Chapter 1022: The Killing Intent Is Strong
Zhang Ruochen had also heard some rumors about the Dragon-Protecting Pavilion, but even he had never come into contact with any of its members.
He only knew that the Dragon-Protecting Pavilion was extremely mysterious, answering only to successive Ming Emperors, and that all its members were Saint Realm experts.
"On the night before Father Emperor disappeared, the Dragon-Protecting Pavilion moved the national treasury. Could Father Emperor have foreseen something?"
Zhang Ruochen pondered carefully, feeling a sense of doubt.
Of course, he did not fully believe the information released by the Cai family head. After all, the Cai family had already submitted to the First Central Empire.
They might not necessarily be seeking the "Blood Clan Secret Scroll." Perhaps finding the Dragon-Protecting Pavilion members and the national treasury treasure was their true goal.
The information released by the Cai family head was quite shocking. It quickly spread throughout the entire Cai family Holy Mansion and, at an astonishing speed, spread to every district of Saint Ming City.
Cai Jin, the chief steward of the Cai family Holy Mansion, holding a cold jade box, came to Zhang Ruochen's side and said with a pleasant smile, "Young Master, this is something that the Painting Saint Ancestor asked me to deliver to you."
Zhang Ruochen took the cold jade box, opened it slightly, and then immediately closed the box again.
"Old Man Chu is quite efficient, sending the Fifth-Rank Saint Origin Pill over so quickly."
Zhang Ruochen curled his lips, put away the cold jade box, and left the Cai family Holy Mansion directly.
His main purpose in attending the Cai family banquet was to obtain the Fifth-Rank Saint Origin Pill.
Since he had the Saint Origin Pill in hand, there was no need to stay any longer. This was also a good opportunity to shake off Chu Siyuan and go do what he truly needed to do.
Walking out of the Cai family Holy Mansion, Zhang Ruochen sensed at least three forces following him.
Using the power of the Meteor Invisibility Cloak, he quickly shook them all off.
Zhang Ruochen arrived at the Zhang family descendant's hideout, thinking to himself, "I hope Zhang Fengxing has already contacted the high-ranking members of the Zhang family... Not good..."
"Shua."
Zhang Ruochen's movement technique unfolded, and he leaped down from the night sky, landing in the courtyard at the center of the inn, looking around.
A thick, nauseating stench of blood filled the space.
The ground was covered with corpses.
The thirteen Zhang family descendants he had rescued during the day, as well as the inn's staff and guests, were all brutally killed. Some were cleaved in two, others were headless corpses.
Zhang Fengxing was pinned to a wall by a silver-white long spear, his body covered in wounds, his stomach cut open, and his internal organs spilled out.
Clearly, he had been tortured before his death.
Eleven-year-old Zhang Shu stood on a blood-soaked step, his face showing terror, grief, and despair, staring in the direction of Zhang Fengxing's corpse.
Zhang Ruochen gently touched his face with his finger.
"Pa."
Zhang Shu's body split into thirteen pieces along a network of bloodlines.
Zhang Ruochen's fingers trembled uncontrollably, his teeth chattering. A surge of rage erupted from the depths of his bloodline, and flames took shape in his pupils. "Come out!"
"Hua!"
Around the inn, dozens of dark light curtains materialized. Within the curtains came the clashing sounds of armor.
Then, Azure Dragon Army soldiers in black armor, like ghostly soldiers and demon generals, exuding a terrifying killing aura, rushed out from the light curtains one after another.
A middle-aged man with an aquiline nose and a pair of black wings on his back flew out, radiating an icy cold aura.
Standing in mid-air, holding a piece of jade in his hand, he laughed, "The 'Tai Ming Sacred Scripture' should have been given to that brat by you, right? According to what this commander knows, only those with very high status among the remnants of the previous dynasty are qualified to cultivate it."
Zhang Ruochen said nothing, simply drawing the Abyssal Ancient Sword.
The middle-aged man with the black wings continued, "Originally, this commander was only ordered to wipe out a hideout of the previous dynasty's remnants, but I didn't expect to hook a big fish. Haha!"
Even though he was completely surrounded, Zhang Ruochen remained expressionless, his eyes filled only with coldness. "You're laughing too early."
"To be so composed, you must be an expert."
The middle-aged man with black wings had an air of complete control, waving his hand. "Activate the Seven Star Sword Formation, suppress him. Remember, take him alive."
From the Azure Dragon Army's formation, seven formation masters simultaneously struck their staffs against the ground.
The next moment, with the inn as the center, a hundred-zhang radius of ground was covered with densely packed white inscriptions, forming a formation.
"Huala."
Within the formation, sword qi automatically condensed, instantly shredding all buildings and corpses, including the inn, leveling the ground.
Zhang Ruochen had intended to rush out of the sword formation's area first, but he was too late. Attacked by hundreds of sword qi, he failed to break out of the formation and had to retreat.
In the distance, atop a vermilion tower, three graceful dancers revealed their true forms, gazing towards the inn.
That district was completely sealed off by the formation, with black dust and mist surging out, containing a tremendous killing intent.
"Senior Sister, those are soldiers from the Azure Dragon Army's Eighth Battalion. At least three thousand elites are gathered here. That man is definitely in big trouble. Should we lend him a hand?" asked a woman in a yellow dance dress.
A dancer wearing a veil stood on the flying eaves of the tower, like a beautiful elf under the moonlight, and said in a pleasant voice, "Since the Azure Dragon Army's Eighth Battalion has dispatched three thousand elites, it shows they attach great importance to this matter. It's very likely that the Eighth Battalion's commander, Han Ying, is also in that area. Han Ying's cultivation is even deeper than Guo Lu's. The two of you rushing in would only be throwing your lives away."
The veiled dancer was none other than Qin Yutong, the Dance Fairy of the Phoenix Dance Palace.
The other two dancers were her junior sisters, top-tier dancers of the Phoenix Dance Palace, Bai Xuan Shuang and Bai Xuan Yu.
They had followed Zhang Ruochen after he left the Cai family Holy Mansion.
After losing him, Qin Yutong guessed that Zhang Ruochen might have come to this hideout, so they came to investigate.
Bai Xuan Shuang, wearing a yellow dance dress, possessed the powerful cultivation of a Fourth-Rank Half-Saint and looked to be in her early twenties. She asked, "What should we do now? This man is a top-tier expert. We can't just stand by and watch him die, can we?"
Qin Yutong remained very calm. "You two immediately return to the Phoenix Dance Palace and inform Granny Bai Su. Perhaps she can think of a way to rescue him."
Bai Xuan Shuang and Bai Xuan Yu turned into two shadowy figures, disappearing into the darkness, heading towards the Phoenix Dance Palace.
The Zhang family did have Saint Realm titans secretly lurking in Saint Ming City.
However, if a Saint Realm titan personally intervened to save the man in the golden mask, it would surely alert Ling Xiao Heavenly King. Then, both the Saint Realm titan and the man in the golden mask would die without a burial place, and the Zhang family's losses would be severe.
Qin Yutong knew very well that tonight's matter was extremely tricky; she could only act according to the situation.
Zhang Ruochen stood at the center of the Seven Star Sword Formation, shattering the incoming sword qi into wisps of white smoke.
The man with the black wings on his back was Han Ying, one of the ten great commanders of the Azure Dragon Army.
"Even the Seven Star Sword Formation can't suppress you. Your sword dao attainments are quite high."
Han Ying's expression was sharp and cold. He again ordered the seven formation masters, "Activate the Seven Star Sword Formation's maximum power."
Receiving the order, the seven formation masters cut a bloodstain on their palms and smeared their own blood onto their staffs.
The blood merged with the inscriptions, sinking into the ground.
The entire Seven Star Sword Formation turned blood-red. At the edges of the formation, blood-red inscriptions surged up from the ground, condensing into seven warrior ghost shadows wielding long swords.
"Shua shua."
The seven warrior ghost shadows let out howls, swinging their long swords as they simultaneously swept towards Zhang Ruochen.
Zhang Ruochen's killing intent was thick. He no longer held back, mobilizing the sacred qi within his body and continuously pouring it into the Abyssal Ancient Sword.
"Break for me."
He executed a move, "Golden Dipper Facing the Sun," one of the Nine Life Sword Techniques. Its power was comparable to a sacred art, capable of unleashing thirty-two times the force.
Having already figured out the weak points of the Seven Star Sword Formation, Zhang Ruochen struck with a sacred art-level sword technique. With a thunderous boom, he cleaved the formation in two.
The long swords of the seven warrior ghost shadows had been just a foot away from Zhang Ruochen's body.
Now, they all dissipated into smoke, vanishing along with the Seven Star Sword Formation.
The destruction of the formation startled all the Azure Dragon Army soldiers present. They had not expected this man to be so powerful.
"Shua."
Zhang Ruochen swung his sword, sending out seven streaks of sword qi towards the seven formation masters, preventing them from setting up the formation again.
With Zhang Ruochen's current cultivation and sword dao realm, even casually released sword qi contained earth-shattering power, not something ordinary cultivators could withstand.
Over a dozen powerful figures rushed out from the Azure Dragon Army's ranks, attempting to block the sword qi for the seven formation masters.
"Pu chi."
All of those powerful figures were pierced through by the sword qi and sent flying backward.
The seven streaks of sword qi did not lose momentum, simultaneously piercing the heads of the seven formation masters, leaving only seven corpses.
"Courting death."
Han Ying was furious. He circulated his sacred qi, channeling it into his eyes.
From his black pupils, two beams of light shot out, striking towards Zhang Ruochen below.
Zhang Ruochen was already on alert and dodged away first.
"Boom."
The two black beams struck the ground, shattering the earth. In some places, the soil and rocks had melted into droplets of lava.
An Azure Dragon Army soldier lying on the ground was holding a Twelfth-Rank True Martial Treasure, but it merely grazed the black beam, and the True Martial Treasure immediately exploded.
The two black beams possessed terrifying destructive power; even a sacred artifact might not be able to withstand them.
Within the Azure Dragon Army, some experts immediately organized the three thousand elite soldiers to set up a combined attack formation.
Above the combined attack formation, a white giant sword, thirteen zhang long, condensed and slashed down towards Zhang Ruochen's head, like a white waterfall falling from the sky.
The power of a single sword strike, gathering the strength of three thousand elite troops—how formidable must it be?
Even a Ninth-Rank Half-Saint could not withstand it.
"Hua."
A space rift dozens of meters long flew out, piercing through both the white giant sword and the light barrier of the combined attack formation. With just this one move, over a hundred elite soldiers were killed.
Immediately after, Zhang Ruochen executed his movement technique, charging into the Azure Dragon Army's ranks. He thrust the Abyssal Ancient Sword into the ground, unleashing a vast and mighty sword intent.
"All of you, die!" Zhang Ruochen roared. The hair on his head stood on end as he released his killing intent.
Thousands of sword-shaped sword qi flew out from the body of the Abyssal Ancient Sword, making a "hua la la" sound as they shot in all directions.
By the time the sword qi dissipated, the ground was littered with the corpses of Azure Dragon Army soldiers.