Chapter 1220: Confrontation Beneath the Calamity Lightning
"Zhang Ruochen, the Life-and-Death Calamity is the most terrifying tribulation. Many geniuses have died in this calamity. The calamity lightning will fall again soon—are you trying to get yourself killed?"
Wan Xin Saint let out a roar, flapping his blood wings with all his might as he fled into the distance.
"Before I'm struck dead by the calamity lightning, I will surely slay you first," Zhang Ruochen said.
As Zhang Ruochen charged toward Wan Xin Saint, the calamity clouds in the sky followed him. Thick bolts of lightning twisted together, crashing down with a crackling sound.
"Boom!"
"Rumble!"
Both Zhang Ruochen and Wan Xin Saint were struck by the calamity lightning. Their bodies trembled, and they both fell to the ground.
Zhang Ruochen's physical body was powerful. All one hundred and forty-four apertures in his body were open, emitting a bright sacred light that resisted the power of the lightning.
However, Wan Xin Saint's body was not as strong. His skin was scorched black, like a piece of charcoal, with black smoke rising from his body.
"Sword Six."
Zhang Ruochen summoned a powerful sword intent, holding the Abyssal Ancient Sword horizontally with both hands. He pushed it forward, thrusting the sword toward Wan Xin Saint's back.
"Mysterious Era Finger."
Wan Xin Saint stomped his foot, leaping into the air. Turning midair, he formed a finger strike and shot it out, colliding with the Abyssal Ancient Sword.
"Pfft."
Sacred blood splattered from the tip of the sword.
The sacred power Wan Xin Saint had gathered completely collapsed. He was sent flying, and his right arm was shattered by the sword energy.
"No wonder Qing Yi Saint was killed by him with a single sword strike. The combination of the Abyssal Sword and Sword Six is truly unstoppable."
Knowing he was no match for Zhang Ruochen, Wan Xin Saint hesitated no longer. He activated an escape secret technique, bursting forth with five times his previous speed.
At such astonishing speed, even a Transcendent Realm Saint would be unable to catch up.
"Tear apart!"
Zhang Ruochen reached out with his hand, tearing through space and creating a rift dozens of zhang long, cutting off Wan Xin Saint's escape route.
They had already rushed out of Taiyin Ancient City, beyond the range of the Death God's Light, so he could naturally use the spatial rift technique.
Wan Xin Saint forcibly changed direction, avoiding the shattered space ahead.
"You can't escape." Zhang Ruochen let out a cold shout.
A black sword light flew from Wan Xin Saint's side, striking his neck and severing his head.
Even without his head, Wan Xin Saint did not die.
His headless body fired two sacred-level finger techniques, striking Zhang Ruochen's chest.
"Bang."
Zhang Ruochen was sent flying backward, crashing into the city wall of Taiyin Ancient City and embedding himself into it.
Wan Xin Saint's two finger strikes hit Zhang Ruochen's heart and lungs. Even with the Ten Saint Blood Armor's protection, the pain was immense. His throat tasted of blood, and blood flowed from his mouth.
His heart and lungs had suffered considerable damage.
"The deathbed counterattack of an Upper Realm Saint is truly terrifying," Zhang Ruochen thought to himself.
"Boom."
Thicker lightning descended from the calamity clouds, striking both Zhang Ruochen and Wan Xin Saint.
Zhang Ruochen withstood this bolt of lightning, but two explosive sounds reached his ears. He looked toward the source of the noise and saw, not far away, Wan Xin Saint's headless body and head both struck by lightning, exploding into a mist of blood.
A skeleton and a skull fell to the ground.
Another Upper Realm Saint had fallen.
Zhang Ruochen examined his injuries and found they were quite severe. He decided not to deal with the other Undying Blood Clan saints and focused entirely on enduring the tribulation.
He sat cross-legged on the ground, took healing pills, and while recovering, continued to resist the lightning tribulation.
Death Knight, Yao Sheng, and Elegant House Saint had all fled the area affected by the lightning tribulation, reaching a spot three hundred li away. They stood on a mountain ridge, gazing toward Taiyin Ancient City.
"Wan Xin Saint has been suppressed and killed! Zhang Ruochen is truly ruthless—even while undergoing his tribulation, he managed to kill a saint."
Yao Sheng felt a lingering fear, secretly glad that Zhang Ruochen hadn't been chasing him. Otherwise, even if he could withstand Zhang Ruochen's attacks, he would likely be struck dead by the lightning tribulation.
Elegant House Saint's expression was grim. "Zhang Ruochen is only a Second Calamity Quasi-Saint, and he's already this formidable. Once he passes the Third Quasi-Saint Calamity, his strength will surely reach another level."
"Then let's destroy him first."
Death Knight felt deeply humiliated. Dealing with a mere Quasi-Saint had already cost them three Upper Realm Saints.
If he couldn't kill Zhang Ruochen today, he would become a disgrace among the Death Knights.
Death Knight grabbed his blood-red spear, pouring all his sacred energy into it. Then, with both arms, he hurled it toward Taiyin Ancient City.
The spear flew like a meteor through the night sky, releasing blazing red flames, aimed directly at Zhang Ruochen, who was sitting beneath the city wall.
Just as the spear was about to pierce Zhang Ruochen, a black formation disk appeared in front of him.
The formation disk was over a hundred zhang in diameter, resembling a circular shield imprint.
The blood-red spear collided with the formation disk, its speed rapidly decreasing until it came to a complete stop.
The cultivators in Taiyin Ancient City all breathed a sigh of relief.
"A formation master has blocked the Death Knight's full-force strike."
"Good thing it was blocked. If that blood-red spear had landed, most of Taiyin Ancient City would have been destroyed."
...
Everyone thought a powerful figure from Liangyi Sect had arrived, but soon they noticed that beneath the circular formation disk stood a fat cat.
The fat cat was only about a foot tall, standing on its two hind paws while its front paws held up the formation disk.
Who would have thought it was the one who blocked the Death Knight's attack?
The black fat cat opened its mouth, revealing sharp teeth. "This Emperor doesn't show his power, and you think I'm a sick cat?"
The formation disk it held above its head actually absorbed some of the lightning from the calamity clouds.
Hundreds of purple lightning bolts appeared within the formation disk, which then flew up, pressing down toward the Death Knight, Yao Sheng, and Elegant House Saint three hundred li away.
"Is this the legendary cat that Zhang Ruochen keeps?"
Elegant House Saint had long heard that Zhang Ruochen had a very formidable cat by his side, so he didn't dare underestimate Xiao Hei.
He pressed his index and middle fingers together, channeling powerful spiritual power from his fingertips into a bronze disk.
The bronze disk flew out, colliding midair with the lightning formation disk.
Though Xiao Hei and Elegant House Saint were hundreds of li apart, they were locked in a magical duel, each trying to suppress the other.
"Rumble."
The bronze disk and the lightning formation disk clashed dozens of times, throwing the surrounding hundreds of li into chaos, with many places reduced to scorched earth.
"A cat? Is it really that fierce? It's evenly matched with a Silver Robe Elder from the Undying Divine Temple."
"Why haven't the big shots from Liangyi Sect arrived yet?"
"The calamity lightning is getting stronger. I wonder if Zhang Ruochen can withstand it."
The human cultivators in the city were all anxious, desperately hoping that a Liangyi Sect powerhouse would arrive soon and kill the Death Knight with overwhelming force.
But the Liangyi Sect powerhouse never came. The longer they waited, the more disappointed they became.
Seventy-two bolts of calamity lightning had already fallen. If Zhang Ruochen could withstand nine more, he would pass the Third Quasi-Saint Calamity, the Life-and-Death Calamity.
A female disciple of Liangyi Sect clenched her jade hands, holding her breath in tension. "I really hope Zhang Ruochen gets through the Life-and-Death Calamity soon and uses the Five Calamity Town Saint Talisman to wipe out the remaining Undying Blood Clan saints. That would be truly satisfying."
While Xiao Hei was occupied with Elegant House Saint, the Death Knight and Yao Sheng, standing three hundred li away, continuously launched attacks at Zhang Ruochen.
Shi Shenghua burst out of Zhang Ruochen's body, transforming into a ten-thousand-zhang-long vine, blocking the attacks from the Death Knight and Yao Sheng, buying time for Zhang Ruochen to undergo his tribulation.
However, both the Death Knight and Yao Sheng had higher cultivation levels than Shi Shenghua. They quickly severely injured her, scorching her vines and leaves black.
At the edge of the lightning tribulation zone, Huang Yanchen and Qing Mo stood in midair, stepping on clouds. Above their heads hung a bright moon.
Under the moonlight, Huang Yanchen's skin was more translucent than sacred jade, and her deep blue hair emitted specks of light, giving her a cold, ethereal aura.
Qing Mo bit her lip. "Princess, should we make a move? That fat cat alone can't hold off three saints."
"Wait a little longer. I want to see where his limits lie."
Huang Yanchen's gaze was calm as water, fixed on Zhang Ruochen sitting beneath the city wall. She wanted to know if he could resolve the crisis with his own strength.
Beneath the city wall of Taiyin Ancient City, Shi Shenghua's vines were almost completely destroyed, forcing her to retract back into Zhang Ruochen's body.
"Zhang Ruochen... I've done my best... From here on... you'll have to rely on yourself..."
Shi Shenghua's voice was extremely weak. After saying this, she fell into a deep slumber.
The Life-and-Death Calamity required enduring the baptism of eighty-one bolts of lightning. Zhang Ruochen had already withstood seventy-six, and he would soon get through it.
But if he continued to sit beneath the city wall undergoing his tribulation, he would surely be killed by the Death Knight and Yao Sheng.
At this point, he had no choice but to fight.
Zhang Ruochen suddenly stood up, locking onto the positions of the Death Knight and Yao Sheng. He took a step forward, using Great Space Teleportation to instantly reach over a hundred li away.
Then, he used Great Space Teleportation a second time.
"Zhang Ruochen was severely injured during the tribulation. He must be very weak now. Go intercept and kill him."
The Death Knight gave an order to Yao Sheng.
Yao Sheng wanted to curse the Death Knight. Everyone knew that even if Zhang Ruochen was weak, he still possessed the Five Calamity Town Saint Talisman. Whoever charged first would die first.
Clearly, the Death Knight was sending him to deal with Zhang Ruochen first, hoping to use him to waste Zhang Ruochen's Five Calamity Town Saint Talisman.
Knowing it was a suicide mission, why would Yao Sheng still charge forward?
Ignoring the Death Knight's order entirely, Yao Sheng activated an escape secret technique and simply fled.
"Coward."
The Death Knight clenched his fists, letting out an angry roar. In the end, he didn't bother chasing Yao Sheng and instead attacked the charging Zhang Ruochen.
...
(Note: Yesterday, I returned to my hometown to pay respects to my ancestors. After sitting in the car for several hours, I was very tired. So, I only started writing at 11 PM and posted very late. Now, it's 4:30 AM, and I've only finished two chapters. I can't write a third chapter—I'm too exhausted to continue. Time to sleep!)