Chapter 1114: Harvest
"Where is the other Azure Eye Blood Pearl?"
The Corpse Emperor muttered to himself, then raised his head to look toward the direction outside the city. He extended a pale, delicate hand.
Outside the city, White Li Princess, Sun Dadi, and Second Minister of Works were locked in a fierce battle with cultivators from the Ghost-Raising Ancient Clan, evenly matched and unable to break free.
White Li Princess had intervened because the Ghost-Raising Ancient Clan's massacre within the ancient city had enraged her, prompting her to teach them a lesson. With the combined strength of these three top experts, they had managed to intercept all the strong members of that ancient clan, preventing them from escaping.
"Whoosh."
On the battlefield, an Azure Eye Blood Pearl flew out from within the Ghost-Raising Ancient Clan's princess, Feng Yinchang, piercing through the towering city wall and landing in the Corpse Emperor's hand.
Only then did the cultivators outside the city sense the powerful aura emanating from the Corpse Emperor. That aura was so terrifying that even quasi-saints felt fear.
"What happened?"
Sun Dadi and Second Minister of Works realized that a shocking upheaval must have occurred within the city, so they stopped intercepting the Ghost-Raising Ancient Clan's cultivators. Transforming into two streaks of light, they rushed toward the city.
White Li Princess's beautiful eyes also fixed on the ancient city. She withdrew and executed the "Inch-Long Sky Step," arriving at the city's central area even before Sun Dadi and Second Minister of Works.
"Who exactly is emitting such a terrifying aura?"
As soon as Sun Dadi charged into the city, goosebumps erupted all over his body. A chill shot straight to his head, and before even seeing the Corpse Emperor, he felt an urge to turn and flee immediately.
"The more fearsome the enemy, the more we must rush back. Relying on just Master Uncle and the others, they might not be able to handle this."
Second Minister of Works pulled Sun Dadi along, and the two advanced until they stopped a hundred zhang away from the Corpse Emperor.
"Finally, they're complete!"
The Corpse Emperor held one Azure Eye Blood Pearl in each hand, then pressed them toward his eye sockets.
The Azure Eye Blood Pearls fused perfectly with his eyeballs.
His pupils became even more crystalline and dazzling, like two highly spirited green jade stones.
However, Zhang Ruochen knew that the Corpse Emperor's eyes were extremely dangerous, capable of unleashing power that could kill lower-realm saints.
The Corpse Emperor's gaze fell on Zhang Ruochen, and he nodded slightly. "Although I have been inside the Azure Eye Blood Pearl all this time, I have still heard of your name. For Xumi Saint Monk to choose you as his heir shows that he believes you can continue to govern the time order and space order of the Kunlun Realm in his stead."
"Have you met Xumi Saint Monk, Corpse Emperor?"
Zhang Ruochen did not show weakness, meeting the Corpse Emperor's gaze with a sharp, aggressive aura.
"I have met him once."
The Corpse Emperor was elegant and graceful, exuding a noble temperament in every gesture. He added, "Today, I will spare you juniors out of respect for Xumi Saint Monk."
Even though the Corpse Emperor said this, Zhang Ruochen did not let down his guard. He circulated his sacred qi to its peak, ready to counter any sudden attack.
The Corpse Emperor appeared imposing, striding with dignified steps, his sleeves fluttering as he marched toward the city gate.
The cultivators of the Corpse-Driving Ancient Clan fell into chaos, filled with unease.
Once the Corpse Emperor left, wouldn't they be left at Zhang Ruochen's mercy?
"Lord Corpse Emperor, please take us with you."
A quasi-saint from the Corpse-Driving Ancient Clan called out loudly.
The Corpse Emperor clearly had something very important to do and did not intend to bring the Corpse-Driving Ancient Clan's cultivators along. Without looking back, he only said, "Zhang Ruochen, where it's possible to forgive, forgive. Spare their lives. If we meet again in the future, we won't have to fight to the death."
His voice grew fainter until it vanished along with his figure.
Only then did Xiao Hei let out a long breath, as if pardoned, and said, "I suspect that Corpse Emperor didn't really want to let us go, but because he had just been reborn, he wasn't entirely sure he could kill us all."
Zhang Ruochen nodded. "Knowing without saying it—once said, we'd have to fight him to the death."
Without a doubt, the Corpse Emperor's strength had reached the level of a top-tier powerhouse.
However, Zhang Ruochen's group was no pushover either.
Zhang Ruochen was a first-tier powerhouse, Xiao Hei was a first-tier powerhouse, White Li Princess was a first-tier powerhouse, and Grand Minister of Works and Second Minister of Works together also counted as a first-tier powerhouse.
With such a formidable lineup, even if the Corpse Emperor had reached the level of a super-first-tier powerhouse, the outcome of a battle between them would be a fifty-fifty split.
The Corpse Emperor was not foolish. After waiting seventy thousand years to be reborn and live a second life, why would he take unnecessary risks?
Zhang Ruochen also did not want to fight the Corpse Emperor to the death, because if a life-or-death battle erupted, even if they could suppress the Corpse Emperor, they would likely suffer heavy losses, with most of them probably falling.
Such a loss was something Zhang Ruochen could not afford.
Neither side wanted to fight, and both felt there was no need for battle.
Grand Minister of Works rubbed his hands together and said, "The Heavenly Mandate Great Emperor died seventy thousand years ago, yet he has revived to live a second life. This era is becoming stranger and stranger. Is it really as Master said—when prosperity reaches its peak, decline follows, and after a great era, a great calamity must come?"
The Corpse Emperor's previous life was the Heavenly Mandate Great Emperor from seventy thousand years ago, the first great emperor of the human race after the Middle Ages.
"In other eras, any one of the Nine Realm Sons could be invincible among their peers. In this era, a whole batch of such figures has emerged. Even those who don't belong to this era insist on squeezing into it—is it really just a coincidence?"
When Sun Dadi said this, he glanced at Zhang Ruochen, as if implying something.
Whether it was the ancient relics of the beast race or the Heavenly Mandate Great Emperor and Zhang Ruochen of the human race, none of them truly belonged to this era.
Yet they all appeared at the same time, which was indeed abnormal.
Xiao Hei's expression was very serious. "The Corpse Emperor should be heading to seize the World Spirit of the Azure Dragon Ruins Realm. Only by obtaining the World Spirit can he cultivate back to his former realm as quickly as possible."
"Then what are we waiting for? Let's set off immediately."
Sun Dadi was full of enthusiasm. Even though he knew that the capital of the Azure Dragon Dynasty was now a gathering place for dragons and snakes, he was still eager to rush over.
"No rush. The World Spirit of the Azure Dragon Ruins Realm should still take some time to emerge. We don't need to head to the capital right now."
Originally, Zhang Ruochen had planned to go to the capital immediately, but after seeing the Corpse Emperor, he changed his mind.
Soon, the capital would be drenched in blood.
The stronger one's strength, the greater the advantage.
Zhang Ruochen had his own plans. He decided to use the sacred medicines in the Scroll World to further elevate everyone's cultivation.
At the same time, he was waiting for the flowering period of the Sacred Devouring Flower to pass.
Once the Sacred Devouring Flower bore fruit, even if he faced the Corpse Emperor alone, Zhang Ruochen was confident he could contend with him on equal footing.
Then, Zhang Ruochen's gaze turned to the cultivators of the Corpse-Driving Ancient Clan.
Sun Dadi asked, "Boss, are we really letting them go?"
Huang Yanchen said, "At this stage, there's no need to offend the Corpse Emperor. If we go to war with him, it will only benefit other forces."
"Then let them go. However, they can leave, but all the heavenly treasures they've collected must stay." Zhang Ruochen made his decision.
"Hehe."
Xiao Hei, Sun Dadi, Grand Minister of Works, and Zhao Shiqi all showed excited smiles, charging into the Corpse-Driving Ancient Clan's cultivators to plunder.
Before long, a mountain of treasures piled up in the city lord's mansion—sacred stones, sacred jade, pill bottles, and sacred artifacts. Any one of these items, if brought back to the Kunlun Realm, could fetch a high price.
A few half-saints from the Corpse-Driving Ancient Clan tried to resist.
Zhang Ruochen acted without hesitation, killing them to establish his authority. This terrified the other Corpse-Driving Ancient Clan cultivators, who all knelt on the ground, no longer daring to resist.
The trio and the cat, like bandits, stripped the Corpse-Driving Ancient Clan cultivators of all their treasures, stopping just short of taking their clothes.
The Corpse-Driving Ancient Clan cultivators wore mournful expressions, feeling utterly humiliated.
They had come to the Azure Dragon Ruins Realm, running east and west, fighting north and south, shedding countless blood and sweat to gather a large batch of heavenly treasures.
Now, all those treasures had been looted, and even the treasures they had brought to the Azure Dragon Ruins Realm were lost.
"Alright, you can leave now."
Zhang Ruochen waved his hand, signaling them to go.
The Corpse-Driving Ancient Clan cultivators looked at the treasures piled in the city lord's mansion, reluctant to leave, unable to move, wanting to retrieve one or two items.
Grand Minister of Works roared, "What are you looking at? It's best not to covet what doesn't belong to you. I've never seen such greedy people."
The Corpse-Driving Ancient Clan cultivators dared not look any longer, averted their eyes, and scrambled toward the city gate, afraid Zhang Ruochen might change his mind again.
Xiao Hei turned into a black streak of light, returning from outside the city, and shook his head at Zhang Ruochen. "The Ghost-Raising Ancient Clan cultivators have already fled far. It'll be hard to catch up."
"Then let's not deal with them for now. The heavenly treasures we've collected this time are already quite substantial." Zhang Ruochen said.
The Ghost-Raising Ancient Clan had left in a hurry and hadn't taken many treasures.
The vast majority of the treasures in this ancient city were now piled up in the city lord's mansion, with a rich variety. Just sacred medicines alone numbered dozens.
Zhang Ruochen stored all the sacred stones, sacred jade, and sacred artifacts into the Scroll World, while planting all the sacred medicines in the Divine Soil Medicine Garden.
As for the other treasures, he distributed them according to each person's contributions.
After finishing all this, Zhang Ruochen dispatched Sun Dadi and Zhao Shiqi, instructing them to head to the capital of the Azure Dragon Dynasty to gather information and assess the current situation there.
After Sun Dadi and Zhao Shiqi left, Huang Yanchen came out and said, "Keeping those two by your side means many will guess that Gu Linfeng, the Divine Son of the Blood God Sect, is Zhang Ruochen."
"The identity of Gu Linfeng does have some value, and I'm not ready to expose it yet."
Zhang Ruochen pondered for a moment, then added, "Once they return from the capital, I'll have them enter the Scroll World to cultivate."
The Blood God Sect and the Endless Abyss both held some secrets. Zhang Ruochen wanted to continue investigating them when he returned to the Kunlun Realm, and using the identity of Gu Linfeng would make things easier.
After arranging everything, Zhang Ruochen entered the Scroll World to go into seclusion again, preparing to open the thirty-six acupoints in his legs and feet.
Meanwhile, Xiao Hei entered the Divine Soil Medicine Garden to pick leaves from sacred medicines, intending to refine a type of pill to help everyone elevate their cultivation a bit more.
The decisive battle in the Azure Dragon Ruins Realm was approaching, and various forces were rushing to the Azure Dragon Dynasty. Only by increasing the overall strength of the group would their chances of seizing the World Spirit be greater.
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