Chapter 122: Trapped in an Encirclement
"Refining nearly two hundred Sanqing True Qi Pills just to perfect the Qi Lake is such a waste."
Although his cultivation had improved significantly, Zhang Ruochen was not in a good mood.
Two hundred Sanqing True Qi Pills were worth nearly one million silver coins. If any other martial artist knew how wastefully he used pills, they would be so furious they'd spit blood.
"Sanqing True Qi Pills are only second-grade pills. Their effect on me is already quite poor. Even if I continue taking them, there won't be much more benefit."
Zhang Ruochen still had three hundred and forty Sanqing True Qi Pills left. He planned to take them back to the West Courtyard and sell them cheaply to new students, then use the proceeds to buy third-grade pills.
Outside, a single Sanqing True Qi Pill could sell for five thousand silver coins. If Zhang Ruochen sold them for only three thousand silver coins each, they would definitely be snapped up. Especially for those students at the early and middle stages of the Mysterious Extreme Realm, Sanqing True Qi Pills could rapidly boost their cultivation.
Having made up his mind, Zhang Ruochen put away the remaining three hundred and forty Sanqing True Qi Pills.
"Blood Qi Condenses into Beasts."
Zhang Ruochen's entire body was enveloped in crimson blood qi. Behind him, a seven-meter-tall giant barbaric beast phantom and a blood-red seven-clawed divine dragon phantom materialized.
With his cultivation elevated, his blood qi became denser, and the elephant and dragon phantoms grew more solid and lifelike, as if they could come alive.
At this moment, Zhang Ruochen seemed to be a fusion of dragon and elephant, exuding a powerful martial aura.
With his current cultivation, even without activating his bloodline power, he could burst forth with a speed of fifty-two meters per second. Activating his bloodline power allowed him to reach fifty-four meters per second.
"Not bad. Once the true qi settles for a while and fully integrates with my flesh, blood, and meridians, I can break through to the middle position of the Mysterious Extreme Realm."
This time, he had cultivated in the Time-Space Crystal for over a month, while only about ten days had passed in the outside world.
As Zhang Ruochen stepped out of the Time-Space Crystal, he sensed a powerful barbaric beast aura. Looking up, he saw a five-meter-tall blood-red lion standing before him.
It had two massive heads, eyes larger than Zhang Ruochen's fists, and two rows of palm-length sharp teeth in its mouth. Upon seeing Zhang Ruochen, it immediately let out two earth-shaking roars that made his eardrums ache.
A second-rank upper-level barbaric beast, the Twin-Headed Blood Lion.
In an instant, Zhang Ruochen drew the Flash Soul Sword, holding it in his hand and pointing it at the Twin-Headed Blood Lion. A half-meter-long sword light extended from the blade.
"Young lad, no need to be tense. This is just a mount I, the Emperor, have tamed." Xiao Hei sat on the ground, tending a fire and roasting a massive cow leg.
That cow leg was over two meters long and probably weighed more than two hundred jin. It had been roasted to a golden brown, emitting a rich meaty aroma.
In the distance, the corpse of an Iron-Hide Barbaric Bull King lay among the fallen leaves, missing one of its hind legs. Clearly, that leg had been roasted by Xiao Hei.
"You tamed this mount? A Twin-Headed Blood Lion is a second-rank upper-level barbaric beast, with combat power comparable to a Mysterious Extreme Realm Great Perfection martial artist. Would it willingly submit to you?" Zhang Ruochen said.
Xiao Hei looked quite disdainful. "Just a mere second-rank upper-level barbaric beast. If my cultivation weren't sealed, it wouldn't even qualify to be my food. Now, being my mount is its honor. Right, Little Twin?"
The Twin-Headed Blood Lion's two massive heads nodded slightly, then it lay down in front of Xiao Hei.
Zhang Ruochen put away the Flash Soul Sword, walked over to the Twin-Headed Blood Lion, stared into its eyes, and released his spiritual power.
After a moment, Zhang Ruochen withdrew his spiritual power and smiled. "Just as I guessed. You've inscribed beast-taming inscriptions on the Twin-Headed Blood Lion's eyeballs."
Beast tamers usually inscribe beast-taming inscriptions on a barbaric beast's eyeballs, skin, or bones to control them.
Exposed by Zhang Ruochen, Xiao Hei showed no embarrassment at all. "So what? At least it's my mount now. Do you have the skill to tame a barbaric beast mount yourself?"
Zhang Ruochen said, "I don't need to go through all that trouble. I can just exchange merit points at the academy for a barbaric beast mount. A second-rank upper-level barbaric beast mount only costs two hundred to five hundred merit points. If I wanted, I could even exchange for a third-rank barbaric beast mount."
The massive cow leg was fully roasted, and Xiao Hei was about to savor it.
"Whoosh!"
Suddenly, a flash of sword light. The most succulent ten-jin portion of the cow leg was sliced off, tossed into the air, and landed in Zhang Ruochen's hands.
"It's been a long time since I tasted meat... Mm... delicious. Thanks!" Zhang Ruochen held the golden piece of beef, tore off a strip with his fingers, and put it into his mouth, savoring it with great enjoyment.
For the past six months, Zhang Ruochen had been subsisting entirely on blood pills. Tasting roasted meat again brought him indescribable joy.
"Not bad, Xiao Hei. Your cooking skills are even better than the royal family's imperial chefs," Zhang Ruochen praised.
Xiao Hei held back his anger again and again, ultimately not losing his temper. He licked his lips and said grudgingly, "As long as you're happy eating it."
What choice did he have? His fate was now completely in Zhang Ruochen's hands. If he didn't endure, what else could he do?
Zhang Ruochen and Xiao Hei finished the entire cow leg. Zhang Ruochen ate about twenty jin, while Xiao Hei devoured two hundred jin. The appetite of one man and one cat was astonishingly huge.
Actually, this was normal. It was said that a Heavenly Extreme Realm martial artist could eat a barbaric beast weighing several thousand jin in one sitting, converting its flesh and blood into their own power.
Zhang Ruochen took the Time-Space Crystal from Xiao Hei's neck, put it away, stood up, and stretched. "I'm going back to the Demon Wind Valley to cultivate. Are you coming?"
"No. I need to gather some medicinal herbs and refine some pills," Xiao Hei said.
Zhang Ruochen asked, "What do you need pills for?"
"For you, of course." Xiao Hei paused, then added, "The stronger your cultivation, the stronger my strength becomes. I have to beat that Huang girl. She's too arrogant. I've never seen such an arrogant human in my life."
Xiao Hei's cultivation was entirely sealed within the Cosmic Divine Wood Map. The stronger Zhang Ruochen's cultivation, the more seals he could unlock, and the stronger Xiao Hei's power would become. In a way, Zhang Ruochen and Xiao Hei were now completely tied together. If Zhang Ruochen died, Xiao Hei would be resealed into the Cosmic Divine Wood Map.
"You can refine pills?" Zhang Ruochen said with a hint of a smile.
Xiao Hei said, "I am erudite and learned, with boundless skill. Not just beast taming and pill refining, but even artifact forging, formation setting, summoning wind and rain, and turning stone into gold are all effortless for me."
Zhang Ruochen stood in the forest, his expression turning serious. He made a shushing gesture. "Shh!"
"Shh? Shh what? I have many other talents, like summoning ghost soldiers, communing with the sun and moon, freezing a thousand miles..." Suddenly, Xiao Hei's cat ears twitched, as if he also heard something. He immediately shut up.
He blew out a breath of cold air, and the fire in front of him instantly went out. The unburned branches made a "crackling" sound as they became covered in a layer of white frost.
With the fire out, the surroundings turned pitch black.
The Twin-Headed Blood Lion lying on the ground also seemed to sense something. Its two heads lifted, and it exhaled a mouthful of bloody, foul air.
Zhang Ruochen closed his eyes, channeling true qi to his ears. After a long moment, he said, "We're surrounded. About two thousand human martial artists."
"Zhang Ruochen, what powerful enemy have you provoked?" Xiao Hei asked.
Zhang Ruochen pondered for a moment, then said, "I understand now. The nine commanderies west of the ridge all have troops stationed in the Demon Ridge. Among them, the Four Directions Commandery has the most troops. Prince Huo Xing hates me to the bone. Seeing me leave the West Courtyard, he must have gone to the military camp to dispatch troops to kill me."
"How did he know our whereabouts?" Xiao Hei asked.
"In the military camp, there's a kind of barbaric beast called the 'Three-Headed Hound.' It can track me by following the scent I leave behind." Zhang Ruochen held the Flash Soul Sword, his gaze becoming extremely sharp. "Prepare for battle."
"Not running?"
"We can't escape."
"Zhang Ruochen, give me one hundred spirit crystals, and I can set up a Blazing Vermillion Bird Formation. It might pose some threat to them," Xiao Hei said.
Without a second thought, Zhang Ruochen took out one hundred spirit crystals and tossed them to him.
Xiao Hei received the spirit crystals and buried them one by one into the ground, using his cat claws to inscribe formation inscriptions on the earth.
Before long, a Blazing Vermillion Bird Formation covering an area fifty meters in diameter was set up. All it needed was true qi to activate the inscriptions, and the formation would spring to life.
"I can only set up a low-level formation. I hope it can hold off this elite army." Xiao Hei returned to Zhang Ruochen's side, looking exhausted.
At that moment, heavy hoofbeats came from all directions. Bronze torches lit up the night sky, forming a sea of fire in the forest, encircling Zhang Ruochen and Xiao Hei in the center.
Zhang Ruochen swept his gaze across. Sure enough, it was the army of the Four Directions Commandery. They wore thick iron armor and rode barbaric beast mounts. Their cultivations were almost all at the small position of the Yellow Extreme Realm, with some even reaching the middle position of the Yellow Extreme Realm.
"Clatter, clatter!"
About five hundred soldiers knelt on one knee, drawing iron-thread bows with Thunderbolt Arrows nocked, all aimed at Zhang Ruochen in the center.
Disciplined, uniform—truly elite troops.
"Clop, clop!"
Prince Huo Xing rode a second-rank lower-level barbaric beast out from the army, looking down at Zhang Ruochen standing not far away with an arrogant posture. He laughed, "Zhang Ruochen, I thought you would have fled in panic by now."
Zhang Ruochen coldly eyed the soldiers all around, remaining calm and composed. "I just wanted to confirm if it was really you, so I waited here for you."
"You deliberately waited here for me? I think you're waiting to die!" Prince Huo Xing's face twisted into a mocking grin.
"Do you think they can kill me?" Zhang Ruochen smiled.
Prince Huo Xing bared his teeth in a grin. "Do you think you're a Heavenly Extreme Realm powerhouse who can single-handedly fight an entire army? Let me tell you, I've brought two thousand elite Tiger Fierce Army soldiers. Even if a Earth Extreme Realm expert were surrounded, they'd still die without a doubt."