Chapter 1197: The Grand Steward
“If you want to kill the Undying Blood Clan, why go to the Northern Domain?”
Wan Ke was an extremely intelligent person. Upon hearing Zhang Ruochen’s words, his brows furrowed slightly. “Could it be that the trouble you’ve encountered, Junior Brother, is related to the Undying Blood Clan?”
Zhang Ruochen nodded and then told them everything he knew.
He trusted his two senior brothers quite a bit and saw no reason to hide anything.
“Excellent! Since a large number of Undying Blood Clan elites are gathered here, what are we waiting for? Let’s charge over right now and cut off some heads first.”
Zhu Hongtao’s body surged with killing intent, causing the surrounding air to solidify.
“No need to rush. Let’s wait a little longer. Tonight, a world-shaking battle is bound to erupt in this city of evil. When that happens, we can join in without being too late,” Zhang Ruochen said with a smile.
Before long, Zhang Ruochen received a message from Huang Yanchen. She had already returned from Cloud Center City and arrived at the Black Market headquarters.
“The governor of Taizhou Province, Yue Shuzi, is already aware of the situation here and should take action soon,” Huang Yanchen said.
“In that case, tonight we’ll witness the methods of the imperial court and the Black Market. Come, let’s drink.”
Zhang Ruochen raised his wine cup and drank with Zhu Hongtao, Wan Ke, and Huang Yanchen, appearing quite at ease.
The city where the Black Market headquarters was located was perpetually shrouded in dark clouds, sunless, like a ghost city in the underworld. For those insensitive to time, there was no distinction between night and day there.
Within Star Cloud Manor, Prince Xia stood on the white jade steps, gazing at the dark clouds in the sky. A look of worry flickered in his bright, piercing eyes.
The Yellow Heaven Princess, clad in a golden battle armor that made her look valiant and spirited, asked, “Uncle, what’s wrong?”
“Something’s off,” Prince Xia said, almost as if talking to himself.
“What’s off?” the Yellow Heaven Princess asked.
“I can’t quite put my finger on it, but I feel as if a great crisis is brewing between heaven and earth, and it’s drawing closer,” Prince Xia said.
The more powerful a being, the stronger their spiritual intuition, allowing them to sense danger and foresee misfortune. It was a saintly ability; often, they would flee before the crisis arrived.
The intangible crisis made Prince Xia feel oppressed—something he had never encountered before. So, he issued an order: “All cultivators of the Yellow Heaven Tribe, listen up! Leave Star Cloud Manor immediately. This place is no longer safe.”
Prince Xia led the Yellow Heaven Princess toward the manor’s exit, but the moment they stepped through the gate, a force of heaven-and-earth reversal struck them.
That force disrupted the rules of heaven and earth, as if the sky and ground had swapped places.
“Heavenly Profound Force.”
Prince Xia’s expression shifted slightly. His cape fluttered, and with a resonant hum, his entire body radiated a golden light brighter than the sun, shattering the heaven-and-earth reversal force.
Then, grabbing the Yellow Heaven Princess’s arm, the two retreated back into Star Cloud Manor.
The Yellow Heaven Princess’s cultivation was already close to the Saint realm, capable of unleashing combat power comparable to a lower-level Saint. Yet, struck by that heaven-and-earth reversal force, she was injured, her face as pale as paper.
Fortunately, Prince Xia’s profound cultivation shielded her; otherwise, she might have been torn to shreds.
“Who could it be, cultivating the Heavenly Profound Force to such a terrifying level?” the Yellow Heaven Princess asked, her heart pounding rapidly and her legs trembling uncontrollably.
Only cultivators who practiced the “Heavenly Demon Stone Inscription” chapter of the *Heavenly Demon Mystic Heart Diagram* could cultivate the Heavenly Profound Force. Those who could refine it to the point of disrupting heaven and earth’s rules and reversing the cosmos were extremely rare in the Kunlun Realm.
Prince Xia’s eyes fixed on the street outside the gate.
“Tap, tap.”
In the dim night, a short, stout old man emerged, walking at a leisurely pace.
The old man was dressed quite lavishly—golden silk robes and a carved jade belt—but stood only about one and a half meters tall, making him rather unremarkable in appearance.
Behind him followed two black-robed cultivators, each about two meters thirty in height, wearing hooded robes that dragged on the ground and golden masks on their faces, exuding an exceptionally powerful aura.
The Yellow Heaven Princess felt two suffocating forces pressing down on her. “Those two are formidable. Even among Saints, they must be top-tier experts.”
“Those are the two gatekeepers of the Taizhou Province Black Market headquarters: the Demon Pupil Saint and the Ghost Claw Saint,” Prince Xia said.
“So it’s them. No wonder they feel so oppressive.”
The Yellow Heaven Princess drew in a sharp breath. She had long heard of these two Saint-level figures—ruthless characters among humanity who had slain more than one Saint-level being.
Prince Xia snorted coldly. “But the truly fearsome one isn’t them—it’s that Grand Steward.”
As he spoke, Prince Xia pointed at the short, stout old man walking ahead of the Demon Pupil Saint and the Ghost Claw Saint.
The old man seemed to sense something, looked up, and revealed a friendly smile, as if greeting an old friend. “Prince Xia, gracing Taizhou Province with your presence—why didn’t you inform this old man in advance? These past days, I’ve failed to fulfill my duties as host. Truly remiss.”
Prince Xia sneered. “Grand Steward, you must have already cultivated the *Heavenly Demon Mystic Heart Diagram* to the fifteenth layer. Truly worthy of being the Evil Emperor’s favored aide. In truth, I’ve long wanted to test your Heavenly Profound Force but never found the opportunity.”
“Isn’t the opportunity right before us?”
The Grand Steward spread his hands, his smile beaming.
Behind him, the Demon Pupil Saint’s black pupils grew larger and larger until they completely filled the whites of his eyes, turning into two deep, dark abysses.
“Whoosh—”
Two black light pillars shot from the Demon Pupil Saint’s eyes, dense lightning weaving around them, carrying a tearing, destructive force.
The buildings on both sides of the street instantly turned to dust. Even the defensive formation inscriptions couldn’t withstand that power.
In the distance, atop a thirteen-story black tower, Zhang Ruochen stood with his hands behind his back, gazing toward Star Cloud Manor. Seeing the two black light pillars sweep forward, obliterating everything in their path, he was somewhat moved. “That Demon Pupil Saint is formidable.”
Wan Ke’s expression was grave. “The Demon Pupil Saint and the Ghost Claw Saint are the gatekeepers of the Taizhou Province Black Market headquarters, handling all affairs of the evil path on behalf of the Grand Steward. Even figures like the Heavenly Luo Sect’s sect leader bow to them. Their strength is naturally terrifying to the extreme.”
Huang Yanchen added, “The Grand Steward dared to approach Star Cloud Manor with just the two gatekeepers—that in itself shows his extreme confidence in his own abilities.”
Within Star Cloud Manor, the powerful manor-protecting grand formation activated. From the stone slabs, walls, towers, and ponds, countless dark red light pillars shot up, connecting at a height of thirty zhang to form a hemispherical light barrier.
“Boom.”
The two black light pillars collided with the manor-protecting formation.
The ground outside the manor split apart and sank, leaving only Star Cloud Manor standing, radiating streaks of blood-red light.
The Grand Steward gazed at the shattered earth, his eyes darkening.
He had to end this quickly; otherwise, this battle would inflict massive losses on the Black Market headquarters.
“Activate the Four Directions Annihilation Grand Formation and destroy everything within Star Cloud Manor,” the Grand Steward’s voice rang out, echoing across heaven and earth.
The seventy-two formation towers of the Black Market headquarters all activated, releasing a terrifying, world-destroying aura.
Atop each tower, a blazing fire cloud condensed. Seventy-two fire clouds hung in the sky, burning and expanding, turning the black city crimson.
“They’ve activated the Four Directions Annihilation Grand Formation! What’s happening? Has the imperial army come to attack the city again?”
“All seventy-two towers are lit—something major must be happening.”
The evil-path cultivators of the Black Market headquarters, unaware of the situation, were thrown into chaos.
But the sect masters and clan leaders of the various evil-path forces remained calm, having already received word of what was happening. They all activated their movement techniques and rushed toward Star Cloud Manor.
Prince Xia was well aware of the Four Directions Annihilation Grand Formation’s power. Once it fully activated, the cultivators of the Yellow Heaven Tribe would be utterly annihilated.
“There’s no other choice—we have to fight our way out.”
Prince Xia grew three pairs of silver wings from his back, each over twenty zhang long, forged like silver and gleaming with metallic luster.
With a spread of his six wings, Prince Xia shot into the sky like a pillar of light, carrying the Yellow Heaven Princess with him.
At the same time, the Undying Blood Clan Saints gathered in Star Cloud Manor each led a squad of Blood Spirit Guards, charging desperately toward the city’s edge.
No matter what, they had to escape before the Four Directions Annihilation Grand Formation fully activated.
“Trying to leave? Not so easy.”
The Grand Steward stared at Prince Xia and the Yellow Heaven Princess soaring through the sky. He spread his arms, and the palms of his hands became covered in dense patterns, each hand line resembling mountains and rivers.
“Heaven and Earth Reversal.”
In an instant, the space within a thousand li trembled slightly. Heaven and earth seemed to flip—the ground became the sky, and the sky became the ground.
Prince Xia and the Yellow Heaven Princess, who had been speeding toward the heavens, were caught in a massive vortex, finding it nearly impossible to move forward.
Zhang Ruochen witnessed this scene, his eyes lighting up as he thought of a spatial technique.
If he mastered that spatial technique, he too could achieve a heaven-and-earth reversal, and it would be even more thorough than the Heavenly Profound Force the Grand Steward had displayed.
“Damn it. Heavenly Profound Force again.”
Prince Xia was furious, his cold gaze fixed on the Grand Steward below. Then, he struck the Yellow Heaven Princess’s back with a surge of saintly force, channeling it into her body. “Princess, go first. Find Sir Mu Qian. I’ll deal with this Grand Steward.”
“Whoosh—”
Empowered by the saintly force, the Yellow Heaven Princess’s speed multiplied several times, and she soon broke free of the Four Directions Annihilation Grand Formation, flying toward the horizon.
“Still trying to escape?”
Zhang Ruochen stood atop the thirteen-story black tower, legs apart. He drew the Azure Sky Bow and the Daylight Arrow, pulling the bowstring to a full moon, aiming at the Yellow Heaven Princess soaring through the sky.