxi was stunned again. She bit her lip gently, feeling an impulse to immediately escape the Demon Sect headquarters and rush to the Central Domain.
She wanted to confront Zhang Ruochen face to face. Why did he do this?
Was it because he was blinded by lust, or was there another reason?
The female disciple continued, "This matter has alarmed the Sect Leader. He has already issued the Death God Order, mobilizing all the power of the Divine Sect to kill Zhang Ruochen as quickly as possible."
Hearing this, Mu Lingxi's face immediately turned pale. "The Death God Order has already been issued?"
"Yes! Once the Death God Order is issued, no one has ever survived for more than three months, not even Saints. Zhang Ruochen will probably..."
The female disciple did not continue, because she saw Mu Lingxi rush out of the cultivation secret mansion and disappear without a trace.
...
...
The wide ancient river flowed steadily, its surface as calm as a lake.
A green ancient boat floated on the water, drifting downstream, heading toward the Sacred Bright Imperial City.
Three days had already passed. Zhang Ruochen had gotten through his weak period and fully recovered. His spirit was very full and robust (baoman).
He sat at the bow of the boat with Luo Xu, discussing interesting stories about the Demon Ridge.
There was a huge gap between their cultivation levels and ages. But Zhang Ruochen showed no sign of restraint at all, appearing very composed.
Luo Xu greatly appreciated Zhang Ruochen's state of mind. He had also heard that Zhang Ruochen had once comprehended a trace of the true meaning of the Luo Water Fist Art. Thus, he intended to teach him the Luo Water Fist Art.
"Do you want to know how I created the Luo Water Fist Art?" Luo Xu asked.
"If Senior is willing to share, I, this junior, will naturally listen with respectful attention." Zhang Ruochen was very humble, showing a serious expression.
He knew that Luo Xu was imparting the Dao. Not everyone had such an opportunity.
The Luo Water Fist Art contained some kind of strange and marvelous (qiyi) rule of heaven and earth, profound and extensive. As Luo Xu continued to perfect it, it might very well become a supreme sacred art passed down through the ages.
Who wouldn't want to learn a move or two?