Chapter 1252: Yinghuo
The lightning power released by the Five Calamity Saint-Suppressing Talisman was extremely violent and fierce, covering the entire Dragon Fire Island and turning it into an ocean of thunder, emitting a continuous roar as if it intended to destroy all living beings on the island. Faced with such might, even Saint-level beings felt a chill in their hearts.
Immortal Consort's willow-leaf brows slightly raised, and she extended a slender jade finger, pointing upward. A powerful surge of spiritual power erupted forth.
In an instant, the heaven and earth spiritual energy on Dragon Fire Island, like countless streams, all converged at her fingertip, condensing into a layer of light barrier that appeared above the saints of the imperial court.
The light barrier, like a layer of white gauze, seemed quite fragile, yet it withstood the attack of the Five Calamity Saint-Suppressing Talisman. Thick pillars of lightning struck the light barrier, like raindrops falling on a lake, merely creating tiny ripples.
The area beneath the light barrier was exceptionally calm, like a different world compared to the outside. All the saints of the imperial court secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
"The attack of the Five Calamity Saint-Suppressing Talisman is something even a Heaven-Connecting Realm Saint dares not take head-on. If not for the Life Goddess making a move, some of us would surely have fallen."
Their gazes fixed on Immortal Consort's beautiful back, filled with reverence and envy. Truly worthy of being the Life Goddess of the Earth Palace, and no wonder she became one of the Nine Heavens Mysterious Maidens. Her spiritual power was indeed unfathomable, effortlessly neutralizing the Five Calamity Saint-Suppressing Talisman's attack with such ease.
Of course, it was also because the Five Calamity Saint-Suppressing Talisman covered a wide area, weakening its power, that she could block it so easily. If the talisman had concentrated its attack on a single point, even Immortal Consort, as strong as she was, would have had to retreat.
In the Undying Blood Clan's camp, the three Death Knights, clad in Ten Saint Blood Armor, flew up, hovering ten zhang above the ground. They gripped their long spears and roared in unison: "Death God's Light."
"Whoosh."
Three circles of blood-red light surged from within their bodies, overlapping to form a protective dome over the Undying Blood Clan saints below.
The three Death Knights, empowered by the Ten Saint Blood Armor and the Death God's Light, transformed into human shields, enduring the assault of the Five Calamity Saint-Suppressing Talisman.
The sacred beasts of the Ancestral Dragon Mountain and the Jiuli Palace were not so fortunate. They were struck by lightning, fleeing in panic with their heads covered, their skin torn and flesh exposed. They quickly dug into the rock, burrowing deep into the ground, barely managing to save their lives.
"Zhang Ruochen, don't think you can succeed. Die!"
"Heaven-Piercing Dragon Thorn."
The Barbarian Dragon Young Lord and the Winged Dragon Young Lord, with their profound cultivation, used ancestral artifacts to protect their bodies and continued their assault, preventing Zhang Ruochen from collecting the Nuanling Dragon Fire.
The Barbarian Dragon Young Lord, with his single arm, lifted the cyan great axe and exerted force, spinning it like a windmill.
Suddenly, he released his grip, and the cyan great axe flew out spinning, passing through pillars of lightning to strike Zhang Ruochen, who was suspended in midair.
Not far away, the Winged Dragon Young Lord opened his mouth and spat out a golden dragon thorn.
The dragon thorn, like a white rainbow piercing the sun, shot upward.
Zhang Ruochen was at a critical moment in collecting the Nuanling Dragon Fire, fully focused on controlling the Sacred Dao rules. The five-zhang-long blue fire dragon gradually shrank, flying toward his brow.
At this moment, Zhang Ruochen dared not be distracted in the slightest. Facing the attacks of the two Dragon Clan young lords, he had no choice but to summon the Devouring Saint Flower to block them.
The Devouring Saint Flower burst forth from Zhang Ruochen's body, extending vines dozens of miles long. The petals at the top of the vine unfurled and collided with the cyan great axe.
"Bang."
The impact force of the cyan great axe was immense. The Devouring Saint Flower could not dodge and had to take it head-on, naturally unable to withstand it. The flower burst, and over a dozen petals fell from the sky.
The Devouring Saint Flower let out a mournful cry, severely injured, and retreated back into Zhang Ruochen's body.
However, thanks to the Devouring Saint Flower's resistance, the cyan great axe's trajectory was deflected, flying past Zhang Ruochen's right side and into the clouds.
Meanwhile, the Heaven-Piercing Dragon Thorn launched by the Winged Dragon Young Lord was twisted by Zhang Ruochen's spatial distortion, slightly altering its path. It flew past the edge of his waist without directly hitting him.
But the wind force carried by the dragon thorn struck Zhang Ruochen's abdomen like a heavy punch, sending him flying upward over a dozen zhang.
Zhang Ruochen felt a sharp pain in his abdomen, and a bitter, fishy taste surged into his throat.
He was injured!
Fortunately, he was wearing the Ten Saint Blood Armor. Otherwise, the injury from that blow would have been far more severe, and he might have failed in his endeavor.
"Once I collect the Nuanling Dragon Fire, it will be your death."
"Collect!"
Zhang Ruochen widened his eyes and roared, exerting all his strength to draw the blue fire dragon into his brow and store it in his Qi Sea.
Immediately, his entire body turned blue, with fire patterns like dragon scales flowing across his skin, appearing extraordinarily mystical.
"Zhang Ruochen actually managed to collect a mature Nuanling Dragon Fire into his body."
The Winged Dragon Young Lord looked incredulous, clasping his hands together and mobilizing all his Saint Qi, intending to unleash a Sacred Art.
"Crack."
At that moment, a crisp sound of shattering came from above his head.
Oh no.
The Winged Dragon Young Lord looked up and saw that the ancestral artifact protecting him, the Twin Dragon Bone Pearl, had been split by lightning, forming a crack.
Then, with a bang, the Twin Dragon Bone Pearl exploded into a cloud of bone dust.
Without the protection of the ancestral artifact, the lightning released by the Five Calamity Saint-Suppressing Talisman struck the Winged Dragon Young Lord.
"Pfft."
The first bolt of lightning struck, piercing through the Winged Dragon Young Lord's dragon wing, leaving a black hole. The power of the lightning made his wing seem to catch fire.
The second bolt struck the Winged Dragon Young Lord, causing him to shudder all over, letting out a low groan, turning from head to tail completely charred black.
As lightning struck continuously, the Winged Dragon Young Lord was torn open, his skin and flesh exposed. He could no longer unleash Sacred Arts and had to dig into the rock, burrowing deep underground to hide.
The Barbarian Dragon Young Lord's protective ancestral artifact had also shattered. He was even worse off than the Winged Dragon Young Lord, with all his scales melted by the lightning, looking like a black loach hiding in a crevice of the rock.
"What a formidable Heir of Time and Space. He actually managed to collect a mature Nuanling Dragon Fire." The Demon Heaven Crown Prince's pupils showed a look of astonishment.
The Demon Heaven Crown Prince, six meters tall, covered in black demonic patterns, wielded the seven-meter-long Emperor-Slaying Demon Sword. He charged out of the defensive circle formed by the three Death Knights, leaping up from the dense lightning.
Zhang Ruochen had not yet fully subdued the Nuanling Dragon Fire. This was the best moment to kill him. How could the Demon Heaven Crown Prince let this opportunity slip?
The Demon Heaven Crown Prince spread his two pairs of dark red fleshy wings and flew rapidly toward Zhang Ruochen.
"Boom."
A lightning pillar as thick as a bowl struck the Demon Heaven Crown Prince.
A shocking scene unfolded. The demonic patterns on the Demon Heaven Crown Prince's body emitted a dazzling light, forming a defensive net. The lightning slid off his body, unable to harm him.
"Emperor-Slaying Demon Sword, Heavenly Demon Emerges."
The Demon Heaven Crown Prince flew above Zhang Ruochen, gripping the sword with both hands, and with all his strength, slashed downward.
As the war sword descended, thirty-six streams of demonic Qi flew out from the sword body, coalescing into a Heavenly Demon phantom. The phantom, thirty-six zhang tall, merged its hands together into a sword shape and also struck down at Zhang Ruochen.
At that moment, Zhang Ruochen's eyes snapped open, shooting out two blue flame beams: "Well done. You've been attacking all this time. Now it's my turn."
Zhang Ruochen raised his right arm, his arm, wrist, and fingers completely enveloped in blue flames. He struck out with a palm, colliding with the edge of the Emperor-Slaying Demon Sword.
"Boom."
Blue flames and black demonic Qi formed two rings of energy ripples, spreading rapidly in all directions. Wherever the energy ripples struck, all mountain peaks collapsed.
Zhang Ruochen's full-powered palm strike, carrying the Nuanling Dragon Fire, was incredibly violent and fierce.
Unable to withstand the immense palm force, the Heavenly Demon phantom shattered with a loud crash. In the Demon Heaven Crown Prince's pupils, the shape of the palm grew larger and larger. Then, struck by the palm, his body shook violently, blood spurted from his mouth, and he was sent flying like a kite with a broken string.
Below, the saints of the imperial court and the Undying Blood Clan were all stunned by the scene, their hearts pounding wildly.
The Demon Heaven Crown Prince had already achieved a physical saint body, collected eleven wisps of Nuanling Dragon Fire, and wielded the ancient sacred artifact of the Demon Heaven Tribe, the Emperor-Slaying Demon Sword. Yet he couldn't withstand a single palm strike from Zhang Ruochen?
"Even the Qitian Crown Prince couldn't defeat the Demon Heaven Crown Prince in one move. Just how strong is Zhang Ruochen?"
"At the same cultivation level, is Zhang Ruochen truly without an opponent?"
...
Beneath Zhang Ruochen's feet, a phoenix and a crane materialized, granting him incredible speed. He caught up to the Demon Heaven Crown Prince, channeling a surge of sword intent, concentrating it on his fingertip, and pressed down.
In front of his finger, the Nuanling Dragon Fire dispersed and condensed into a three-foot-long flame war sword.
The Demon Heaven Crown Prince gritted his teeth and hastily raised his sword to block, but he was once again sent flying, his internal injuries worsening.
A wisp of Nuanling Dragon Fire landed on the blood armor on the Demon Heaven Crown Prince's chest, emitting a hissing sound. Even a defensive treasure like the Ten Saint Blood Armor was burned with a shallow mark by the Nuanling Dragon Fire.
It was conceivable that with more Nuanling Dragon Fire, it could certainly burn through the Ten Saint Blood Armor.
"Still not dead? One final strike, Dragon Roaming the Nine Heavens."
Zhang Ruochen executed the tenth palm of the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Palm, transforming into a golden divine dragon. The dragon radiated brilliant Buddha light, extending two massive dragon claws to press down on the Demon Heaven Crown Prince.
On the dragon claws, a layer of blue flame appeared, flowing with patterns of dragon scales.
After subduing the Nuanling Dragon Fire, the power of the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Palm had reached a new level.
Zhang Ruochen intended to use this strike to completely kill the Demon Heaven Crown Prince, preventing him from growing into a formidable enemy in the future.
"Whoosh—"
Between the two dragon claws and the Demon Heaven Crown Prince, a vortex spontaneously formed, releasing a powerful twisting force. It actually neutralized the tenth palm of the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Palm and even flung the golden divine dragon away.
The golden divine dragon flew dozens of miles away before transforming back into Zhang Ruochen's form.
Zhang Ruochen neutralized that force and steadied himself, a look of surprise on his face. He stared at the vortex suspended in midair and said, "Another spiritual power expert. Who are you?"
At the center of the vortex, a slender figure slowly emerged, standing above the vortex, and smiled seductively: "Undying Divine Temple, Yinghuo. Greetings to the Heir of Time and Space. Hehe."
On the ground, Suihan heard the name "Yinghuo" and pondered for a moment before suddenly lifting his head and exclaiming, "She is the Undying Divine Maiden of the Undying Divine Temple, Yinghuo?"