Chapter 1176: The Tenth Emperor, Yan Liren
Liao Teng and Hongyuan Saint were both on the list, but a small red cross was marked beside each of their names.
Elder Yuan Zhou quickly calmed down, tightly clutching the list, and asked with great seriousness, "How do you know they are all infiltrators of the Undying Blood Clan?"
This matter was of great importance. Once the list was made public, it would undoubtedly cause a massive upheaval. Elder Yuan Zhou was very cautious.
Zhang Ruochen sat across from Elder Yuan Zhou and said calmly, "I have met the Supreme Elder. He gave me something that helps identify the disguises of the Undying Blood Clan."
For now, Zhang Ruochen did not want to reveal the *Blood Clan Secret Scroll*. It wasn't that he didn't trust Elder Yuan Zhou, but he feared that if Elder Yuan Zhou obtained the scroll, he might act rashly and ruin Zhang Ruochen's plans.
"The Supreme Elder has always been at the top of Qianyuan Mountain, meditating on the *Blood God Diagram*, never interacting with any cultivator... Huh..."
Elder Yuan Zhou sent a strand of spiritual power to investigate Qianyuan Mountain, only to find that the Supreme Elder had already left, leaving only a stone statue sitting at the summit.
"Where has the Supreme Elder gone?" Elder Yuan Zhou asked, somewhat startled.
The Supreme Elder's cultivation had reached an extremely profound level. Apart from meditating on the *Blood God Diagram*, he almost never opened his eyes.
It would likely take a life-or-death crisis for the Blood God Sect to rouse him.
Now that the Supreme Elder had left Qianyuan Mountain, it must mean a shocking upheaval had occurred.
Zhang Ruochen said, "The second gradient of the Endless Abyss."
Elder Yuan Zhou's heart stirred, connecting the dots, and asked, "Is it related to the Sect Leader's disappearance?"
Zhang Ruochen nodded and recounted the entire series of events, including the Blood God Sect Leader's collaboration with the Undying Blood Clan and the breeding of blood beasts in the Endless Abyss.
After hearing Zhang Ruochen's account, Elder Yuan Zhou's face was covered in sweat. He could no longer remain calm. Rolling up the list, he immediately stood up and prepared to leave the Hidden Dragon Hall.
Zhang Ruochen stopped him and asked, "Elder Yuan Zhou, where are you taking this list?"
Elder Yuan Zhou was impatient and said, "Naturally, I must take it back to the Elder Hall immediately and interrogate every person on it. Once confirmed as Undying Blood Clan, they must be executed. By the way, boy, you should come with me to verify their identities."
As he spoke, Elder Yuan Zhou grabbed Zhang Ruochen, ready to drag him away.
"Don't be so hasty," Zhang Ruochen said.
"The Blood God Sect is on the brink of collapse. How can I not be hasty? How can we let tens of thousands of years of heritage be destroyed in our generation?"
Elder Yuan Zhou's strength was immense. He pulled and dragged Zhang Ruochen all the way to the door. Even though Zhang Ruochen was close to achieving a saintly physical body, he still couldn't resist.
Zhang Ruochen said, "If you take the list back to the Elder Hall, aren't you walking right into the tiger's mouth? Do you think it was just a coincidence that Yu Huacheng, the Palace Master of the Netherworld Heavenly Palace, managed to escape? Isn't there an insider in the Elder Hall?"
Hearing this, Elder Yuan Zhou calmed down. He released Zhang Ruochen and fell into deep thought.
"You have a point. Even the Sect Leader collaborated with the Undying Blood Clan, so there must be cultivators from the Undying Blood Clan in the Elder Hall," Elder Yuan Zhou said solemnly.
Zhang Ruochen straightened his disheveled robes and smiled. "Do you trust my words so easily? Aren't you worried I might be deceiving you?"
Elder Yuan Zhou looked at Zhang Ruochen with a suspicious gaze, then shook his head. "Even if I don't trust you, I trust the Supreme Elder. How else could you have cultivated your physical body to such a level? Isn't it because you received the Supreme Elder's true teachings? Haven't you grasped the essence of the *Blood God Diagram*?"
Elder Yuan Zhou seemed to hold the Supreme Elder in great reverence, which piqued Zhang Ruochen's curiosity.
After all, Elder Yuan Zhou was one of the six great saint elders, second only to the Sect Leader in status. He had no need to look up to anyone.
Zhang Ruochen asked curiously, "Who exactly is the Supreme Elder?"
Today, Zhang Ruochen had revealed several major secrets one after another, shocking Elder Yuan Zhou and making him appear like an ignorant novice in front of a junior.
At this moment, Elder Yuan Zhou finally felt a bit more balanced.
Elder Yuan Zhou raised an eyebrow and chuckled inwardly. So even you don't know everything.
"You don't even know who the Supreme Elder is? Truly a young man with limited experience. I can understand that," Elder Yuan Zhou said leisurely, stroking his beard.
Zhang Ruochen frowned, feeling that Elder Yuan Zhou was deliberately teasing him. So he said, "Forget it. I need to continue cultivating and break through to the saintly physical realm."
"Wait."
Elder Yuan Zhou caught up to Zhang Ruochen and said, "You are still young and have plenty of time to cultivate, but the Blood God Sect can't hold on much longer. It could split or be destroyed at any moment. I really want to know what your plan is."
Seeing that Zhang Ruochen showed no sign of stopping, Elder Yuan Zhou quickly added, "The Supreme Elder is that extraordinary figure from a thousand years ago in the Blood God Sect, known as the Tenth Emperor, Yan Liren."
Zhang Ruochen stopped and turned around, somewhat surprised. "The Tenth Emperor, Yan Liren?"
Eight hundred years ago, humanity indeed had only nine emperors.
However, Yan Liren of the Blood God Sect had come very close to achieving a Great Saint-level physical body. He was the strongest below the nine emperors and was also called the Tenth Emperor.
Zhang Ruochen said, "I heard that when Yan Liren attempted to achieve a Great Saint-level physical body, an accident occurred. Not only did he fail to reach the Great Saint realm, but he also suffered incurable internal injuries and subsequently fell. How is he still alive eight hundred years later?"
"What do you mean by eight hundred years later?" Elder Yuan Zhou asked.
"Nothing."
Zhang Ruochen shook his head, not wanting Elder Yuan Zhou to press further, and said, "I do have some plans for dealing with the infiltrators of the Undying Blood Clan. We can discuss them."
Elder Yuan Zhou's own cultivation was profound, and the forces under his command were vast. With his involvement, Zhang Ruochen could act on a larger scale.
The two discussed for a full two hours and finally reached a series of agreements.
Elder Yuan Zhou said, "So, you mean we don't need to eliminate all the Undying Blood Clan infiltrators immediately. Instead, we should remove them step by step, like boiling a frog in warm water. According to your plan, what's the next step?"
Zhang Ruochen's eyes narrowed. "It will take four or five days at the fastest to clean out all the Undying Blood Clan infiltrators under Hongyuan Saint and Liao Teng. During these days, our main focus should be on eliminating the Half-Saint-level Undying Blood Clan members."
"Good, I will root out every Half-Saint from the Undying Blood Clan on the list and beat them until their souls scatter," Elder Yuan Zhou said, his heart burning with anger and killing intent forming into a black cloud.
Zhang Ruochen stopped Elder Yuan Zhou again. "Every move you make is under the surveillance of the Undying Blood Clan. Don't act rashly, or you'll alert the enemy. Besides, why use a butcher's knife to kill a chicken? I've already sent two experts to deal with them. We should have results soon."
"In the next few days, I will go into seclusion to cultivate. When I emerge, we'll do something big."
Zhang Ruochen stood up and walked into a vermilion palace.
The confidence and composure Zhang Ruochen displayed made even Elder Yuan Zhou feel inferior. He couldn't help but admire the keen judgment of Elder Yuan Xing and the Supreme Elder. This young man indeed had extraordinary qualities.
Elder Yuan Zhou called Shangguan Xianyan to his side and said, "Do you see? Both of you are geniuses of the younger generation, but there is still a gap between you and Gu Linfeng. You should learn from him."
Still uneasy, Elder Yuan Zhou sent Shangguan Xianyan to investigate the Half-Saints on the list and coordinate with the forces Zhang Ruochen had dispatched, ensuring they were thoroughly cleansed without letting a single one slip through.
After Shangguan Xianyan left, Elder Yuan Zhou fell into thought again, wondering whether he should send word back to the Elder Hall to alert a few elders he had good relations with.
In the end, he shook his head, unwilling to leak the information easily, fearing it might lead to a catastrophic mistake.
...
Zhang Ruochen entered the palace and set up a defensive formation before entering the Scroll World to refine the White Tiger Divine Dew and break through the remaining eight acupoints.
The thirty-six acupoints in the head were the hardest to open, fraught with danger. A single mistake could damage the Qi Sea and ruin all cultivation.
It was said that Yan Liren had injured his Qi Sea while attempting to achieve a Great Saint-level physical body, nearly losing all his cultivation.
"The Supreme Elder's body is too withered. It doesn't look like someone who has achieved a saintly physical body, let alone one close to the Great Saint realm. Could it be that after eight hundred years, his injuries still haven't healed?"
Zhang Ruochen became even more cautious in his cultivation.
Although only eight acupoints remained, they were like eight fortresses. Every step forward was as difficult as ascending to heaven. Of course, each acupoint that became saintly also greatly enhanced his physical strength.
Zhang Ruochen swallowed a small bottle of White Tiger Divine Dew. The medicinal power automatically seeped into his blood vessels and merged with his blood.
Then, using his ten blood spiritual veins, he vigorously transported the blood energy, directing it toward his head.
"Boom."
An hour later, the 137th acupoint opened.
Three hours later, the 138th acupoint opened.
Half a day later, the 139th acupoint opened.
...
The further he went, the more time it took, and the more difficult and dangerous it became.
By the time Zhang Ruochen attempted to open the 142nd acupoint, it took him a full seven days to succeed.
"Only two acupoints left. Once they become saintly, I will achieve a saintly physical body."
Zhang Ruochen's eyes were bloodshot, and his black hair stood on end. Every blood vessel bulged slightly. He was in a frenzied state, putting forth all his effort to open the 143rd acupoint.
"Swoosh—"
A figure of deep blue light, radiating saintly radiance, flew from afar and landed beneath the Sky-Connecting Divine Tree, materializing into Huang Yanchen's slender form.
Qing Mo approached Huang Yanchen and whispered, "Princess, I feel something is wrong with Young Master Zhang's condition. Should we stop him? What if something goes wrong..."
Huang Yanchen shook her head, her gaze fixed firmly on Zhang Ruochen, who was cultivating. "His willpower is stronger than you imagine. I have great confidence in him."