Chapter 1111: Arrival
In the ancient city, streets, castles, and towers were arranged in orderly rows, allowing one to imagine how glorious and prosperous it had once been.
At this moment, patches of black ghostly mist emitted bone-chilling shrieks as they surged across the streets. Wherever they passed, the ground was left littered with corpses.
Flames shot into the sky, and thick smoke billowed in all directions.
The historically rich ancient city quickly turned into a sea of fire and ruins, becoming a paradise for rampaging undead and war corpses.
In the central area of the city, led by Feng Yinchang and Yin Xuanji, the strong members of the Corpse-Driving Ancient Clan and the Ghost-Raising Ancient Clan surrounded the city lord’s mansion. The mansion’s architecture resembled a castle.
The most powerful group of native cultivators had all retreated into the city lord’s mansion, hoping to rely on its protective formation to withstand the foreign demons and save their lives.
“You foreign demons, plundering and seizing by force, your hands stained with blood, your crimes piled high—you will surely die a miserable death!”
A curse echoed from within the city lord’s mansion.
Outside the mansion, the heir of the Corpse-Driving Ancient Clan, Yin Xuanji, had his body wrapped in strips of white burial cloth, bound like a mummy, with only a pair of sinister eyes exposed.
The white burial cloth was a rare treasure, once the shroud of a Great Saint.
By wrapping it around himself in place of skin, Yin Xuanji could directly absorb the immense power within the cloth, allowing his cultivation to advance rapidly.
Yin Xuanji’s voice was quite hoarse as he said, “No need to waste words with them. Attack together, break the defensive formation, and wipe out all the native cultivators. Remember one thing: don’t damage their corpses—I still need them to refine war corpses.”
The strong members of the Corpse-Driving Ancient Clan immediately used secret hand seals to control the war corpses standing behind them, launching an assault on the city lord’s mansion.
“Boom!”
“Boom, boom!”
...
Some of the war corpses emitted extremely powerful energy fluctuations, comparable to beast kings. With each strike, they caused the city-protecting formation to tremble.
Following that, Feng Yinchang also issued a command, ordering the Ghost-Raising Ancient Clan members to join in and attack the defensive formation.
Before long, the defensive formation was breached.
The two ancient clans dispatched a total of twelve war corpse kings and ghost kings, pressing forward to crush the native cultivators, who were routed in defeat.
Among the native cultivators, a martial king with six dragon shadows coiled around him let out a roar: “Are you determined to annihilate us completely?”
“Annihilate you? Heh, so what?”
Yin Xuanji let out a sinister laugh, speaking mockingly.
“Then let’s go down together!”
The Six-Dragon Martial King’s eyes turned bloodshot as he roared, activating an ancient sacrificial technique. With a stomp of his feet, he charged rapidly toward Yin Xuanji and the Corpse-Driving Ancient Clan members.
The ancient technique he used could sacrifice himself, unleashing a destructive force at the moment of death to kill all living beings nearby.
In the Azure Dragon Ruins Realm, a cultivator who could cultivate six dragon shadows was called a “Martial King,” a powerhouse comparable to a beast king.
This Six-Dragon Martial King, already severely wounded, had no choice but to resort to self-sacrifice.
He used the last of his strength to unleash explosive speed, charging forward with an unstoppable momentum.
“Interesting, trying to die together with me.”
A crooked, sinister smile curled at the corner of Yin Xuanji’s mouth. He extended five fingers and sent the Green-Eyed Blood Pearl flying, striking the Six-Dragon Martial King in the chest.
The Green-Eyed Blood Pearl emitted a cloud of ghostly energy, and the power within that cloud surpassed the Six-Dragon Martial King’s forward charge, sending him flying backward.
“No!”
The Six-Dragon Martial King let out a bitter cry, filled with unwillingness. But in the end, his body exploded, releasing a destructive force that leveled the entire city lord’s mansion.
His suicidal move not only failed to harm the foreign demons but instead killed a large number of native cultivators.
At this point, the native cultivators were either wounded or dead, completely losing the ability to resist.
“What a waste of a good war corpse.”
Yin Xuanji retrieved the Green-Eyed Blood Pearl, holding it in his palm and gently stroking it.
It was because he possessed the Green-Eyed Blood Pearl, a powerful ghost artifact, that he had been able to block the Six-Dragon Martial King’s desperate counterattack and send him flying back.
Moreover, when he had been trapped in the Underworld, he wouldn’t have been able to escape back to the Kunlun Realm without the Green-Eyed Blood Pearl.
Thinking of this, Yin Xuanji’s thoughts turned to Zhang Ruochen.
A cold, hateful, and brutal look filled his eyes.
If he ever encountered Zhang Ruochen again, he would refine him into a corpse slave, making him serve the Yin family for all eternity.
A arrogant voice came from afar: “Listen up, you Ghost-Raising and Corpse-Driving Ancient Clan scum! Hand over all your treasures, or it’s death without mercy!”
Hearing this, the cultivators of both ancient clans erupted in fury.
“Who speaks so arrogantly?”
Yin Xuanji’s gaze grew even colder as he looked toward the source of the voice.
On the street, a red-furred monkey, carrying an iron staff, rode a Kong Deer beast, slowly approaching the city lord’s mansion.
This was none other than Sun Dadi.
“Where does this madman come from? Die!”
An elder from the Corpse-Driving Ancient Clan controlled a war corpse clad in black iron armor, attacking Sun Dadi.
Sun Dadi swung his iron staff, directly shattering the war corpse, which was comparable to a Half-Saint, reducing its bones and armor to fragments.
Then, Sun Dadi raised the iron staff above his head, emitting ripples of sound waves that shook the surroundings: “Stand in my way, and you die!”
The elder from the Corpse-Driving Ancient Clan was startled, realizing this red-furred monkey was not to be trifled with, and immediately retreated.
From another direction, Grand Minister of Works rode a Kong Deer beast, rolling up his sleeves to reveal two thick arms. Holding a golden Zen staff, he pointed at the cultivators of the two ancient clans and said gruffly, “Stay calm and don’t act rashly. We’re only here for wealth, not to kill.”
At this moment, Grand Minister of Works looked nothing like a Buddhist monk; he was more like a vicious monk crawling out of a bandit den.
To the east, on a wide street, Xiao Hei and Zhao Shiqi led about ten Kong Deer beasts, sending dozens of Ghost-Raising Ancient Clan members flying, crippling them.
The street echoed with cries of pain.
Xiao Hei stood upright on two legs, his claws clasped behind his back, and said, “The higher-ups of the Ghost-Raising and Corpse-Driving Ancient Clans had better exercise restraint and not resort to force to solve problems. If you anger this Emperor, there will be rivers of blood here today.”
To the west, Huang Yanchen and Qing Mo each rode a Kong Deer beast, exuding powerful auras that forced the Corpse-Driving Ancient Clan cultivators to retreat step by step.
Strong figures appeared from all directions, clearly belonging to the same force. They actually dared to rob the Ghost-Raising and Corpse-Driving Ancient Clans—didn’t they know how powerful these two clans were?
Not only were the cultivators of the two clans stunned, but even the native humans in the city were bewildered.
Yin Xuanji’s gaze fell on Huang Yanchen, recognizing her as Empress Chi Yao’s disciple, one of the Nine Realm Sons, and also Zhang Ruochen’s fiancée.
Feng Yinchang, however, looked at Grand Minister of Works, recognizing the big monk. A thoughtful expression crossed his face, and then his lively eyes scanned the ancient city shrouded in ghostly mist, as if searching for something. He let out a silvery laugh: “Zhang Ruochen, since you’ve arrived, why not show yourself?”
“What? Zhang Ruochen is here?”
“No wonder this group is so arrogant—it’s Zhang Ruochen’s people.”
...
The cultivators of both the Corpse-Driving and Ghost-Raising Ancient Clans were greatly alarmed, their hearts shaken.
Although these cultivators had been staying in the Azure Dragon Dynasty, they had heard of Zhang Ruochen’s glorious achievements in the Yinggema Desert, knowing he had entered the ranks of top-tier experts.
Fighting nineteen kings alone, single-handedly challenging the Azure Heaven Tribe.
How could anyone not fear such a figure?
“Roar!”
A deafening beast roar sounded.
The massive body of the Kong Deer Beast King broke through layers of ghostly mist, arriving at the center of the ancient city. The beast king’s aura was extremely fierce, forcing the natives in the city to prostrate themselves on the ground, trembling in fear.
Zhang Ruochen stood upright on the back of the Kong Deer Beast King, his body straight, and said, “Since you know I’m here, you should voluntarily leave behind the treasures you’ve gathered and retreat. At least you’ll save your lives.”
Yin Xuanji let out a dark laugh and said, “Zhang Ruochen, everyone says you’re wildly arrogant now, looking down on all your peers. I didn’t believe it at first, but now it seems you really have gotten swollen-headed. Do you truly think you’re invincible under heaven?”
“Whether I’m invincible under heaven or not, why don’t you come and find out for yourself?” Zhang Ruochen said calmly.
“Fine! Since you’ve come to me willingly, it saves me the trouble of hunting you down. Today, let’s settle old and new scores together.” Yin Xuanji said in a sinister tone.
Yin Xuanji did not underestimate Zhang Ruochen; instead, he regarded him as a formidable opponent, a great enemy.
If the other party could subdue a beast king as a mount, he was likely already a top-tier expert.
“Young master, let this old man test his depth first.”
A quasi-saint from the Corpse-Driving Ancient Clan, worried that Yin Xuanji might meet with misfortune, charged out first.
This quasi-saint, named Yin Xian, was three generations older than Yin Xuanji. He had already passed two quasi-saint tribulations and ranked among the top ten in the Corpse-Driving Ancient Clan, making him quite powerful.
Yin Xian did not approach Zhang Ruochen directly. Instead, he used secret hand seals to control four silver-armored war corpses, forming a corpse formation to attack Zhang Ruochen.
Each silver-armored war corpse possessed the combat power of a First Tribulation Quasi-Saint.
The four war corpses, combined into a formation, unleashed power even greater than that of a single war corpse king.
Zhang Ruochen waved his arm, sending the Realm Son Seal flying. It radiated imperial aura, descending like a jade palace.
With a single strike, the corpse formation was broken.
“Bang, bang.”
A series of explosions followed.
The four silver-armored war corpses were shattered by the power of the Realm Son Seal, scattering into fragments of flesh and armor.
Even Yin Xian was struck by the residual force of the Realm Son Seal, spitting blood from his mouth and suffering severe injuries. He stumbled backward until he reached Yin Xuanji’s side before steadying himself.
That force was definitely comparable to a full-power strike from a Saint-level being.
If Yin Xian hadn’t merely been grazed by the residual power of the Realm Son Seal, he would surely have been annihilated in both body and soul.
At the scene, the cultivators of both ancient clans trembled, their legs shaking, all feeling a chill in their hearts.
Was the power of a top-tier expert truly this terrifying?
Moreover, Zhang Ruochen’s expression appeared quite relaxed, clearly not having used his full strength.