Chapter 1030: Twin Cicadas
“Sizzle sizzle.”
Struck by two freezing hand seals, the soldier who had been kneeling on one side instantly froze into a solid block of ice.
Immediately after, dozens of cracks appeared on the human-shaped ice block.
With a “crack,” it shattered into pieces, armor and flesh alike turning into icy crystalline powder.
“It’s not Zhang Ruochen?”
The expression on Qing Yichan’s face shifted again as she sensed a faint spatial fluctuation emanating from a position one zhang behind her.
At the same time, overwhelming killing intent erupted like a flood bursting through a dam, threatening to devour her.
“Whoosh—”
Zhang Ruochen crossed space, charging out at lightning speed. He immediately gathered five Time Imprints, merging them into his sword technique and executing the Scale Sword Art.
The flow of time in the surrounding space slowed slightly.
Yet the speed of his sword increased.
For this sneak attack, he had to take Qing Yichan’s life, so Zhang Ruochen mobilized both the power of time and space.
If this strike failed to kill Qing Yichan, the ensuing battle would undoubtedly be extremely difficult.
With a flash of light, the tip of the Abyssal Ancient Sword had already reached the back of Qing Yichan’s head, piercing through the iron armor of her helmet.
Suddenly, an anomaly occurred.
Qing Yichan’s head emitted a blinding green light. An ancient, unadorned small cauldron flew out from within her skull, blocking the Abyssal Ancient Sword.
“Boom.”
A deafening metallic clash rang out, sending ripples of sound waves outward, shattering a large section of the buildings in the Governor’s Mansion.
The ancient small cauldron spun rapidly, forming seven consecutive layers of green light shields that completely enveloped Qing Yichan.
“You actually refined the Ice Soul Divine Cauldron into one with your own skull,” Zhang Ruochen said, a look of surprise on his face.
With the powerful vitality of a Ninth-Step Half-Saint, even a pierced heart wouldn’t cause immediate death. Taking some rare healing sacred medicines could even repair the heart’s injuries.
Only piercing the skull and destroying the Qi Sea was the most direct way to kill a Ninth-Step Half-Saint.
However, Qing Yichan had refined the Ice Soul Divine Cauldron into her skull, making her head the most fortified part of her body, thus causing Zhang Ruochen to miss his best chance to kill her.
“Since you know I possess the Ice Soul Divine Cauldron, you still dare to come?” Qing Yichan snorted coldly.
Her thick sacred qi surged rapidly through the five sacred meridians in her body, emitting a rumbling sound.
The five sacred meridians were like five vast sacred rivers.
Martial sacred qi surged toward her head, pouring into the Ice Soul Divine Cauldron.
The green light emitted by the ancient small cauldron intensified tenfold. With a slight shake, a vast force surged toward Zhang Ruochen.
“Boom.”
Zhang Ruochen was sent flying backward, landing several dozen zhang away.
The force of Qing Yichan’s strike exceeded Zhang Ruochen’s endurance. His internal organs shook violently, sending a sharp pain through him.
In the end, Zhang Ruochen’s power still fell far short when compared to a cultivator at the late stage of the Ninth-Step Half-Saint.
However, Zhang Ruochen’s mastery in other areas far surpassed that of a late-stage Ninth-Step Half-Saint cultivator. Coupled with his ability to wield the power of time and space, he could contend with such opponents.
In a head-on clash, Zhang Ruochen would lose badly.
Qing Yichan extended an iron palm, holding the green ancient cauldron, a look of disdain on her face. “Zhang Ruochen, you’ve only reached the Half-Saint realm for less than a year, yet you dare to assassinate a Ninth-Step Half-Saint. Do you really think mastering space and time makes you invincible?”
Zhang Ruochen circulated his sacred qi through a full cycle, and the pain in his organs immediately vanished. A smile appeared on his face. “Although I’ve only been at the Half-Saint realm for less than a year, the time I’ve spent cultivating far exceeds that.”
“I’ve been at the Half-Saint realm for a hundred years. A century of deep accumulation is beyond the imagination of a junior like you,” Qing Yichan said calmly, exuding extraordinary poise.
Zhang Ruochen indeed felt considerable pressure from Qing Yichan.
This pressure was something he hadn’t felt from Liao Huacheng, Yan Honglie, Han Ying, or Guo Lu, making Zhang Ruochen even more cautious.
Four high-ranking Half-Saints flew in from four directions of the Governor’s Mansion, each holding a battle flag, setting up a battle formation.
Within the formation, thousands of ghostly apparitions materialized—some with disheveled hair, some riding barbarian beasts, some wielding long spears... The entire Governor’s Mansion instantly became shrouded in ghostly qi.
These ghostly apparitions empowered the four high-ranking Half-Saints.
The four high-ranking Half-Saints transformed into four Yin Soldier Ghost Kings, exuding a powerful aura comparable to Ninth-Step Half-Saints.
Qing Yichan revealed a cold smile. “I knew you would come, so I invited the princess of the Ghost-Raising Ancient Clan to prepare a Four Extremes Ghost King Formation for you.”
“The princess of the Ghost-Raising Ancient Clan?” Zhang Ruochen’s expression turned strange.
The sound of a pipa echoed through the Governor’s Mansion.
Zhang Ruochen looked toward the source of the pipa sound. In a distant, dark green pavilion sat a young woman in an ink-black long dress.
Her graceful figure was hidden within a mass of ghostly mist.
Her fingers were long and slender, gently plucking the strings of the pipa, playing a mournful tune.
Behind the young woman stood two Wuchang, one black and one white.
Both Wuchang were over three meters tall, their ghostly bodies wrapped in iron chains at the shoulders and waist, appearing exceptionally imposing and exuding a sinister, ghostly aura.
Zhang Ruochen distinctly remembered that Feng Yinchang, the princess of the Ghost-Raising Ancient Clan, and Yin Xuanji of the Corpse-Driving Ancient Clan, were trapped in the Underworld.
Now that the passage between the Underworld and the Kunlun Realm had been sealed by the stone talisman left by Qiangu Nüdi, how could they have escaped?
The young woman in the ghostly mist stopped playing the pipa and said in a deep, ethereal voice, “Since our parting in the Underworld, I’ve missed you dearly. Zhang Ruochen, how have you been?”
“You are Feng Yinchang?” Zhang Ruochen asked.
The young woman holding the pipa chuckled softly, her voice piercing, “You didn’t expect this, did you?”
“It is indeed somewhat unexpected,” Zhang Ruochen replied.
Qing Yichan, holding the Ice Soul Divine Cauldron in one hand and the other behind her back, declared loudly, “I had everything arranged long ago, just waiting for you to walk into the trap so I could close the net.”
“I knew that killing you would not be an easy task,” Zhang Ruochen said, remaining calm and composed. He added, “Of course, capturing me won’t be easy either.”
Qing Yichan’s eyes held a mocking glint. “With the current setup in the Governor’s Mansion, is it still not enough to capture you?”
Zhang Ruochen shook his head, his tone firm. “It’s still a bit short.”
The entire Governor’s Mansion, with the Four Extremes Ghost King Formation and the presence of Qing Yichan and the Ghost-Raising Ancient Clan’s experts, was truly a dragon’s pool and tiger’s den. Even a powerhouse from the Half-Saint List or the Outer Half-Saint List would find it difficult to escape.
Did Zhang Ruochen really have a way to get away?
Qing Yichan didn’t want to wait any longer, fearing unforeseen changes, and immediately gave the order: “Attack!”
The four high-ranking Half-Saints, wielding black battle flags, summoned thousands of ghostly apparitions and attacked Zhang Ruochen first.
Empowered by the ghosts, the four high-ranking Half-Saints became exceptionally powerful.
One of them, an old man with red hair, swung his battle flag, stirring up a bone-chilling yin wind and unleashing thousands of ghostly shadows.
From Zhang Ruochen’s position, looking ahead, it felt as though an army of thousands was charging at him—weapons clashing, arrows flying—as if trying to devour him.
“Whoosh—”
A surge of vast, righteous yang qi erupted from Zhang Ruochen’s body, turning his skin crimson and even emitting a layer of flames.
Having cultivated the ninth palm of the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Palm, Zhang Ruochen’s yang qi was a thousand times that of an ordinary person.
Ghosts and undead spirits were most afraid of yang qi and righteous qi.
“Thousand-Hand Dragon-Elephant.”
Zhang Ruochen struck out with both hands simultaneously, unleashing the eighth palm of the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Palm, amplifying his attack power by thirty-five times.
The immense yang qi, accompanied by the palm force, surged forward.
“Boom.”
In an instant, hundreds of ghostly apparitions shattered into mist, and the red-haired old man was sent flying.
The old man’s face showed shock as he quickly retreated, blood dripping from his hands gripping the battle flag.
Zhang Ruochen was astonished. That palm strike was already at the sacred art level, yet it had only sent the red-haired old man flying without severely injuring him.
With the empowerment of the ghosts, the strength of the four high-ranking Half-Saints had reached such a level?
“Attack together. Finish this quickly,” Qing Yichan ordered.
She launched the Ice Soul Divine Cauldron. The small, exquisite ancient cauldron grew larger and larger until it was the size of a palace, radiating a terrifying, awe-inspiring power.
The cold air emitted by the Ice Soul Divine Cauldron turned the entire Governor’s Mansion into a frozen wasteland.
In the distant pavilion, Feng Yinchang, dressed in an ink-black long dress, began playing the pipa again. Her fingers flew across the strings, the melody now filled with murderous intent, evoking a sense of an impending storm.
“Zhang Ruochen, I’ll send you two Wuchang Kings. Remember to return them when you reach the Underworld, hehe!” Feng Yinchang’s laughter rang out like silver bells.
She leaped gracefully, landing on the roof of the pavilion.
Below, the black and white Wuchang Kings flew out, attacking Zhang Ruochen from two other directions.
Both Wuchang Kings had devoured hundreds of ordinary Wuchang, continuously evolving, and their cultivation was now very close to that of Ghost Kings.
They only needed to survive the ghost tribulation to undergo their transformation.
“With so many yin soldiers and ghostly fiends, I suppose I’ll need to invite two monks to perform the rites of liberation.”
Earlier, Zhang Ruochen had communicated with Grand Minister of Works and Second Minister of Works within the Cosmic Divine Wood Map. The two monks were willing to come out to liberate the spirits.
Inviting them to kill would incur karmic consequences, harming their cultivation.
However, inviting them to liberate the spirits would benefit their practice. Liberating spirits also tempered their Buddhist hearts.
Of course, Zhang Ruochen was somewhat worried whether the two monks had studied the scriptures for liberating spirits. Especially Grand Minister of Works—he didn’t seem like a monk who would chant sutras.