Chapter 1073: Kill Without Mercy
Wei Longxing did not manage to escape far. Zhang Ruochen, wearing the Ten Saint Blood Armor, caught up to him quickly even without using the Luanfeng Divine Seal Speed.
"Where do you think you're going?"
Behind Zhang Ruochen stood a nine-zhang-tall Nether King phantom, as he struck out with the Seven-Orifice Blood Nether Palm.
With no path of retreat left, Wei Longxing stopped fleeing, gritted his teeth, and prepared to fight to the death.
"Flame Battle Art."
Wei Longxing clenched his fists, his entire body erupting with crimson flames, unleashing a thirty-six-fold attack power that blasted outward.
Zhang Ruochen struck down with a palm, the palm force breaking through the flaming fist seal and hitting Wei Longxing's chest.
"Boom!"
Wei Longxing's body flew backward, tossed into the air, blood spraying from his mouth as it scattered midair.
Immediately after, Zhang Ruochen's second palm struck out, hitting his back and shattering the multicolored radiance formed by the Five Elements Saint Armor.
With a crack, Wei Longxing's spine snapped, his body nearly folding in half as it was hurled upward.
"Boom!"
Zhang Ruochen shot straight upward, arriving above Wei Longxing, and chopped down with his hand like a blade, striking his chest.
"Crack, crack!"
All the bones in Wei Longxing's chest shattered, his internal organs crushed into bloody pulp. He crashed heavily to the ground, lying in a pit, unable to move.
His life force was rapidly draining away.
His eyes, fixed on the sky, gradually dimmed.
Zhang Ruochen walked over, stood beside Wei Longxing, glanced at him indifferently, then stepped down, ending his life.
The human cultivators were all watching Zhang Ruochen's every move.
Seeing Zhang Ruochen stomp Wei Longxing to death, several of them shuddered, feeling a bone-chilling coldness.
"He's intimidating us, telling everyone that whoever dares to oppose him will die a miserable death," Shangguan Xianyan thought to herself.
Given her status and state of mind, even she felt a chill at that moment.
Even after killing someone, Zhang Ruochen remained calm, giving off a gentle, jade-like demeanor. He looked up, staring in the direction the Blue Eagle Beast King had flown.
It hadn't escaped far—there was still a chance to catch up.
Having finally severely wounded a beast king, how could he let it get away?
Zhang Ruochen took out the sacred decree, activated its sacred power, and burst forth with speed comparable to a Saint, turning into a streak of light to pursue the Blue Eagle Beast King.
The Blue Eagle Beast King naturally sensed Zhang Ruochen closing in from behind but showed no fear.
Although it was no match for that human cultivator, escaping was not a difficult task.
"Whoosh!"
A flash of sacred light, and Zhang Ruochen appeared in midair, blocking the Blue Eagle Beast King's path.
Zhang Ruochen said, "Earlier, you said that sooner or later you would devour me? Now, I have to tell you, you've lost that chance."
"What? You want to kill me?"
The Blue Eagle Beast King snorted coldly and added, "Let me remind you: if you truly push me to the brink, we'll only end up in mutual destruction. Do you know why the two human Realm Sons failed to kill a single beast king? Because, at their current cultivation level, they don't have a hundred percent certainty of withstanding a beast king's deathbed counterattack."
The Blue Eagle Beast King believed that the human before it would understand how to weigh the pros and cons. Continuing the fight would benefit no one.
"Is that so? I'd really like to try—just how fierce your deathbed counterattack is."
Zhang Ruochen showed no intention of retreating. Instead, he strode forward, closing the distance with the Blue Eagle Beast King.
"Blood God Sect Divine Son, I have to admire your courage. You're ruthless enough."
Seeing that it had failed to intimidate the human, the Blue Eagle Beast King immediately activated the sacred power within its Bone Relic, forming a pair of blue light wings and bursting forth with speed comparable to a Saint.
As long as there was a chance to escape, no one would resort to mutual destruction.
At this moment, the speed the Blue Eagle Beast King unleashed was even faster than Zhang Ruochen's using the sacred decree.
"Think you can escape?"
Zhang Ruochen smiled slightly and used Great Space Teleportation, vanishing from his spot.
In the next instant, he crossed dozens of miles of space and appeared before the Blue Eagle Beast King, striking out with the Seven-Orifice Blood Nether Palm, unleashing forty times attack power.
The Blue Eagle Beast King crashed directly into Zhang Ruochen's palm seal. Its massive head became a bloody mess, its skull completely shattered, and it plummeted from midair.
Zhang Ruochen gave it no chance for a deathbed counterattack. A powerful sword intent erupted, merging with his body.
He clasped his hands together and raised them above his head.
"Whoosh!"
His body became like a sword, executing Sword Five, transforming into a blood-red rainbow. With a piercing sound, it broke through the Bone Relic's defense and passed straight through the Blue Eagle Beast King's body.
When Zhang Ruochen stopped, his bloody palm held a blue pearl—the Bone Relic he had just dug out from the Blue Eagle Beast King's body.
With a thud, the Blue Eagle Beast King crashed to the ground, a corpse.
Wan Huayu, riding a pair of crimson phoenix wings, caught up. Seeing the Blue Eagle Beast King's remains, she was greatly shocked. "You killed another beast king? How did you do it?"
When Zhang Ruochen killed the Fire Golden Crow Beast King, Wan Huayu had seen from afar the blood-red pillar of light that surged from the Life-and-Death Mirror and struck it down.
Thus, she knew the Fire Golden Crow Beast King had died at Zhang Ruochen's hands.
Wan Huayu was very intelligent and observant. Worried she might suspect his identity, Zhang Ruochen revealed a playful smile. "If the Princess Consort agrees to accept my pursuit, I'll tell you immediately."
Wan Huayu knew he was teasing her but didn't get angry. She sheathed her war sword, thrust out her proud chest, and smiled. "Of course."
This time, it was Zhang Ruochen's turn to show surprise. He hadn't expected Wan Huayu to agree so readily.
But Wan Huayu wasn't finished.
She continued, "However, my father once said that anyone who wants to be his son-in-law must have the strength to withstand three of his strikes without dying."
"And if I can't?" Zhang Ruochen asked.
Wan Huayu smiled, her bright eyes and white teeth shining. "If you can't, then naturally you die."
Without centuries of cultivation, who could withstand three attacks from Wan Zhaoyi?
"Is your father sure he's not setting you up? Is he deliberately making sure you never marry?"
Zhang Ruochen shook his head, dropping the topic of pursuing her, and asked, "How's the battle over there?"
Wan Huayu said, "After the Blue Eagle Beast King fled, the two Lion Camel Beast Kings realized they could no longer wipe out the human cultivators, so they led the beast horde northwest in retreat."
"Alright, since they've retreated, I don't need to go back."
Zhang Ruochen turned to leave.
"You're just going to leave like that?" Wan Huayu called out.
"What else?"
Wan Huayu rolled her eyes. "The entire human cultivator base at Yingsha City joined forces to hold back the beast horde so you could take the black sacred flower. Now, are you thinking of keeping it all to yourself? Remember our original agreement?"
"Oh, you mean that."
Zhang Ruochen nodded, as if recalling.
It was just a black sacred flower, taking up only a small portion of the Sacred Source Spirit Spring. Even if he shared it, it wasn't a big deal.
Besides, many human cultivators had died in the battle. Zhang Ruochen felt a bit embarrassed to keep it all.
"Come on, let's first rejoin the alliance of the Blood God Sect, the Cai Clan, and the Shangguan Clan. The two Realm Sons should arrive soon," Wan Huayu said.
Wan Huayu was indeed worried that Gu Linfeng might try to keep the black sacred flower and the Sacred Source Spirit Spring for himself, so she used the two Realm Sons to pressure him.
After all, that guy never played by the rules and would do anything.
Zhang Ruochen and Wan Huayu returned to the camp with the Blue Eagle Beast King's corpse, immediately causing a huge uproar. Another beast king had fallen, enough to suppress the arrogance of the twelve barbarian beast tribes.
Half a day later, the two Realm Sons, the cultivators of the Wan Clan, the Feng Clan of the Southern Domain, the Xuan Sword Sect of the Central Domain, and the Black Market First Class Hall of the Northern Domain all arrived, gathering together to divide the Sacred Source Spirit Spring that Zhang Ruochen held.