# Chapter 1215: Arriving Again at Taiyin Ancient City
The blood-red long spear was as thick as a bowl, piercing through Nie Lin's saintly body. Immediately afterward, corrosive forces spread out, plundering the life essence within him.
"Death... Knight..."
In just a single breath, all of Nie Lin's blood vessels and meridians turned black. His skin rapidly swelled up like an inflated balloon.
His injuries were too severe. There was no way to escape.
Nie Lin wanted to self-destruct his Qi Sea and perish together with the Death Knight.
The Death Knight was utterly cold. He twisted his arm, and the blood-red long spear pierced through Nie Lin's Qi Sea first. Then, lowering the spear vertically, he pinned Nie Lin's corpse to the ground.
One of the ten great palace masters of the Blood God Sect, a Xuanhuang Realm saint, had fallen here.
The Death Knight stood atop the back of a land dragon, clad in the Ten Saint Blood Armor. His figure was tall and straight, exuding a chilling cold qi from his entire body. Killing a Xuanhuang Realm saint was like slaughtering a pig or a dog—it did not stir any emotional fluctuation within him.
The two vice palace masters of the Kunzi Heavenly Palace, Yao Han and Mu Changfeng, both revealed expressions of shock and terror.
"That's a Death Knight from the Undying Divine Temple. We need to flee immediately."
The two vice palace masters felt a chill of fear. At the same time, they activated their escape secret arts, charging off in two different directions. Because they erupted with such incredible speed, the air produced a series of explosive sounds, leaving behind two trails of fiery light.
"Death God's Radiance."
The Death Knight pulled out the blood-red long spear and then slammed it fiercely into the ground.
"Whoosh!"
A blood-red light ring manifested, enveloping an area of a hundred miles.
Looking down from high above, the ground seemed to have a circular river of blood, emitting an eerie radiance.
Yao Han and Mu Changfeng failed to escape. They both collided with the light ring and were sent flying backward.
The Death Knight grabbed Yao Han's shoulders from behind. His iron-like arms possessed unparalleled strength, suppressing her entire body so she couldn't move. All her saintly power seemed to vanish.
Yao Han was extremely terrified. As a lofty upper-realm saint, when had she ever encountered such a crisis?
The next moment, Yao Han only felt a pain in her neck. Her carotid artery had already been bitten through.
The armor on the Death Knight's face disappeared, revealing a hideous visage. Using his sharp fangs, he bit into Yao Han's neck and frantically drank her saintly blood.
"Ah... no... I, this saint, will perish together with you..."
Yao Han struggled violently, simultaneously drawing on the saintly Qi in her Qi Sea, intending to self-destruct.
The Death Knight's eyes revealed a cold, sharp expression. He let out a roar, opened his bloody mouth wide, and bit through Yao Han's neck, then her head, and finally devoured half her body into his stomach.
The scene was extremely cruel and bloody. Even Yao Sheng felt his scalp go numb, wishing he could immediately turn and flee. But after witnessing the Death Knight's formidable power, he didn't dare to run.
On the other side, Mu Changfeng was truly terrified. Knowing he couldn't escape, he immediately charged at the Death Knight and detonated his Qi Sea.
The Death Knight also sensed the danger. He discarded the half of Yao Han's corpse, grabbed the bowl-thick long spear, and swept it horizontally, striking Mu Changfeng's waist and abdomen.
"Boom!"
Mu Changfeng flew backward, traveling over ten miles before his saintly body exploded, releasing a destructive force.
The destructive power of an upper-realm saint's self-detonation was beyond ordinary imagination.
"Rumble!"
The land for hundreds of miles around was completely turned into a sea of fire. All the mountains collapsed, and all the lakes dried up. Even regions a thousand miles away suffered a certain degree of impact.
Yao Sheng had been staying on the periphery. When Mu Changfeng self-destructed, he immediately charged into the ground, burrowing more than a thousand meters deep, barely managing to save his life.
He crawled out of the ground, looking at the scorched earth before him that emitted black smoke, and said, "Mu Changfeng was also a ruthless one. He cultivated for several hundred years to reach his current realm, yet he didn't hesitate to self-destruct his Qi Sea and Saint Source."
Yao Sheng tried to put himself in Mu Changfeng's shoes. If he were also pushed into a desperate situation, would he choose to perish together with his opponent?
The words "perish together" were easy to say but very hard to do.
Several hundred years of cultivation—how difficult was that? Yet to kill oneself—who would be willing?
Yao Sheng got up from the ground, preparing to leave.
Suddenly, he sensed a bone-chilling aura behind him. He trembled slightly, stopped, turned around, and looked back.
"Clatter, clatter."
The Death Knight walked out from the flames, still clad in the Ten Saint Blood Armor, holding his long spear. He seemed no different from a Death God emerging from hell.
The destructive power of Mu Changfeng's self-detonation was indeed terrifying. However, the Death Knight had not been at the center; he was more than ten miles away.
Moreover, the Death Knight wore the Ten Saint Blood Armor, so he had managed to save his life.
"An upper-realm saint's self-detonation couldn't even kill him. That's too monstrous."
Cold sweat broke out on Yao Sheng's back. He couldn't take another step and stood there rigidly.
The Death Knight's eyes, visible through his armor, glared at Yao Sheng and said, "Since you have already submitted to me, why don't you kneel and pay your respects?"
"As a saint, I need not kneel to any living being." Yao Sheng said.
"Refuse to kneel, and you die."
The Death Knight raised his long spear, carrying a sharp aura, and pointed it at Yao Sheng's brow.
Yao Sheng knew that the Death Knight must have suffered quite severe injuries and was not at his peak. If he took a gamble, he might be able to kill him.
However, the Death Knight's earlier display of combat power and presence had been too terrifying, planting a seed of fear in Yao Sheng's heart. Even knowing the Death Knight was heavily injured, he didn't dare to strike at him.
After a fierce psychological struggle, Yao Sheng ultimately knelt on one knee, clasped his fists, and said, "I pay my respects to the Death Knight, great one."
"Hmph."
The Death Knight withdrew his long spear, and his pair of blood-red eyes looked toward the horizon.
Four small black dots rapidly flew closer.
As the black dots drew nearer, Yao Sheng finally saw clearly. They were four saint-level Undying Blood Clan members with fleshy wings, both male and female, all exuding powerful auras.
One of the Undying Blood Clan saints appeared quite aged, with a face full of wrinkles. He wore a silver robe printed with moon patterns and held a silver saintly staff.
"An elder of the Undying Divine Temple's Silver Robe."
Yao Sheng guessed the old man's identity and was somewhat shocked.
That Silver Robe elder was named Saint Yashe. His voice was somewhat hoarse as he said, "A message has come from the Undying Divine Temple. It has been almost confirmed that Blood God Sect leader Gu Linfeng is the Heir of Time and Space, Zhang Ruochen."
Yao Sheng was extremely shocked, finding it hard to believe. He couldn't help but say, "How is that possible?"
Saint Yashe cast a cold glance at Yao Sheng and said, "A message from the Undying Divine Temple, even if not one hundred percent correct, is at least ninety percent accurate."
The Death Knight said, "Is Gu Linfeng in the Blood God Sect?"
Saint Yashe shook his head. "According to the message from the Undying Divine Temple, Gu Linfeng is hurrying toward Taiyin Ancient City in Qingli Commandery. He likely intends to use the space wormhole in Taiyin Ancient City to travel to the Eastern Domain."
"Good. Let's go intercept and kill him now." The Death Knight said.
"You are severely injured. Rest for a while before dealing with Gu Linfeng." Saint Yashe said.
Yao Sheng finally understood. The Death Knight, the Silver Robe elder, and the three Undying Blood Clan saints had all come to kill Gu Linfeng.
Yao Sheng also hated Gu Linfeng to the bone. If not for this man, he would now be one of the high-ranking members of the Blood God Sect, not a servant of a Death Knight.
Yao Sheng let out a cold laugh, puffing out his chest somewhat arrogantly, and said, "Gu Linfeng has only just achieved physical sainthood. His combat power isn't that strong. With my strength, I could suppress and kill him. Even if he really is the Heir of Time and Space, Zhang Ruochen, and can use the power of time and space, his combat power won't be too great. His realm has already limited his strength."
The Death Knight had some understanding of Gu Linfeng's and Zhang Ruochen's strength. After hearing Yao Sheng's words, he nodded and said, "Set out. Head to Taiyin Ancient City."
...
Taiyin Ancient City was located in Qingli Commandery of Tiantai Prefecture. It had been established since ancient times, with a long history. Countless sages had left their relics here.
Taiyin Ancient City indeed had a space wormhole connecting to the Liangyi Sect in the Eastern Domain.
For this reason, the vast majority of cultivators in the city were disciples of the Liangyi Sect.
This place was a bridge connecting the Liangyi Sect and the Central Domain. At the same time, many cultivators from the Central Domain traveling to the Eastern Domain would come to Taiyin Ancient City to borrow the path.
Zhang Ruochen changed into the Daoist robe of an outer disciple of the Liangyi Sect. He took out an outer disciple token from his space ring and swaggered into the city.
After some inquiries, Zhang Ruochen learned that the space wormhole would only open at Hai hour tonight. At that time, a large number of cultivators would head to the Eastern Domain.
Xiao Hei had shrunk to the size of a fist, perched on Zhang Ruochen's left shoulder. Seeing Zhang Ruochen's urgency, he said, "You don't need to worry so much. The Death Knight might not know your whereabouts."
Zhang Ruochen shook his head. "I'm not actually worried about the Death Knight. After all, this is Taiyin Ancient City. There must be saint-level figures from the Liangyi Sect guarding it. Even if the Death Knight catches up, he might not be able to breach the city. Of course, if the Death Knight really does catch up, it will instead confirm for me that the Undying Divine Temple has a Spiritual Power Great Saint. That way, I can make corresponding changes in my next moves."
"Then what are you worried about?" Xiao Hei said.
"I'm worried that Senior Sister Huang will catch up." Zhang Ruochen said.
Xiao Hei giggled. "It's understandable that a Spiritual Power Great Saint can calculate your whereabouts. But can Huang Yanchen, that yellow-haired girl, also calculate your whereabouts?"
"I can sense that she is getting closer and closer. It's a very wonderful feeling." Zhang Ruochen said solemnly.
Ever since meeting Huang Yanchen again in Shengming City, Zhang Ruochen had discovered a mysterious connection between himself and Huang Yanchen.
The closer they were, the more obvious that connection became.
Zhang Ruochen let out a soft sigh, stopped thinking about it, and said, "Anyway, the space wormhole won't open until Hai hour tonight. Let's go explore Taiyin Ancient City. We might have an unexpected gain."
"Entering the wilderness is quite dangerous. We should indeed buy some protective treasures in advance, or some powerful offensive treasures. Anyway, you're not short on saint stones." Xiao Hei said.