Chapter 1157: Lord of a Sect
"The Blood God Sect Leader sent the Netherword Heavenly Palace to guard the Endless Abyss, isn't it just to suppress the blood beasts and prevent them from escaping the Eternal Ancient Snow Mountains and breaking into the Blood God Sect's territory? Why is the Blood God Sect Leader standing on the back of a blood beast, able to control it?"
Zhang Ruochen felt both confused and somewhat suspicious.
For a long time, Zhang Ruochen had been very curious about where the blood beasts of the Endless Abyss actually came from.
According to the various Banner Kings of the Netherword Heavenly Palace: back then, after the battle between Xue Hou and the Ming Emperor, Xue Hou was ultimately defeated and perished. Xue Hou's blood spilled onto the first gradient of the Endless Abyss, and some savage beasts absorbed that powerful blood energy, thus turning into bloodthirsty ferocious beasts.
At this moment, Zhang Ruochen was somewhat suspicious that this matter might be related to the Blood God Sect Leader.
What was really going on?
The Blood God Sect Leader wore a wide black robe and stood on the back of a pterosaur blood beast. Even though the natural laws of the Endless Abyss suppressed his cultivation, the aura emanating from the Blood God Sect Leader still gave people a feeling of looking up to a high mountain.
The person before him was one of the top overlords of the entire Kunlun Realm. Who could not be in awe?
"Roar!"
The pterosaur blood beast raised its neck and let out another long howl.
The howl shook the air, causing explosions, making Zhang Ruochen and Huang Yanchen's heads ache as if their eardrums were about to split.
The Blood God Sect Leader's gaze fixed on the teleportation array on the ground, a strange gleam flashing in his eyes, as if he hadn't expected a formation to be hidden on the first gradient.
"A Space Teleportation Array?"
Although the Blood God Sect Leader had never studied time and space, as the lord of a sect, his experience and knowledge were beyond ordinary people's comparison, so he recognized the Space Teleportation Array.
He roughly guessed what was going on, looked toward Zhang Ruochen and Huang Yanchen, and his eyes became sharper, saying, "Who exactly are you? Where did you teleport from?"
Just these two plain sentences created immense pressure on Zhang Ruochen and Huang Yanchen, like a great mountain pressing down on them, not only making it hard to breathe but also intimidating their will and sacred souls.
If it were any other half-saint, they would have probably collapsed already.
Facing a figure like the Blood God Sect Leader, no one could be fearless, but Zhang Ruochen suppressed the fear in his heart, striving to stay calm and not panic.
His mind was racing, desperately thinking of countermeasures and ways to escape.
Even if the Blood God Sect Leader's cultivation hadn't reached the Saint King realm, he was still among the top existences in the Saint realm.
Even if he summoned the Blood Moon Ghost King, he wouldn't be a match, and it would only expose the Cosmic Divine Wood Map, leading to a faster death.
Now, to escape, he had to rely on himself.
Zhang Ruochen slowly stood up, meeting the Blood God Sect Leader's gaze, and said, "And who are you?"
The Blood God Sect Leader was somewhat surprised. A mere ninth-rank half-saint could actually stand up under his pressure.
But no matter how strong a ninth-rank half-saint was, before him, they were like ants, easily crushed with a single finger.
The only reason the Blood God Sect Leader hadn't killed Zhang Ruochen yet was that he still had some doubts that needed answering.
"You don't have the right to ask me questions. Answer my questions honestly, and perhaps I'll give you a quicker death," the Blood God Sect Leader said indifferently.
Zhang Ruochen said, "What if I don't tell you?"
The Blood God Sect Leader chuckled lightly, as if laughing at Zhang Ruochen's naivety, and said, "Since you won't speak, I'll have to forcibly seize your memories."
Without further ado, the Blood God Sect Leader extended a fair hand from his black sleeve and reached forward.
"Whoosh—"
A blood energy vortex formed in his palm, creating rapidly spinning force that coiled toward Zhang Ruochen.
No.
The Blood God Sect Leader's power wasn't as strong as Zhang Ruochen had imagined.
What was going on?
Zhang Ruochen had no time to think further. He mobilized all his strength, channeling it into his arms.
All one hundred and thirty-two acupoints on his body lit up simultaneously. Dragon roars and elephant bellows echoed from his arms, emitting dazzling light. He pushed his palms forward, colliding with the blood energy vortex.
"Boom."
Zhang Ruochen slid backward over ten zhang, leaving three deep footprints on the ground, finally stabilizing himself.
He had actually blocked the Blood God Sect Leader's attack without injury. Zhang Ruochen was surprised.
The Blood God Sect Leader was also somewhat astonished, saying, "A formidable junior, to have trained his physical body to such a level, already on the path to becoming a saint through the body."
Since he could block the Blood God Sect Leader's attack, Zhang Ruochen naturally gained more confidence, saying, "Your current body shouldn't be your true form, just a sacred soul avatar."
Even if it was just a sacred soul avatar of the Blood God Sect Leader, it wasn't something Zhang Ruochen could contend with.
However, the natural laws of the Endless Abyss were different from those of the Kunlun Realm, suppressing a cultivator's power to a fraction, or even a hundredth.
Here, as long as one's physical strength was strong enough, they could defeat opponents with much higher cultivation levels.
Therefore, a sacred soul avatar of the Blood God Sect Leader couldn't suppress Zhang Ruochen.
"Good eyesight, to recognize that I am a sacred soul avatar," the Blood God Sect Leader said with a smile.
"Not only do I recognize you as a sacred soul avatar, but I've also deduced that your true body has reached the Saint King realm, making you undoubtedly a dominant figure in the Kunlun Realm," Zhang Ruochen said.
"You must have recognized who I am?"
A strong killing intent surged from the Blood God Sect Leader's body.
Zhang Ruochen said, "Senior, why be so tense? We can still talk. You have questions, and I have questions too. Why can't we be more amicable and answer each other's doubts?"
"You think you're qualified to ask me questions?"
The Blood God Sect Leader found it amusing. As the lord of an ancient sect, even saints trembled before him, yet today he couldn't intimidate a half-saint.
"Junior, you overestimate yourself. Even if I'm just a sacred soul avatar, capturing you is an easy task. I don't even need to act personally."
The Blood God Sect Leader didn't want to waste more words with Zhang Ruochen and gave an order to the pterosaur blood beast beneath him, "Capture him, keep him alive."
The pterosaur blood beast's blood-red eyes emitted a savage, cold, and cruel light. It extended a sharp claw over twenty meters long, reaching for Zhang Ruochen.
Its body was heavy with blood energy, clearly having devoured many living beings.
The pterosaur was a seventh-rank mid-level savage beast, with combat power comparable to an upper-level Saint.
Now transformed into a blood beast, having absorbed a large amount of blood energy, its combat power had increased further.
Coupled with its strong physical body, it held a great advantage in the Endless Abyss. Even an upper-level Saint might not withstand a single blow.
Zhang Ruochen's face changed drastically. He used Spatial Displacement to dodge the pterosaur blood beast's attack, sticking to a stone wall at a height of several dozen zhang, fully alert.
"Space power..."
The Blood God Sect Leader sensed a subtle fluctuation in space, let out a soft exclamation, and said, "Are you the Heir of Time and Space? I've been looking for you for a long time. I didn't expect you to deliver yourself to me. Heh."
The Blood God Sect Leader was certain he could keep Zhang Ruochen here forever, so he no longer hid his identity, referring to himself as "I, the Sect Leader."
Zhang Ruochen knew the Blood God Sect Leader had let his guard down, so he wanted to take this opportunity to pry some secrets from him.
Pretending not to know his identity, Zhang Ruochen looked puzzled and said, "Sect Leader? Which sect's leader? And where is this place?"
The Blood God Sect Leader was cautious and didn't answer Zhang Ruochen, saying, "Why ask so many questions? Since you're Zhang Ruochen, then the Skyward Sword must be in your hands. Hand it over."
Having held a high position for years, the Blood God Sect Leader was used to saints bowing respectfully before him. Although he was experienced and shrewd, he wouldn't take a half-saint seriously, inadvertently revealing his motive.
"So it's for the Skyward Sword. Interesting," Zhang Ruochen thought to himself.
As everyone knew, Zhang Ruochen had obtained many treasures, including Saint Source Spiritual Liquid, World Spirit, Realm Son Seal, and Buddha Emperor Relic. Their value surpassed even the Skyward Sword.
Why did the Blood God Sect Leader first demand the Skyward Sword?
There was only one explanation: in the Blood God Sect Leader's eyes, the Skyward Sword was more valuable than anything else.
Zhang Ruochen said, "Are you from the Undying Blood Clan?"
The Blood God Sect Leader realized he had let something slip and stopped wasting words with Zhang Ruochen, issuing another command to the pterosaur blood beast.
Knowing he was no match for the pterosaur blood beast, Zhang Ruochen took out the Cosmic Divine Wood Map and summoned the Blood Moon Ghost King.
Without bargaining with Zhang Ruochen, the Blood Moon Ghost King appeared and decisively attacked the pterosaur blood beast.
A delicate jade hand formed a large hand seal, striking the pterosaur blood beast's abdomen, sending its massive body stumbling backward, nearly falling over.
The pterosaur blood beast let out a long howl, lifted off the ground, and swung its huge wings, slashing toward the Blood Moon Ghost King.
"Just a mere pterosaur, yet it has such power, blocking my attack and launching a counterattack."
The Blood Moon Ghost King found it unbelievable. A sharp gleam flashed in her eyes. The blood moon mark on her forehead emitted a crimson glow, sending out a beam of light.
"Pfft."
The blood-red beam pierced through the pterosaur blood beast's left wing, leaving a bloody hole.
Then, the Blood Moon Ghost King turned into a ghostly shadow, flying above the pterosaur blood beast's head. Her crystal-white palm pressed down, releasing a wave of bone-chilling cold air.
"Smack."
The pterosaur blood beast's head made a cracking sound. Its skull shattered, splitting open a blood line over ten meters long, extending from the top of its head to its eyes.
The pterosaur blood beast let out a miserable howl, its body shaking violently as it used its tail to whip at the Blood Moon Ghost King above. (To be continued.)