Chapter 1214: The Reaper Has Arrived
The Shi family's "Nine Calamities Saint-Suppressing Talisman" — with Shi Qiankun's spiritual power level, he could only refine a Five Calamities Saint-Suppressing Talisman.
Of course, even a Five Calamities Saint-Suppressing Talisman was already quite remarkable, enough to frighten off a Saint of the Heaven-Connecting Realm. With a Five Calamities Saint-Suppressing Talisman in hand, Zhang Ruochen had gained another trump card.
Shi Qiankun urged again, "Actually, you should return to the Blood God Sect. As long as you seal the mountain, with the Blood God Sect's foundation, unless the Blood Emperor himself arrives, no one can break in."
Zhang Ruochen stood inside the Sword Tomb Palace, looking quite carefree, and said, "When facing powerful enemies, how can one only hide? My enemies are countless — the Imperial Court wants to capture me, the Moon Worship Demon Sect wants to kill me, the Black Market wants to destroy me, and the Corpse-Driving Ancient Clan and Ghost-Raising Ancient Clan see me as a thorn in their side. Yet I am still alive. Does the Undying Blood Clan think it's so easy to kill me?"
Zhang Ruochen flicked his sleeves, walked out of the Sword Tomb Palace, and left behind a calm and composed silhouette.
Shi Qiankun stared at Zhang Ruochen's departing figure and said to Shi Ren, who stood beside him, "This child is truly a dragon among men. As long as he doesn't fall prematurely, his future achievements will be unimaginable. You must befriend him with sincerity. In the future, it will bring endless benefits to the Zhenyu Ancient Clan."
...
The next day, before dawn had even broken, Zhang Ruochen and Xiao Hei quietly left the Nether King Sword Tomb and set out on the road to Yin-Yang Sea.
Xiao Hei transformed into a fat cat as big as a small mountain, with a pair of large wings spreading from its back, flying above the clouds. It asked, "Zhang Ruochen, why did we leave in secret? Didn't we agree to bring Huang Yanchen and Qing Mo along to Yin-Yang Sea?"
Zhang Ruochen sat cross-legged on Xiao Hei's back, reading the "Central Domain Wind and Cloud Report," and said, "This journey is too dangerous. It's better for us to go to Yin-Yang Sea alone."
Since he already knew that the Undying Blood Clan had dispatched Death Knights to deal with him, Zhang Ruochen naturally couldn't continue to bring Huang Yanchen along. He didn't want to drag her into danger as well.
"Haha, this Emperor also thinks bringing two women along is too troublesome. We should act alone," Xiao Hei laughed.
Zhang Ruochen asked, "Yin-Yang Sea should be within the Barbarian Wilderness Secret Realm, right?"
"Correct."
"Which entry point to the Barbarian Wilderness Secret Realm is closest to Yin-Yang Sea?"
Zhang Ruochen had never been to the Barbarian Wilderness Secret Realm and didn't know the exact location of Yin-Yang Sea, so he had to ask Xiao Hei.
"The Eastern Domain."
Xiao Hei paused and then added, "Even if we depart from the border of the Eastern Domain, we still have to cross three million miles of barbarian wilderness to reach Yin-Yang Sea."
"Is it that far?" Zhang Ruochen frowned.
Xiao Hei said, "An ordinary martial artist, even if they spent ten lifetimes, couldn't cross from the Eastern Domain through the barbarian wilderness to reach the Central Domain. That shows just how vast the Barbarian Wilderness Secret Realm is. In fact, three million miles is already a relatively short distance."
The entire Kunlun Realm continent was a vast wilderness.
The five domains of humanity, when placed on a map, were just five large and small patches within the wilderness. Together, the five domains occupied only a small portion of the entire wilderness.
The five domains were not connected to each other but were separated by the wilderness. Each domain was extremely far apart, and only through space wormholes could human cultivators travel between them.
This time, Zhang Ruochen was going to leave the five domains occupied by humans and enter the boundless wilderness to search for the Divine Dragon Clan's ancestral land — Yin-Yang Sea.
The Barbarian Wilderness Secret Realm was the territory of barbarian beasts, still maintaining an ancient ecosystem. There were many dangerous death zones. Even venturing three million miles deep could lead to deadly encounters, let alone three hundred thousand.
Moreover, the various barbarian beast clans were hostile to humans. For a human cultivator to enter the wilderness was no different from a lamb walking into a tiger's den.
Even with Zhang Ruochen's spiritual power and physical body having reached the Saint Realm, venturing into the wilderness was still an extremely dangerous affair.
With Zhang Ruochen's current spatial mastery, the basic teleportation arrays he could set up could only transport him a maximum of three hundred thousand miles at a time.
And he didn't dare to use teleportation arrays recklessly. If he was unlucky enough to be teleported near the lair of a seventh-rank or eighth-rank barbarian beast, wouldn't that be walking straight into death?
"Isn't there a space wormhole that leads directly to Yin-Yang Sea?" Zhang Ruochen asked.
"Maybe there is."
Xiao Hei wasn't sure either, so he spoke cautiously.
Zhang Ruochen's spirits lifted, and he asked, "Where?"
"The Divine Dragon Half-Human Clan," Xiao Hei said.
"The Divine Dragon Half-Human Clan? That's actually quite possible."
Zhang Ruochen knew that the Divine Dragon Half-Human Clan were descendants of unions between divine dragons and humans, with a deep connection to the Divine Dragon Clan.
The territory of the Divine Dragon Half-Human Clan might very well have a space wormhole leading to Yin-Yang Sea.
"In that case, let's first visit the Divine Dragon Half-Human Clan," Zhang Ruochen said with a smile.
The territory of the Divine Dragon Half-Human Clan was located between the Eastern Domain and the Barbarian Wilderness Secret Realm, called the Divine Dream Marsh. Therefore, even if the Divine Dragon Half-Human Clan didn't have a space wormhole, Zhang Ruochen would have to pass through the Divine Dream Marsh on his way to Yin-Yang Sea.
Zhang Ruochen continued reading the "Central Domain Wind and Cloud Report" and noticed some subtle things on the newspaper.
Recently, quite a few high-ranking figures from the Confucian Path and the Imperial Court had been arrested on various charges and thrown into the Heavenly Prison.
Zhang Ruochen smiled slightly and muttered to himself, "It seems that after Shengshu Cainü obtained the 'Blood Clan Secret Scroll,' she has begun to purge the Undying Blood Clan infiltrators within the Confucian Path and the Imperial Court. Once the purge is complete, she should make the 'Blood Clan Secret Scroll' public."
After finishing the "Central Domain Wind and Cloud Report," Zhang Ruochen took out a sacred fruit from his Golden Light Storage Bag, put it into his mouth, and began to refine its medicinal properties and essence.
This sacred fruit was a treasure from the Azure Dragon Dynasty's treasury, comparable to a sacred pill.
If a master alchemist saw Zhang Ruochen directly eating a sacred fruit, they would surely scold him for wasting a precious treasure. After all, with one sacred fruit and some auxiliary ingredients, several sacred pills could be refined.
But Zhang Ruochen didn't care at all. He just wanted to raise his cultivation level as quickly as possible.
Also within the territory of Tiantai Prefecture, the Vice Hall Master of the Netherword Heavenly Palace, Yao Sheng, was frantically rushing. More precisely, he was fleeing for his life.
The Hall Master of the Netherword Heavenly Palace, Lan Caiye, and Vice Hall Master Zuo Mu had both died, leaving only Yao Sheng alive.
However, Yao Sheng was also severely injured. Both his male and female heads were battered and broken.
Especially his male body — both arms and legs had been severed, and there was a two-foot-long wound on his abdomen that had shredded his internal organs.
The wound emitted a blood-red, eerie light, as if it were being eroded by some kind of energy, preventing it from healing.
Sacred blood was spilled everywhere along his escape route.
The ones chasing Yao Sheng were the Hall Master of the Kun Heavenly Palace and two Vice Hall Masters.
The Hall Master of the Kun Heavenly Palace was named Nie Lin, who had already cultivated to the fourth realm of Saints, the Xuanhuang Realm.
The two Vice Hall Masters, Mu Changfeng and Yao Han, were also Upper Realm Saints.
None of the three Hall Masters were weaker than Yao Sheng.
When a Saint cultivates to the fourth realm, the Xuanhuang Realm, they can cultivate Xuanhuang Qi, making their combat power several times that of an Upper Realm Saint. Although it was only a difference of one realm, it was a gap as wide as heaven and earth.
Yao Sheng was considered quite formidable among Upper Realm Saints, but in front of the Kun Heavenly Palace Hall Master, he had no chance to fight back.
Originally, Yao Sheng thought he was doomed and was ready to self-destruct his sacred source and Qi Sea to die together with the three Hall Masters of the Kun Heavenly Palace.
But just now, he received a telepathic message: "The Death Knights have arrived in Tiantai Prefecture. If you want to live, you must first submit."
The voice was extremely cold, devoid of any emotion.
"The legendary strongest army trained by the Undying Divine Temple — the Death Knights?"
Yao Sheng had no other choice, so he immediately agreed to submit.
At the same time, behind Yao Sheng, three powerful sacred auras rapidly caught up, forming a triangular formation.
The sacred auras condensed into three sacred clouds, appearing above Yao Sheng's head.
"Yao Sheng, you can't escape!"
The Vice Hall Master of the Kun Heavenly Palace, Yao Han, flew out from one of the sacred clouds, holding a long whip flowing with flames, looking down at Yao Sheng below.
Then, another Vice Hall Master, Mu Changfeng, also stepped out from a sacred cloud, wielding a sacred sword. Nearly a thousand sword-shaped sword qi naturally manifested, flying around him.
"Boom!"
The Hall Master of the Kun Heavenly Palace, Nie Lin, rode a towering beast over two hundred meters tall, landing on the ground and blocking Yao Sheng's path.
Yao Sheng clenched his teeth and fists, roaring, "We once had some friendship. Are you not even leaving me a way to live?"
Nie Lin snorted coldly, "Working for the Undying Blood Clan is already a path to death."
"Are you forcing me to die together with you?"
To boost his momentum, Yao Sheng stomped his foot on the ground, causing an eight-hundred-meter-tall mountain beside him to collapse with a thunderous roar.
"If you want to die together, it depends on whether you have the ability."
Nie Lin stretched out both arms and pushed his palms forward. Two streams of Xuanhuang Qi surged out from his palms, like two vast rivers spinning continuously, sweeping even the collapsed mountain into the air.
The scene was quite shocking. If an ordinary martial artist saw it, they would surely be scared to the ground.
Nie Lin was mobilizing the Xuanhuang Qi within his body to suppress Yao Sheng, preventing him from using a mutual destruction technique.
"Whoosh——"
Just as Yao Sheng was about to be suppressed and killed, a sharp cold wind blew from the southeast.
The cold wind carried a strong smell of blood.
Nie Lin was startled and looked toward the southeast. He saw the sky and earth being enveloped by a blood-red airflow.
As the blood-red airflow surged rapidly, the plants among the mountains and ridges all turned into black dust.
"Who is it?" Nie Lin shouted coldly.
"Someone who will kill you."
An icy voice came from within the blood-red airflow.
Then, a blood-armored knight riding a ground dragon rushed out, holding a blood-red long spear. As he approached Nie Lin, he thrust the spear forward.
"Chi chi."
This spear strike contained astonishing sacred rules, forming a horizontally flowing vortex.
Nie Lin had no choice but to mobilize the two rivers formed by Xuanhuang Qi to strike at the blood-armored knight, trying to block the attack.
"Pfft."
The blood-red long spear had unparalleled penetrating power. In an instant, it pierced through the Xuanhuang Qi and stabbed into Nie Lin's chest, lifting his body into the air.
The sacred blood inside Nie Lin's body dripped down the spear, falling to the ground.
...
(First day of April, asking for recommendation votes and tips. This month, Xiao Yu is going all out! I hope all brothers and sisters can lend Xiao Yu a hand and give me enough motivation.)
(End of chapter)