Chapter 1064: Overwhelming Suppression and Killing
Tan Zhongli's body was suppressed, buried deep into the yellow sand.
"Boom."
A flash of silver light.
Tan Zhongli burst out from beneath the desert, coughing up a trace of blood. Covered in sand and mud, he looked exceptionally disheveled.
In the distance, Wan Huayu quickly glanced at the battlefield between Zhang Ruochen and Tan Zhongli, a look of surprise flashing in her eyes. She thought to herself, "Gu Linfeng's cultivation seems to have improved by a large margin. At his training speed, it probably won't be long before he becomes a top-tier overlord of the Azure Dragon Ruins Realm."
Wan Huayu had fought Tan Zhongli before and knew well how formidable he was.
If it were a one-on-one fight, even she wouldn't be confident of victory.
From the direction of Yingsha City, Shangguan Xianyan's gaze locked onto Zhang Ruochen, sensing immense pressure.
"Has his strength already reached the point where he can contend with that level of expert?"
Shangguan Xianyan didn't know Tan Zhongli's identity, but she could tell that his cultivation had reached the peak of the Ninth-Rank Half-Saint.
Observing the combat power Tan Zhongli unleashed, it seemed comparable to an expert who had already crossed the first Quasi-Saint Tribulation.
Originally, Shangguan Xianyan thought the gap between herself and Gu Linfeng wasn't large and that she might have a chance to surpass him. But now, it seemed the height Gu Linfeng had reached was already beyond her reach.
"That Undying Blood Clan expert probably hasn't used his true power yet. Otherwise, Gu Linfeng definitely wouldn't be gaining the upper hand."
Following that, Wei Longxing sneered again, "Gu Linfeng dares to offend an Undying Blood Clan expert while fighting the barbarian beasts. Surviving today won't be easy."
Among the alliance formed by the Blood God Sect, the Shangguan Clan, and the Cai Clan, some high-ranking members very much hoped Gu Linfeng would die in the belly of a barbarian beast or have his blood drained by the Undying Blood Clan.
However, the Fish-Dragon and Half-Saint cultivators of the Blood God Sect were quite excited. Some of them were even cheering from afar for their Divine Son.
Tan Zhongli licked the bloodstains on his lips, revealing a ferocious expression, and laughed, "With your current combat power, you've finally forced me to use my true strength."
"Is that so? I'd really like to see just how strong your true power is."
Zhang Ruochen remained very calm. Since the Heavenly Dao rules around the Seven-Colored Cloud Cluster hadn't dissipated yet, he might as well use this battle with Tan Zhongli to test his current strength.
"Return Origin Blade."
Tan Zhongli raised both hands, and from his chest, a silver war blade flew out from within his body.
He casually swung the blade, and instantly, thousands of blade shadows appeared, forming a blade domain.
"My Return Origin Blade is a demonic blade forged by one of my clan's ancestors from his own eight silver wings. It possesses indestructible power—even a Sacred Artifact can be cut through with a single strike."
The aura emanating from Tan Zhongli became extraordinary, exuding a sense of dominance, sharpness, and demonic nature.
Whoosh.
The next moment, Tan Zhongli's figure vanished from its spot, turning into a streak of silver light that charged before Zhang Ruochen, slashing horizontally with his blade.
Zhang Ruochen didn't dodge. Instead, he struck out with another hand seal.
"Whoosh—"
What was originally a single blade shadow suddenly split into eight, forming eight layers of sharp blade light.
Zhang Ruochen's eyes narrowed, and he let out a soft exclamation. He immediately struck out with his right palm, forming a second hand seal.
With a violent collision, the two separated again.
Zhang Ruochen's left hand was wearing the Seven Kill Fist Gloves. After colliding with the Return Origin Blade, he wasn't injured, only feeling a slight numbness.
However, a bloody gash appeared on his right hand, cutting deep into the flesh and revealing the bone beneath.
The Return Origin Blade was indeed extremely sharp. Even though Zhang Ruochen's palms were fully sanctified at all seven apertures, they still couldn't defend against it.
"It only left a bloody gash? The toughness of his palms is probably comparable to that of a Lower Realm Saint."
Although Tan Zhongli was shocked, he didn't show it on his face. Instead, he adopted a victorious posture and said, "Still not using the Ten Saint Blood Armor?"
"To deal with you, why would I need the Ten Saint Blood Armor?"
Zhang Ruochen activated his technique, forcing the blade Qi that had entered his wound out. The wound on his palm healed quickly.
Tan Zhongli's gaze darkened. "In that case, I'll have to use a Sacred Art to end this battle early."
"Return Origin One Slash."
The silver war blade traced an arc.
Immediately, a layer of silver light barrier appeared and expanded outward, forming a light sphere ten zhang in diameter.
Threads of blood Qi swirled around the silver war blade, adding a hint of eerie power.
"Your progress is also significant. Have you already cultivated that Sacred Art to Great Completion?" Zhang Ruochen asked.
Back in Yingsha City, when Tan Zhongli used his fists to unleash this Sacred Art move, he could only achieve a twenty-seven times attack multiplier.
Now, holding the war blade, the aura Tan Zhongli emitted was far stronger than before.
It seemed the Sacred Art had indeed reached Great Completion.
"I'm not the only one making progress."
Tan Zhongli swung his blade, unleashing a thirty-two times attack multiplier. The blade shadow stretched dozens of meters long, striking toward Zhang Ruochen's head.
"Seven Apertures Blood Nether Palm."
Zhang Ruochen raised his palm, and behind him, a nine-zhang-tall blood-red figure slowly stood up, releasing a vast and overwhelming aura of slaughter.
The figure had twelve wings on its back, and the mere aura it emitted suppressed Tan Zhongli's power to some extent.
"That's... Lord Nether King..."
Tan Zhongli's momentum faltered slightly, and even the blade force he struck lost some of its sharpness.
Zhang Ruochen struck out with a palm, unleashing a forty times attack multiplier, directly sending Tan Zhongli flying sideways.
Then, Zhang Ruochen struck a second time, again unleashing a forty times attack multiplier, hitting Tan Zhongli and driving him back into the ground.
Tan Zhongli, bleeding from all seven orifices, burst out from the ground and roared, "Even I can't summon Lord Nether King's aura—how can you?"
"Because you're too weak." Zhang Ruochen struck out another palm, and a massive blood Qi hand seal appeared.
"Return Origin One Slash."
Tan Zhongli slashed out with his blade, pushing the power of the Sacred Art to its limit.
Being able to cultivate a Sacred Art to Great Completion at the Half-Saint realm made Tan Zhongli truly an outstanding talent among talents.
However, Tan Zhongli's blade light only held out for two breaths before it couldn't withstand the palm force Zhang Ruochen unleashed. Spitting blood, he fell to the ground.
The blood-red hand seal slammed down, leaving a fifty-meter-long handprint crater in the desert.
All the barbarian beasts around the crater were crushed to death.
"So powerful. An expert comparable to a Quasi-Saint can't even escape his grasp, getting suppressed time and again."
Feng Wanli's gaze was quite solemn. At this moment, he finally regarded Gu Linfeng as an expert on his own level and no longer dared to underestimate him.
The other Undying Blood Clan members also noticed Tan Zhongli's crisis, but they couldn't go to his aid because they were under a frenzied attack from a Beast King and over a hundred Sixth-Rank barbarian beasts.
Tan Zhongli's vitality was extremely tenacious. Crawling out of the handprint crater, he spread his four silver wings and fled into the distance.
"Gu Linfeng, once I cross my first Quasi-Saint Tribulation, I'll make sure you die without a burial place," Tan Zhongli said venomously.
"Do you think you can still leave today?" Zhang Ruochen said.
Once someone's cultivation reached Tan Zhongli's level, they were very hard to kill.
Back in Yingsha City, four top experts—Wan Huayu, the Purple-Robed Elder, Huang Yanchen, and Zhang Ruochen—had joined forces but still failed to kill him.
Tan Zhongli naturally didn't believe Zhang Ruochen had the power to kill him. He just sneered and continued flying deeper into the desert.
Zhang Ruochen flicked his arm, sending the Life and Death Mirror flying into the air. Hovering in midair, it activated a Thousand Ripple Annihilation Force.
The Life and Death Mirror immediately began to spin, releasing a power that even the Beast King found daunting.
"Whoosh!"
A beam of light shot out, striking Tan Zhongli and shattering his lower body into a cloud of blood mist.
"No... you dare to use a Thousand Ripple Annihilation Force..."
A miserable scream came from Tan Zhongli's mouth.
His upper body continued to fly, but the Life and Death Mirror kept absorbing the blood Qi from his body.
In moments, Tan Zhongli turned into a dried corpse, falling from midair and shattering into a pile of dust.
The Return Origin Blade had an Artifact Spirit of very high intelligence. The blade shrank to the size of a palm, taking on the form of a silver wing, shimmering with flowing light, as if forged from pure silver.
With a flash of silver light, the Return Origin Blade pierced through dozens of barbarian beasts before flying into the hands of an elderly Undying Blood Clan member.
That elderly Undying Blood Clan member cast a cold glance at Zhang Ruochen and left a harsh warning: "Divine Son of the Blood God Sect, the Qitian Tribe will remember this grudge."
Zhang Ruochen glanced at the old man, merely showing a faint smile, and then retrieved the Life and Death Mirror.
"Having broken through to the Sixth-Rank Half-Saint, unleashing a single Thousand Ripple Annihilation Force still consumes forty percent of my Saint Qi. Unleashing two would be my limit."
Zhang Ruochen activated his technique to recover Saint Qi while charging toward the Seven-Colored Cloud Cluster.
"He's a powerful human."
The Fire Golden Crow Beast King fixed its gaze on Zhang Ruochen, a cold glint flashing in its eyes.
It took out the Ox-Horn Skull Head, holding it in its palm, and began gathering power, intending to first kill Zhang Ruochen to prevent any accidents during the struggle for the Saint Source Spirit Spring.
Xiao Hei noticed the Fire Golden Crow Beast King's intention. Its round cat eyes showed a hint of amusement, and it immediately issued an order to a Sixth-Rank Upper Level barbarian beast.
That Sixth-Rank Upper Level barbarian beast soared into the sky, pouncing toward the Fire Golden Crow Beast King.
At first, the Fire Golden Crow Beast King didn't pay it any mind. It wasn't until the beast charged within twenty zhang of it that it realized something was wrong.
"Still not retreating?" the Fire Golden Crow Beast King barked.
That Sixth-Rank Upper Level barbarian beast not only ignored its command but instead self-detonated its Qi Sea, unleashing a wave of destructive power that surged in all directions.
"Boom!"
A circular energy halo rapidly expanded outward.
A barbarian beast comparable to a Ninth-Rank Half-Saint self-detonating its Qi Sea—the destructive force it created was unimaginable.
The Fire Golden Crow Beast King, being the closest, turned into a streak of fire and flew out, crashing into the cliff wall of a great rift in the earth.
All the feathers on its body fell off, blood staining the sky red. It was severely injured.
Fortunately, at the critical moment, the Fire Golden Crow Beast King used the Ox-Horn Skull Head to block most of the power.
Otherwise, the consequences would have been unimaginable.
"It didn't die."
Xiao Hei sensed the Fire Golden Crow Beast King's life force, shook its chubby head, and let out a long sigh, feeling quite disappointed.
It had come so close to killing a Beast King. Such a dirty trick worked best the first time. If used again, the Beast Kings would be on guard, making success very unlikely.
"Look! The lightning around the Seven-Colored Cloud Cluster has all disappeared!" a startled cry rang out.
The destructive force from that Sixth-Rank Upper Level barbarian beast's self-detonation had actually broken through the Heavenly Dao rules surrounding the Seven-Colored Cloud Cluster, revealing the Saint Source Spirit Spring at the center of the cloud cluster.