Chapter 1101: Saintly Form
Space power is not invincible. Once an opponent's strength is great enough, they can cause space to tremble, thereby neutralizing spatial attacks.
However, in the Azure Dragon Ruins Realm, the spatial structure was quite fragile, which allowed Zhang Ruochen to hold the advantage.
After the large blood formation was torn apart, some powerful half-saints immediately withdrew, fleeing the shattered spatial zone.
Zhang Ruochen locked onto that ninth-step half-saint and pursued him, throwing a Luo Water Fist Art.
"Heavenly River Division."
With one punch thrown, wind and thunder roared across the entire oasis. A dozens-of-zhang-long sacred qi river surged forth, circled around Zhang Ruochen once, and slammed into the ninth-step half-saint's back.
"Boom!"
The pair of blood wings on that ninth-step half-saint's back instantly shattered into pieces, splattering a large spray of blood.
A low, miserable cry escaped his mouth as he fell from midair. All the bones in his back were crushed to powder, and even his internal organs were torn and broken, yet he did not die.
The higher the cultivation of an Undying Blood Clan member, the stronger their life force, making them very difficult to kill.
Zhang Ruochen's body surged with sacred qi, like a god of slaughter. He rapidly pursued, throwing a second punch that blasted the ninth-step half-saint's physical body apart, finally killing him.
Afterward, Zhang Ruochen continued charging toward the blood pool, fighting with exhilarating abandon. The swelling sensation inside him was being released, and he was in an extremely excited state.
He had a premonition that if he maintained this state, he would soon break through to the next realm.
The other three large blood formations spun at full speed, intercepting Zhang Ruochen from three different directions.
Qingtian Crown Prince frowned and immediately sent out three sound waves, ordering the controllers of the three large blood formations to retreat and not engage Zhang Ruochen.
The brutal lesson just now had cost the Qingtian Tribe dozens of strong warriors in an instant, and it also made Qingtian Crown Prince realize that using large combined attack formations against Zhang Ruochen in the Azure Dragon Ruins Realm was a very losing proposition.
If Zhang Ruochen tore space apart again and broke through the blood formations, the loss would be heartbreaking even for Qingtian Crown Prince.
Ghost Mist saw Qingtian Crown Prince's distress and immediately stepped forward, saying, "Your Highness, your subordinate requests to fight."
The burly man with two heads and four arms, Chang Wan, also stepped forward, saying, "Your subordinate also wants to go and test this so-called Heir of Time and Space."
Qingtian Crown Prince nodded, saying, "The two of you will attack together. Do not take him lightly. Zhang Ruochen was able to block over a dozen beast kings by himself; he is no weakling."
To deal with Zhang Ruochen, it was best to send out opponents of the same level, thus minimizing losses.
It was worth noting that Ghost Mist and Chang Wan were both experts on the "Half-Saint Outer List," ranked ninety-second and one hundred fifty-fourth respectively.
The combat power of these two great experts surpassed that of beast kings, and they could fight dozens of exchanges against some weaker lower-level Saints without being defeated.
"Zhang Ruochen only managed to block over a dozen beast kings by constantly using the power of time and space to flee. In a real head-on clash, those dozen beast kings could have crushed him to dust with a single combined strike," Chang Wan said, not taking Zhang Ruochen seriously at all.
Being ranked one hundred fifty-fourth on the Half-Saint Outer List, Chang Wan was absolutely a figure who fought heaven and earth, rarely encountering an opponent below the Saint realm.
Perhaps only the super ruthless individuals ranked in the top ten of the "Half-Saint List" and "Half-Saint Outer List" would make him feel wary.
The large and small blood formations all retreated, creating a hundred-zhang-wide area.
Within the formation stood several hundred of the Undying Blood Clan's top experts, forming an encirclement with Zhang Ruochen at the center.
Above each of the three large blood formations floated a Thousand-Mark Sacred Artifact. The three bursts of Thousand Ripple Annihilation Force they emitted cut off all of Zhang Ruochen's escape routes.
Standing at the center, Zhang Ruochen looked around. All he saw was thick blood mist, like four walls of blood-red fog connecting the ground to the sky.
"Clatter!"
Chang Wan walked out from one of the fog walls. He was about three meters tall, with two heads and four arms. With every step he took, the ground shook violently, and rings of blood light spread outward.
"Zhang Ruochen, there's a road to heaven you won't take, but you barge into the gates of hell. Do you really think you're undefeatable in battle?"
Chang Wan held a pitch-black long spear in each of his two front arms, walking imposingly to stand opposite Zhang Ruochen.
Zhang Ruochen glanced at Chang Wan and said flatly, "Your strength is insufficient. You're not worthy to fight me. Only if your Qingtian Tribe's crown prince comes out would you be qualified."
"You want to fight His Highness the Crown Prince? You're far from qualified. You might not even get past me."
Chang Wan was, after all, a top-tier expert of the Qingtian Tribe, capable of clashing with Saint-level beings. Being so belittled by Zhang Ruochen was utterly unbearable.
As his words fell, Chang Wan decisively struck. The two pitch-black spears seemed to come alive, growing dense, fine scales, surging with lightning and blood light respectively.
Neither spear was an ordinary weapon; their unleashed power was close to that of a Thousand-Mark Sacred Artifact.
In truth, Zhang Ruochen was not underestimating Chang Wan. After all, Chang Wan's ranking on the Half-Saint Outer List was higher than that of Grand Minister of Works and Second Minister of Works. How could he be a simple character?
To underestimate such an opponent even slightly could lead to capsizing in a ditch.
Zhang Ruochen mobilized all his sacred qi, channeling it into his arms. Instantly, the seventy-two acupoints in his body emitted sacred light, connecting into a mysterious pattern.
In the distance, Qingtian Crown Prince let out a soft exclamation and muttered to himself, "He's also cultivating his physical body, and to such an extent."
The reason Qingtian Crown Prince cultivated his physical body was that he had obtained an ancient technique that allowed him to strengthen his body by absorbing blood, gradually reaching the point of becoming a Saint through physical cultivation alone.
For a human to cultivate their body to the point of becoming a Saint was definitely far more difficult than for Qingtian Crown Prince.
"Boom!"
Zhang Ruochen executed the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Palm. By the time he threw the ninth palm, he had already sent Chang Wan flying.
Chang Wan landed back on the ground, sliding backward for over ten zhang, leaving a long, deep trench.
"How... how is this possible... so strong..."
Chang Wan found it hard to believe. The opponent's palm force was supremely firm and yang, striking his arms as if they were about to break. The pain in his ten fingers was excruciating, and he could barely hold onto the two spears.
After all, he had refined the body of a human Saint. His physical body was also extremely powerful. How could he have been defeated so quickly?
Outside the oasis, the Red Ant Beast King and the Corpse Ancestor Bird Beast King exchanged a glance, both quite shocked.
"Compared to last time, Zhang Ruochen's strength has grown by a large margin. With my power, I probably can't withstand a few of his strikes either," the Red Ant Beast King said.
The Corpse Ancestor Bird Beast King let out a long breath, saying, "The current Zhang Ruochen can probably only be suppressed by Lord Demon Dragon, the Kui Ox Beast King, and the Golden Armored Scorpion King."
"If I could survive my third quasi-saint tribulation and cultivate a Saintly Form, I might be able to contend with him," the Red Ant Beast King said.
The Corpse Ancestor Bird Beast King shook his head slightly, saying, "So far, Zhang Ruochen hasn't even used his sword path or his mysterious and unpredictable time power. If he goes all out, who knows how powerful he would be?"
The Red Ant Beast King fell silent. After careful calculation, he ultimately realized that even if he survived his third quasi-saint tribulation and unleashed his Saintly Form, he would most likely still not be Zhang Ruochen's match.
The human cultivators were all quite delighted.
"With Zhang Ruochen's current cultivation, he is already capable of contending with some weaker lower-level Saints," Wan Huayu thought to herself.
In the oasis.
Zhang Ruochen suddenly felt a strong sense of crisis. It was as if he had been locked onto by a venomous snake; if bitten, he would surely die.
"Whoosh!"
Executing a Spatial Displacement, Zhang Ruochen shifted twenty zhang to the right.
At the same time, a mass of black mist flew out from underground, swinging a sword that cut Zhang Ruochen's afterimage in two.
"Shadowless Stealth Art."
Zhang Ruochen's gaze darkened. He touched his Space Ring, drew out the Abyssal Ancient Sword, slapped the sword hilt, and shot the blade forward.
With Zhang Ruochen's current sword path realm, even a casual strike was earth-shattering, capable of unleashing the mysterious power of Sword Five.
The Abyssal Ancient Sword turned into a black light, piercing through the black mist.
"Pfft!"
Drops of blood splattered from the black mist.
Ghost Mist let out a muffled groan, his true body revealed. Shock filled his eyes as he quickly retreated, putting a considerable distance between himself and Zhang Ruochen.
Just now, the Abyssal Ancient Sword had pierced through his abdomen, leaving a bloody hole, turning his entire abdominal cavity red.
Originally, he had intended to assassinate Zhang Ruochen by surprise, but instead, he had been wounded by Zhang Ruochen's sword. Zhang Ruochen's neural reaction speed was terrifyingly fast, allowing him to strike first and gain the upper hand.
Chang Wan stood up from the ground again, then turned around, facing Zhang Ruochen with his other head.
This head was extremely aged, its face covered in wrinkles. Even the pair of arms were withered, a yellowish-brown color, completely devoid of moisture.
However, that was the physical body of a human Saint, possessing immense strength capable of unleashing Saint power.
The reason Chang Wan could be ranked one hundred fifty-fourth on the Half-Saint Outer List was precisely because he had refined the body of a Saint, allowing him to unleash a portion of a Saint's power.
"Zhang Ruochen, you have successfully angered me," Chang Wan roared.
Zhang Ruochen said, "So what? You're still no match for me."
"You dare to look down on me again? It seems I'll have to show you my true strength."
From Chang Wan's body, blood-red threads surged forth, like a spiderweb, intertwining and connecting, finally coalescing into a thirty-zhang-tall Saintly Form.
The form of the Saintly Form was identical to Chang Wan, with two heads and four arms.
The only difference was that the aura emanating from the Saintly Form was extremely sacred, like a divine statue placed in a temple, inspiring an irresistible urge to worship.
"He has actually cultivated a Saintly Form."
A solemn expression finally appeared on Zhang Ruochen's face. He recalled the Abyssal Ancient Sword, gripping it tightly in his hand.
A cultivator could only cultivate a Saintly Form after surviving their third quasi-saint tribulation.
Once a Saintly Form was cultivated, the cultivator only needed to condense their power for a while longer before they could immediately become a Saint on the spot.
In other words, Chang Wan had already reached the Great Perfection of the quasi-saint realm. He was one hundred percent certain to reach the Saint realm, only lacking the final step.
When Shengshu Cainü compiled the "Half-Saint Outer List," Chang Wan had not yet survived his third quasi-saint tribulation, which was why he was ranked one hundred fifty-fourth.
As for now, Chang Wan's ranking would surely be able to enter the top fifty of the "Half-Saint Outer List."