Chapter 1032: Provocation
Zhang Ruochen intended to pursue and kill Feng Yinchán, unwilling to let her escape and leave future trouble behind.
Feng Yinchán controlled two Wuchang Kings, and the combat power she could unleash was comparable to some beings on the *Half-Saint External Ranking*.
Moreover, who knew if she had other tricks up her sleeve?
During their peak periods, the Ghost-Raising Ancient Clan and the Corpse-Driving Ancient Clan could rival the Undying Blood Clan. As a princess of the Ghost-Raising Ancient Clan, she was bound to have many formidable trump cards.
Feng Yinchán's current cultivation was not particularly strong. As long as the Grand Minister of Works and the Second Minister of Works could hold off the two Wuchang Kings, Zhang Ruochen was confident that, even with his injuries, he could kill her.
Feng Yinchán fled the Governor's Mansion, leading the two wounded Wuchang Kings as she flew swiftly toward the central area of Saint Ming City.
Just as Zhang Ruochen was about to catch up to Feng Yinchán, she retreated first into the Lingxiao Heavenly King Manor, stepping through the majestic and imposing palace gates.
Since the Azure-Winged Cicada could enlist her help in dealing with Zhang Ruochen, the Ghost-Raising Ancient Clan must have a deep cooperation with the Lingxiao Heavenly King Manor.
"I was too late. She got away. This will surely bring endless trouble in the future."
Zhang Ruochen sighed, stopped in his tracks, and did not continue the pursuit.
The Lingxiao Heavenly King Manor was not merely a residence but a vast, ancient palace city, exuding an antique charm and a sense of grandeur.
Before the palace gates, a wide square was paved entirely with ten-thousand-jin jade stones.
The towering city walls resembled a row of black mountain ranges, with lightning patterns flowing across their surfaces, radiating a magnificent aura.
Standing on the ground and looking up at the top of the walls, one could see a series of splendid vermilion palace towers. Some of these towers were built along the massive mountain, extending all the way into the clouds. The lights they emitted were like stars scattered across the sky, giving a ethereal and mysterious feeling.
Outside the Lingxiao Heavenly King Manor, security was extremely tight. From time to time, squads of guards riding lion-tiger barbarian beasts patrolled along the base of the walls, holding long spears.
From a distance, Zhang Ruochen looked at the plaque hanging above the palace gates, reading the three characters "Lingxiao Palace." His eyes narrowed slightly, feeling a sharp sting.
Eight hundred years ago, the text on that plaque should have read "Ming Emperor Palace."
The imperial palace of the Holy Bright Central Empire.
Zhang Ruochen took out a sword, suspending it in midair, and then produced the heads of Liao Huacheng and the Azure-Winged Cicada.
A flash of sword light shot out like a streak of flowing radiance, carrying the two bloody heads and nailing them onto the wall above the palace gates.
"Boom."
The powerful sword energy carried a violent impact force, shattering the purple plaque into pieces and pinning the two heads onto the wall.
In an instant, with the palace gates as the center, dense inscriptions emerged, forming a defensive formation that enveloped the entire Lingxiao Heavenly King Manor.
"Who is so bold as to attack the Heavenly King Manor?" A deep, furious roar rang out, shaking the spiritual energy of heaven and earth violently.
Someone dared to attack the Lingxiao Heavenly King Manor?
Even a Saint-realm being wouldn't have such audacity.
Cultivators in the surrounding area were all alarmed, turning their gazes toward the Lingxiao Heavenly King Manor.
"Damn, someone used a sword to smash the plaque of the Lingxiao Heavenly King Manor. Are they declaring war on the imperial court?"
"Who's so fierce? Have they been captured?"
...
...
Inside the Lingxiao Heavenly King Manor, a series of sounds of wind breaking rang out as figures rushed out.
The patrolling soldiers also gathered tightly at the outer gates, drawing their weapons, creating a tense, sword-drawn atmosphere.
"Look... those are Commander Liao's and Commander Qingyi's heads... Someone killed them..." A panicked voice sounded.
Two commanders had been killed, and the plaque above the gates had been destroyed. This was undoubtedly a harsh slap to the face of the Lingxiao Heavenly King Manor, leaving it utterly disgraced.
A Saint-realm titan from the Lingxiao Heavenly King Manor personally appeared and issued an order: "Immediately seal off the entire city district. Do not let him escape. Provoking the Lingxiao Heavenly King Manor will only lead to death."
By the time the city district was sealed off, Zhang Ruochen had already escaped and returned to the Phoenix Dance Palace.
Inside a magnificent hall of the Lingxiao Heavenly King Manor, a group of overlords who dominated Saint Ming City gathered together to discuss strategies for dealing with Zhang Ruochen.
Among them were five commanders of the Azure Dragon Army, three of the Four Young Masters, the Ghost-Raising Ancient Clan's princess Feng Yinchán, and the Corpse-Driving Ancient Clan's foremost talent Yin Xuanji.
Additionally, a Saint-realm titan from the Lingxiao Heavenly King Manor and the Lord of the Azure Dragon Army had also descended in person, seated at the highest position.
With such a lineup, even a Saint-realm being would flee at the sight of them.
Who would have imagined that they were merely discussing how to capture or kill a junior at the Fifth-Rank Half-Saint level?
Feng Yinchán had a very slender figure, looking like a girl of fourteen or fifteen. In reality, this was not her true body; her real body had been left in the Underworld and could not be brought out.
She and Yin Xuanji had only managed to escape the Underworld with their Saint Souls.
Her current body was selected from ten-thousand-year-old ancient corpses collected by the Corpse-Driving Ancient Clan, with a compatibility rate of seventy percent with her Saint Soul.
The original owner of this body was a Saint-realm titan from ten thousand years ago who had achieved immortality. Even after living for nearly a thousand years, she still looked like a young girl. Even in death, her appearance had not changed, and her corpse remained undecayed for ten thousand years.
By fusing with a Saintly body, Feng Yinchán's cultivation had indeed advanced by leaps and bounds.
However, the body and Saint Soul were not one hundred percent compatible, which would bring significant drawbacks. As her cultivation deepened, those drawbacks would become more apparent.
"It was indeed Zhang Ruochen who killed the Azure-Winged Cicada. I can confirm that."
Feng Yinchán's voice carried a cold tone. She continued, "Zhang Ruochen has two eminent Buddhist monks by his side. Based on their physical characteristics and the martial techniques they used, it can be speculated that they are likely the Grand Minister of Works and the Second Minister of Works from the *Half-Saint External Ranking*."
Chi Yutang, sitting opposite Feng Yinchán, sneered, "No wonder Zhang Ruochen, having just broken through to Half-Saint, could kill several commanders in a row. So he has such powerful helpers."
Feng Yinchán glanced at Chi Yutang, revealing a mocking smile, but said nothing more, clearly too lazy to warn him.
Zhang Ruochen indeed had two helpers at the level of the *Half-Saint External Ranking*, but his own strength was also formidable.
Anyone who underestimated him would die a miserable death.
The Lord of the Azure Dragon Army said, "Zhang Ruochen once had contact with the Grand Minister of Works, the Second Minister of Works, and the Blood God Sect's Divine Son at the Black Market headquarters in Taizhou. The appearance of these two monks is not surprising."
"What is truly troublesome is that Zhang Ruochen seems to possess a secret treasure that can completely conceal his aura, making it impossible to locate him with Saintly thoughts."
"Moreover, his spiritual power is extremely formidable, allowing him to detect the presence of a Saint in advance. Every time I, this Saint, arrive, he has already fled first. It is truly infuriating."
Then, the Lord of the Azure Dragon Army turned his gaze to the five commanders and gave an order: "Yan Tong, Bai Xinglou, the five of you should not leave the Lingxiao Heavenly King Manor in the coming days, to avoid being assassinated by Zhang Ruochen again."
Yan Tong and Bai Xinglou were quite unconvinced, clenching their fists and eager to try, wanting to compete with Zhang Ruochen.
Their cultivation far surpassed that of the Azure-Winged Cicada, making them the strongest among the ten commanders. Yet they were forced to cower inside the Lingxiao Heavenly King Manor by a junior who had just reached the Half-Saint realm. Naturally, they were filled with frustration.
However, since the Lord had spoken, they dared not disobey the military order.
The Saint-realm titan from the Lingxiao Heavenly King Manor said, "I have received news that Chi Wansui will return within the next two days. By then, we can calmly set a trap and make Zhang Ruochen and his helpers die without a burial place."
"Second brother is finally coming back! Haha! That's wonderful. Now let's see how Zhang Ruochen can still be so arrogant. Offending the Lingxiao Heavenly King Manor means only death, no matter who it is." Chi Yutang laughed loudly.
That night, the series of events once again shook Saint Ming City.
"Two more commanders have fallen, including the deeply cultivated Azure-Winged Cicada. The Azure Dragon Army has now lost five commanders in a row."
"The news has been confirmed. It was indeed the Heir of Time and Space, Zhang Ruochen, who carried out the killings. The princess of the Ghost-Raising Ancient Clan personally witnessed him using the powers of time and space."
"Zhang Ruochen's performance was extremely aggressive. After killing two commanders, he personally went to the gates of the Lingxiao Heavenly King Manor, smashed the plaque, and nailed the two commanders' heads to the city wall."
After fermenting overnight, by the next morning, the news of Zhang Ruochen killing Liao Huacheng and the Azure-Winged Cicada had spread through every street and alley in Saint Ming City.
Young cultivators felt their blood boil, wishing they could be Zhang Ruochen and accomplish such a world-shaking feat.
As for why Zhang Ruochen had killed five commanders, few among the young delved into it deeply. Young cultivators, after all, craved powerful strength and longed to become famous in a single battle.
In Saint Ming City, the number of young cultivators who admired Zhang Ruochen was growing, nearly catching up to the new Second Place Scholar "Cai Jinglun" and the Grand Duke of the Year "Chi Wansui."
Of course, there were also those who held a dismissive attitude.
"It is said that Chi Wansui is about to return to Saint Ming City. Zhang Ruochen's good days are numbered. The Lingxiao Heavenly King Manor will surely launch a counterattack."
"The Lingxiao Heavenly King Manor has enlisted a princess from the Ghost-Raising Ancient Clan and a talent from the Corpse-Driving Ancient Clan specifically to deal with Zhang Ruochen."
In recent days, Chu Siyuan, who was a guest at the Cai family, was also extremely troubled.
He had never expected Zhang Ruochen to be so capable of stirring up trouble, causing such a massive uproar that had turned all of Saint Ming City upside down.
If he continued like this, he would surely break the sky.
Chu Siyuan used his spiritual power to try to deduce Zhang Ruochen's hiding place, hoping to stop him from continuing his killing spree. At the same time, he worried that the Lingxiao Heavenly King Manor might set up some extreme measures to deal with Zhang Ruochen.
However, the deduction failed.
A figure with extremely powerful spiritual power had concealed Zhang Ruochen's aura, making it impossible even for Chu Siyuan to deduce the result.
"In my life, my spiritual power attainments are second to none. Who could be masking the heavenly secrets?"
Chu Siyuan had a stubborn temper and refused to admit defeat. He clenched his fists and pounded his chest.
With a "pfft," he spat out a mouthful of blood.
Using his own blood to paint, he relied on the power of the painting path to deduce again.
As the leader of the Painting Sect, how could he admit defeat?
Chu Siyuan risked his life and finally deduced a general direction, but he still could not pinpoint Zhang Ruochen's exact location. Finding Zhang Ruochen would be like searching for a needle in a haystack.
Chu Siyuan naturally did not know that Zhang Ruochen was wearing the Buddhist beads gifted by Master Indra, which were enough to conceal his aura.
Finding him was no easy task.