# Chapter 1237: Unknown Malevolent Spirit
"Where do you think you're going?"
The Death Knight leaped up from the back of the ground dragon, thrusting his long spear toward Zhang Ruochen.
Immediately, a blood-red light shuttle flew out from the spear tip.
The power unleashed by the long spear was extremely terrifying. With the light shuttle at its center, a halo like a ring of water ripples formed, causing the sky itself to boom and crack.
"Space Shift."
Zhang Ruochen's figure vanished from its original position, dodging the blood-red light shuttle.
"Boom!"
The spot where Zhang Ruochen had been standing—a stretch of land over two hundred meters wide—was struck by the blood-red light shuttle, collapsing and sliding into the sea.
Zhang Ruochen's figure reappeared above the ghost ship, landing on a piece of bone-like deck.
The Death Knight landed back on the ground, staring at the white figure standing on the ghost ship, a fierce and murderous look flashing in his eyes. "Space power again."
"That's right, space power."
The Death Knight had already let Zhang Ruochen escape once; naturally, he wouldn't allow him to escape a second time.
"Hmph! Even if you can use space power, today you are doomed to die."
The Death Knight thrust his long spear into the ground, channeling the sacred qi within his body and injecting it into the Ten Saint Blood Armor. Instantly, ten saintly shadows flew out, standing in ten different positions.
At the same time, he raised both arms horizontally, clenching his fists.
"Hundred Mile King Killing Fist."
Combining the power of the ten saints, the Death Knight unleashed a sacred art-level fist technique, exploding with forty-two times the attack power.
Two fist imprints, as massive as small mountains, flew forward. Instantly, the seawater between the land and the ghost ship churned violently, as if it would surge up to the nine heavens above.
To Zhang Ruochen, those were no mere fist imprints—they were no different from two burning meteorites.
"What a terrifying sacred art. Even a Mysterious Yellow Realm saint would likely be obliterated."
Zhang Ruochen did not use the Five Calamities Saint-Suppressing Talisman. Instead, he wanted to rely on his own power to withstand the Death Knight's attack.
Though risky, it was worth a try. After all, he was now a martial saint himself, far stronger than before.
"Time Saint Aspect."
"Space Saint Aspect."
Zhang Ruochen slowly raised his arms. Then, the Time Saint Aspect and Space Saint Aspect manifested on his left and right sides, resembling two massive vortexes.
Pushing both arms forward, the Time and Space Saint Aspects flew out, colliding with the two massive fist imprints.
"Boom!"
The two fist imprints shattered, turning into two clouds of blood mist.
Zhang Ruochen felt a surging, mountain-toppling force spread outward. His body was uncontrollably thrown backward, crashing into the interior of the ghost ship.
Zhang Ruochen didn't know what he had struck, but amid the black evil qi, a loud "bang" echoed.
Immediately afterward, the thousands of spectral shadows on the ghost ship seemed startled, all awakening and letting out piercing wails and cries.
"With his cultivation level, he actually managed to block my Hundred Mile King Killing Fist." The Death Knight found it hard to believe.
The Death Knight's own physique was exceptionally powerful, comparable to a saintly body among humans. At the same cultivation level, even if not invincible, he was among the very top.
The Death Knight's cultivation had reached the peak of the Mysterious Yellow Realm. With the power of the Ten Saint Blood Armor added, he could kill an ordinary Mysterious Yellow Realm saint with a single spear thrust.
Yet Zhang Ruochen, who had just stepped into the saint realm, had blocked his attack without dying.
How could that not be shocking?
"The power of time and space truly defies common sense. No wonder the temple ordered us to eliminate him at all costs. Once this child grows up, he will surely become a great enemy of our clan," said Yashe Saint.
"After him."
The Death Knight and Yashe Saint each spread two pairs of blood wings from their backs, turning into two streaks of blood light as they flew toward the ghost ship.
At the edge of the Yin-Yang Sea, it wasn't too dangerous. They could fly, and moments later, the Death Knight and Yashe Saint boarded the ghost ship from its stern.
Although Zhang Ruochen had blocked the Hundred Mile King Killing Fist, he had still sustained some injuries.
Zhang Ruochen climbed up from the ground. All around him was black mist, making it difficult to see anything beyond ten zhang.
"The mist is poisonous and carries a strong yin-cold evil qi."
Zhang Ruochen circulated his sacred qi, and immediately, seventy-two layers of saintly light appeared.
Each layer of saintly light was like a defensive barrier. Any living being wanting to kill him would first have to pierce through all seventy-two layers.
The reason Zhang Ruochen could withstand the Death Knight's full-force strike and only suffer minor injuries was entirely due to the seventy-two layers of saintly light.
Only by cultivating certain special techniques and reaching the Half-Saint or Saint realm could one develop protective saintly light.
After releasing the saintly light, the black mist could no longer approach Zhang Ruochen. However, the light was so intense that it attracted a ghostly shadow.
It wasn't a ghostly fiend—just a shadow.
Yet Zhang Ruochen sensed an aura from it even more terrifying than the Death Knight's, making every hair on his body stand on end.
"What kind of evil entity is this?"
Zhang Ruochen held his breath, gripping the Abyssal Ancient Sword, entering a state of high alert.
"Heh heh."
The shadow let out a sinister laugh and then suddenly vanished.
It didn't truly disappear—it was just moving too fast, beyond what Zhang Ruochen's eyes could track.
Like a conditioned reflex, Zhang Ruochen quickly swung his sword, sending a crescent-shaped sword light slashing upward.
"Boom!" The Abyssal Ancient Sword struck as if hitting an iron wall, numbing Zhang Ruochen's arm.
Immediately, twelve black tentacles shot down from above, wrapping around the sword's blade, attempting to seize the Abyssal Ancient Sword.
The power unleashed by the black tentacles was immense. Zhang Ruochen quickly infused sacred qi into the sword, using the Thousand Ripple Annihilation Force to shatter the twelve black tentacles.
Then, Zhang Ruochen withdrew the seventy-two layers of saintly light, activated the Ten Saint Blood Armor, and fled at top speed.
The shadow pursued closely, spitting out a tentacle that struck Zhang Ruochen's back.
Zhang Ruochen felt as if his five viscera and six bowels were about to shatter. Blood continuously flowed from his mouth, but he dared not stop, still running for his life.
"Heh heh."
The shadow attacked again, spitting out twelve tentacles that cut off all of Zhang Ruochen's escape routes.
"Space Shift."
Zhang Ruochen lightly leaped, vanishing from among the twelve tentacles.
The next moment, Zhang Ruochen emerged from space into a sealed cabin. He knelt on one knee, gasping heavily, sweat dripping to the floor.
"This really is a ship of death. A random shadow that ran out is already this terrifying. What exactly was that thing?" Zhang Ruochen felt a lingering fear.
The shadow he had just encountered defied his understanding. He had no idea what it was.
It was neither a living creature nor a ghostly fiend.
Hiding in the cabin, Zhang Ruochen took a Fengchun Pill. Before long, his injuries had fully healed.
"I randomly chose a direction and used Space Shift. I have no idea where on the ghost ship I've ended up."
Zhang Ruochen closed his eyes, releasing his spiritual power to probe. However, he found that on the ghost ship, his spiritual power was also suppressed, only able to sense things within thirty zhang.
Instead, he sensed Xiao Hei's location.
This sensation had nothing to do with spiritual power.
That fat cat, of course, hadn't died. Zhang Ruochen didn't know when it had boarded the ghost ship. However, it was over two hundred li away from him—quite a distance.
The ghost ship's hull was over seven hundred li long, like a dragon corpse floating on the water. On the corpse, some ancient structures had been built—decks, cabins, halls, sails, and so on.
Though it was a ship, it was no different from an island or a mountain range.
After the Middle Ages, the Kunlun Realm had never seen a living being with such a massive body. Even the ancient remains excavated from underground couldn't compare to it.
Perhaps only the legendary body of a divine dragon could be so enormous.
"Two hundred li—too far. I'd better not go out and wander around. If I run into another unknown malevolent creature, I might not escape again."
Zhang Ruochen didn't go to reunite with Xiao Hei. Instead, he stayed in the cabin to consolidate his cultivation realm.
Here, at least, it was relatively safe.
With Zhang Ruochen's current cultivation, plus the Ten Saint Blood Armor and the power of time and space, if he used them perfectly, he could contend with weaker Mysterious Yellow Realm saints.
But it wasn't enough.
At least, against a powerhouse like the Death Knight, Zhang Ruochen still had a considerable gap.
"My comprehension of the *Wordless Sword Manual* has reached the first level of Sword Seven. If I can cultivate Sword Seven to Great Perfection, it should elevate my strength to a higher level."
Cultivating Sword Seven to Great Perfection would be enough to be titled a Sword Saint.
From this, it was clear that the power of Sword Seven far exceeded Sword Six.
Sword Seven was divided into ten levels. Zhang Ruochen had only just begun.
"With my current spiritual power intensity, I should be able to withstand the memories and sacred dao insights of the sixth life from the *Seven Lives Seven Deaths Diagram*."
As long as he merged with the sixth life, Zhang Ruochen believed his sword dao attainments would surely see new improvement.
"Master, give me a sacred source first. I need to absorb nutrients to increase my strength," said the Sacred Devouring Flower, her voice soft and melodious, transmitting into Zhang Ruochen's mind.
Since he had already become a saint, Zhang Ruochen had no fear of the Sacred Devouring Flower's backlash. He directly took out three sacred sources and handed them to her.
The Sacred Devouring Flower let out a delighted sound: "Thank you for the reward, Master. As long as I can absorb these three sacred sources, my strength will be enough to contend with Mysterious Yellow Realm saints."
Zhang Ruochen ignored the Sacred Devouring Flower, focusing entirely on merging with the memories and sacred dao insights of the sixth life.
...
(Sigh, I must inform you: from the 14th to the 18th, the Writers' Association has arranged a trip to the Baima Tibetan area for cultural field collection. During this time, I can only update one chapter per day. If something like this happens again, I definitely won't run around! Little Fish truly wants to focus on writing.)
(Chapter End)