# Chapter 1102: The Clash of Two Crown Princes
"Chang Wan actually survived the third Life-Death Tribulation and cultivated a Saintly Manifestation! This is bad for Zhang Ruochen!"
All the human cultivators outside the oasis grew worried for Zhang Ruochen.
The three tribulations of a Half-Saint — the Forty-Nine Tribulation, the Seventy-Two Tribulation, and the Life-Death Tribulation — each one was more perilous than the last.
Especially the final Life-Death Tribulation, with a mortality rate exceeding fifty percent. Without sufficiently deep accumulation, who would dare to undergo such a tribulation?
Chang Wan surviving the Life-Death Tribulation meant he had broken through the final shackles and would henceforth become a member of the Saint realm's living beings.
All living creatures in this region were filled with envy, feeling that Chang Wan was truly fortunate, about to transcend mortality and become a Saint, rising above all living beings.
"A Saintly Manifestation is condensed from Saintly Dao rules. There's no way Zhang Ruochen can block it," said the Red Ant Beast King.
The Red Ant Beast King had once fought a Half-Saint who had cultivated a Saintly Manifestation. With just a single strike, the opponent had nearly suppressed and killed it.
The Saintly Manifestation, over thirty zhang tall, radiated a blood-red light that was exceptionally dazzling, much like a giant spirit god king descending upon the Azure Dragon Ruins Realm.
Around the Saintly Manifestation, space trembled violently, forming layers of invisible ripples.
"Die!"
Chang Wan condensed a hand seal and struck toward the top of Zhang Ruochen's head.
The Saintly Manifestation also extended a thick arm, slapping downward like a blood-red five-fingered mountain, carrying densely packed Saintly Dao rules as it descended from the sky.
Even the creatures standing outside the oasis felt a bone-chilling aura, blowing them backward.
Zhang Ruochen's pupils contracted. Holding the Abyssal Ancient Sword, he continuously infused Saint Qi into it, activating thousands of inscriptions within the sword body, triggering the Thousand Ripple Annihilation Force.
The annihilating force exploded outward, forming waves of energy that surged in all directions.
Fortunately, the three large blood formations set up by the Undying Blood Clan each triggered the Thousand Ripple Annihilation Force, blocking the power fluctuations from the Saintly Manifestation and the Abyssal Ancient Sword. Otherwise, the entire oasis would have already been reduced to ashes.
Zhang Ruochen swung the Abyssal Ancient Sword, clashing head-on with the Saintly Manifestation's hand seal.
"Boom!"
The ground beneath Zhang Ruochen's feet split apart, large amounts of dust surged upward, and the force spread outward, causing even the four blood-red mist walls to tremble slightly.
Chang Wan roared fiercely: "Do you think using the Thousand Ripple Annihilation Force is enough to block my Saintly Manifestation? With your cultivation level, how many times can you unleash the Thousand Ripple Annihilation Force?"
The Saintly Manifestation gathered power again, its five fingers forming a fist that struck downward.
Flames erupted from the fist, radiating scorching energy like a meteor falling from the sky. Even before the power fluctuations landed, the ground trembled from the impact.
Zhang Ruochen mobilized spatial power, slashing outward with one hand, cutting open a Space Rift that collided with the Saintly Manifestation's fist.
"Bang!"
The powerful collision destroyed the spatial structure.
Centered on the Space Rift, fine cracks appeared, like shattered glass.
With a tearing sound, this section of space collapsed.
At this moment, Zhang Ruochen could no longer control the Space Rift and had to immediately retreat backward to avoid being drawn into the Void Space.
After about one breath's time, the shattered space finally restored itself to completeness.
Under normal circumstances, even with Chang Wan's power, he could not shatter space within the Azure Dragon Ruins Realm.
However, his Saintly Manifestation's fist seal had struck precisely on the Space Rift, hitting the most fragile point of space, causing it to collapse.
Seeing this, the Azure Heaven Crown Prince's eyes flashed with an unusual light, and the corners of his mouth curled upward slightly as he smiled: "So that's how it is."
Through Chang Wan and Zhang Ruochen's battle, he had finally found a way to counter Zhang Ruochen's spatial techniques.
"Chang Wan, withdraw."
The Azure Heaven Crown Prince slowly rose from his seat. All one hundred and twenty-two acupoints on his body fully opened, emitting brilliant light as if a starry sky were contained within his body.
Stepping on a blood-colored bridge of energy, he walked to a position above Zhang Ruochen, Chang Wan, and the Ghost Mist, radiating a majestic aura as if he could control the entire world.
Chang Wan said: "Your Highness, give me a little more time, and I will surely capture Zhang Ruochen."
The Azure Heaven Crown Prince gently shook his head: "We can't wait that long. The battle must be decided quickly. From now on, I will personally take action."
The Azure Heaven Crown Prince had already seen through Zhang Ruochen's intentions. He estimated that the human cultivators and savage beasts outside the oasis had already sent word. Soon, a large number of beast kings and Half-Saints would arrive to deal with the Azure Heaven Tribe.
Therefore, he had to suppress and kill Zhang Ruochen before that happened.
Ghost Mist and Chang Wan withdrew, each standing at two crucial positions. If Zhang Ruochen tried to escape, they could rush forward and intercept him immediately.
Wan Huayu stared at the Azure Heaven Crown Prince standing in midair, drawing in a cold breath: "I've long heard that the Azure Heaven Crown Prince was close to achieving physical Sainthood, but I never expected he had already Saintified one hundred and twenty-two acupoints."
Physical Sainthood had always been a legend, with very few able to reach that level.
It was said that once one achieved physical Sainthood, at the same cultivation level, they would be half a step stronger than even a Sword Saint, who was considered the most powerful in attack.
Wan Huayu had some understanding of "physical Sainthood" because her father, Wan Zhaoyi, had reached that level. At the same cultivation level, he had always been invincible.
Only four others could contend with Wan Zhaoyi. Among other Saints at the same level, very few could withstand even a single move from him.
For the Azure Heaven Crown Prince to have Saintified one hundred and twenty-two acupoints, his combat power was unimaginable. Only Lidi Master and the Devouring Demon Dragon could probably suppress him in physical strength.
"With things at this point, why hasn't Zhang Ruochen retreated? What exactly is he trying to do?"
All the human cultivators were extremely puzzled. Earlier, Zhang Ruochen had clearly had a chance to escape, so why did he remain in the Azure Heaven Tribe's camp?
Now, he was surrounded on all sides and had encountered a formidable enemy like the Azure Heaven Crown Prince. Even if he wanted to retreat, he probably couldn't.
They didn't know that Zhang Ruochen was at a critical moment of breakthrough. Saint Qi was circulating rapidly throughout his body, and rumbling sounds echoed continuously from his Qi Sea.
Yet, he was always just a little short, struggling to break through the final barrier.
"I can't retreat. I have to keep fighting. Only by pushing myself to the extreme can I stimulate my body's potential and break through to the Eighth-Rank Half-Saint realm."
Zhang Ruochen clenched his teeth. Wisps of flame emerged from his pores, enveloping his entire body.
"Sizzle."
The ground beneath him couldn't withstand the high temperature of his body, turning black and showing signs of melting.
"Zhang Ruochen, I don't know why you didn't flee, but since you've reached this point, stay here forever!"
The Azure Heaven Crown Prince's voice was quite calm, but in the next moment, his demeanor turned sharp. Transforming into a blood-red streak of light, he descended from the sky and struck a palm toward the top of Zhang Ruochen's head.
"Roar!"
"Bellow!"
Zhang Ruochen raised both arms, manifesting enormous phantom images of an azure dragon and a green elephant, as if the ancient divine dragon and hellish elephant had appeared, colliding with the Azure Heaven Crown Prince's palm force.
"Bang!"
The hand seal struck by the Azure Heaven Crown Prince was immensely powerful, leaving a nine-zhang-long handprint on the ground.
The handprint sank deep into the earth, simultaneously driving Zhang Ruochen into the ground.
From the surface, only a black handprint pit remained.
No one knew how deep it was.
Whether Undying Blood Clan, humans, or savage beasts, all were greatly shocked. Fortunately, the creatures present were all strong; otherwise, they would surely have been terrified into lying prostrate on the ground.
Wan Huayu used her spiritual power to probe and discovered that Zhang Ruochen and the Azure Heaven Crown Prince had already sunk over one hundred meters underground, where two forces continued to clash against each other.
The oasis, stretching for dozens of li, was covered with cracks, as if the entire earth were about to shatter.
Over one hundred and thirty meters underground, Zhang Ruochen still held up both arms, firmly blocking the Azure Heaven Crown Prince's palm, his feet sinking into the hard rock layer, finally stopping his descent.
Zhang Ruochen's internal organs were severely damaged, and blood continuously flowed from his mouth.
"To be able to block one of my strikes, your strength is quite impressive."
The Azure Heaven Crown Prince used his palm force to suppress Zhang Ruochen, then channeled Saint Qi toward his eyes. Both pupils turned into two blazing red fireballs.
Two pillars of flame surged from his pupils, striking toward the top of Zhang Ruochen's head.
At this critical moment, Zhang Ruochen forcibly broke free from the Azure Heaven Crown Prince's suppression, executing a Spatial Displacement to rush back to the surface.
"Sizzle."
The two pillars of flame struck the underground rock layer, melting the rock into scorching magma.
"Still able to execute a technique like Spatial Displacement. It seems my palm force wasn't suppressing him enough."
The Azure Heaven Crown Prince smiled slightly, executing a movement technique to rapidly rush out of the ground.
Just as the Azure Heaven Crown Prince emerged from the ground, Zhang Ruochen tore through space, sending three Space Rifts dozens of zhang long slashing toward him.
The Azure Heaven Crown Prince did not dodge. Instead, he strode forward, striking out with both palms simultaneously, sending two massive hand seals colliding with the three Space Rifts.
"Boom!"
The two hand seals and three Space Rifts shattered simultaneously, also breaking the surrounding space, creating a chaotic zone.
In such a situation, even Zhang Ruochen had to retreat.
"Zhang Ruochen, your spatial attack methods are useless against me."
The Azure Heaven Crown Prince bypassed the shattered spatial zone, appearing diagonally above Zhang Ruochen, and struck down with another palm, producing a series of sonic booms. The speed of his palm strike reached ten times the speed of sound, giving Zhang Ruochen no chance to execute another Spatial Displacement.
Zhang Ruochen had no choice but to extend both arms to receive this strike.
"Bang!"
Zhang Ruochen felt as if he had been hit by an iron mountain. His body uncontrollably sank diagonally backward, falling over one hundred meters deep into the ground, crashing into the rock layer again before stopping.
On the surface, soil continuously bulged upward, quickly forming a small hill.
Outside the oasis, all the human cultivators turned pale, realizing that the worst possible outcome might have occurred. Was Zhang Ruochen still alive?
The Azure Heaven Crown Prince was simply too powerful. Even if thousands of troops charged at him, he would probably annihilate them all by himself.
...