Chapter 1254: Seizing the Dragon Pearl
Including the Devouring Demon Dragon, a total of twelve sacred beasts from Ancestor Dragon Mountain had entered the Yin-Yang Sea. Aside from Xue Zhen Yao Ji and Xuan Wei Sacred Beast, who had died at Zhang Ruochen's hands, three more sacred beasts had been burned to death underground while attempting to collect Nuan Ling Dragon Fire. Now, only seven sacred beasts remained.
These seven sacred beasts were all at least at the Upper Realm Saint level, with the strongest reaching the peak of the Xuan Huang Realm. Their physiques were exceptionally formidable—some were descendants of divine beasts, some were ancient remnant species, and others were pure-blooded dragon clansmen. Even an Upper Realm Saint-level sacred beast possessed the terrifying power to suppress a Xuan Huang Realm Saint. The fact that they could follow the Devouring Demon Dragon into the Yin-Yang Sea was proof of their extraordinary nature.
However, all seven sacred beasts had sustained varying degrees of injury and were currently in a rather weakened state. This was the perfect opportunity to eliminate them.
"Barbarian Dragon Young Lord, Winged Dragon Young Lord, why don't you come out and face your death?"
Zhang Ruochen strode forward with the Abyssal Ancient Sword in hand, a series of sharp sword energies advancing alongside his steps. His aura grew stronger and stronger.
Earlier, Barbarian Dragon Young Lord and Winged Dragon Young Lord had attacked him most ferociously, determined to kill him. At that time, Zhang Ruochen had been fully focused on collecting the Nuan Ling Dragon Fire and couldn't afford to be distracted, so he could only passively endure their attacks. Now that he had successfully collected the Nuan Ling Dragon Fire and could fight without restraint, he naturally intended to settle the score with these two dragon clan young lords.
"Zhang Ruochen, your greatest reliance, the Devouring Saint Flower, has been severely wounded, and your ultimate trump card, the Five Calamities Saint-Suppressing Talisman, has been used up. Yet you still dare to step into the camp of Ancestor Dragon Mountain? Are you seeking death?" Barbarian Dragon Young Lord sneered.
Winged Dragon Young Lord glanced at Zhang Ruochen and said indifferently, "You've only collected a single strand of Nuan Ling Dragon Fire, and you think you're invincible under heaven? You can't even control the Nuan Ling Dragon Fire freely yet, can you?"
Not long ago, Barbarian Dragon Young Lord had clashed with Zhang Ruochen underground and was very familiar with his strength. Thus, he wasn't afraid of him.
Barbarian Dragon Young Lord continued, "You've also suffered considerable injuries, haven't you? If I were you, I'd obediently hide in a corner to recover, or tuck my tail between my legs and flee Dragon Fire Island, rather than come here to humiliate yourself. Do you think you can take revenge? Your cultivation is still far from sufficient."
The sacred realm beings from the imperial court and the Nine Li Palace were watching Zhang Ruochen's every move, and they all felt he was being too reckless. No matter how strong an individual was, how could they possibly match seven sacred beasts? Moreover, none of those seven sacred beasts were simple characters—their combat prowess was formidable.
Among the crowd, only Wan Huayu had considerable confidence in Zhang Ruochen. She didn't think he was humiliating himself; perhaps he could accomplish a feat that ordinary people couldn't. The image of Zhang Ruochen single-handedly fighting nineteen beast kings in the Azure Dragon Ruins Realm still surfaced in her mind from time to time, having left a deep impression on her.
Zhang Ruochen locked eyes with Barbarian Dragon Young Lord and said lightly, "Is that so? Then I'll cut you down first."
"Boom."
The sword intent within Zhang Ruochen's body exploded like a thunderclap, surging into the Abyssal Ancient Sword. The Abyssal Ancient Sword trembled, let out a sword cry, and transformed into a streak of black light, shooting toward Barbarian Dragon Young Lord's brow.
"You actually dare to make a move? Then I, this Saint, will destroy you first."
Even in human form, Barbarian Dragon Young Lord stood over twenty meters tall, a one-armed giant. He opened his mouth and roared, shaking the very heavens and earth in this area. He lifted a cyan-colored giant axe beside him, over ten meters long, and poured sacred qi from his body into it without pause. Thousands of ancient patterns emerged on the axe, surging out from the blade to form a cyan light barrier that extended from the ground to several hundred meters in the air.
"Boom."
The Abyssal Ancient Sword struck the light barrier, sending sword energy flying in all directions, but only produced a loud noise—it couldn't penetrate it.
A disdainful expression appeared in Barbarian Dragon Young Lord's eyes. "Zhang Ruochen, now you see my true strength, don't you? With your current cultivation, you can't even break through my defense... What?!"
Before Barbarian Dragon Young Lord could finish his words, he saw Zhang Ruochen flying up from behind and striking the hilt of the Abyssal Ancient Sword with his palm. Nuan Ling Dragon Fire surged from his palm, spreading through the sword body and onto the cyan light barrier.
"Bang."
The cyan light barrier shattered. Barbarian Dragon Young Lord's expression changed drastically, and he quickly swung his giant axe to meet the incoming Abyssal Ancient Sword.
The giant axe in Barbarian Dragon Young Lord's hand was no ordinary weapon—it was an ancestral artifact, tempered by the sacred power of successive generations of Barbarian Dragon clan sacred dragons, containing immense dragon qi. With one swing of the axe, over a hundred dragon shadows flew out from the blade.
The two weapons clashed violently, and the Abyssal Ancient Sword was sent flying.
However, before Barbarian Dragon Young Lord could feel triumphant, Zhang Ruochen used a spatial displacement technique and appeared directly above his head, striking down with his palm.
"How is this possible..."
Barbarian Dragon Young Lord executed a movement technique, shaking his body violently to dodge the blow to his vital head area. But Zhang Ruochen's palm still struck his shoulder.
"Crack."
The bones in his shoulder shattered, and a finger-wide bloody gash spread from his chest to his back. His arm went limp and dropped, and the cyan giant axe fell to the ground.
A low, muffled groan escaped Barbarian Dragon Young Lord's mouth as he hastily retreated.
"Do you still think your strength is so remarkable now?"
Zhang Ruochen naturally wouldn't give Barbarian Dragon Young Lord a chance to catch his breath. He extended his arm, retrieved the Abyssal Ancient Sword, and dragged a long sword energy infused with Nuan Ling Dragon Fire, slashing toward him.
"Zhang Ruochen, don't get too cocky! If I hadn't been severely injured earlier, how could you possibly be a match for me?"
Barbarian Dragon Young Lord gritted his teeth and executed a top-tier dragon clan movement technique, dodging quickly, not daring to touch the Abyssal Ancient Sword or the Nuan Ling Dragon Fire.
In truth, Barbarian Dragon Young Lord was quite shocked. The power Zhang Ruochen displayed was far greater than it had been underground. Even if he hadn't been injured, he might not have been a match for Zhang Ruochen. How had Zhang Ruochen's combat strength grown so much in such a short time? This kid's growth rate might even surpass that of the Devouring Demon Dragon.
"You'd better be careful—my sword carries Nuan Ling Dragon Fire. If even a trace touches you, you'll be burned to ashes, body and soul."
As Zhang Ruochen spoke, his attacks grew even faster.
Barbarian Dragon Young Lord was terrified, feeling the threat of death looming over him. He roared, "Won't any of you come and help me? Attack together and suppress Zhang Ruochen!"
Winged Dragon Young Lord sighed. "Can't even handle a mere Lower Realm Saint? You're a disgrace to the dragon clan."
Winged Dragon Young Lord didn't stand idly by. He stopped healing his injuries, spat out the Sky-Piercing Dragon Spike, grabbed it, and transformed into a streak of silver light, charging at Zhang Ruochen.
"Roar!"
The other five sacred beasts also stood up, emitting powerful sacred qi, ready to join the battle.
Just then, a patch of golden clouds appeared above the five sacred beasts, and a white divine seal as large as a palace descended from the sky, pressing down on them.
The Realm Son Seal.
A powerful imperial aura was released from the Realm Son Seal, like a hundred thousand mountains falling at once, suppressing the five sacred beasts so they couldn't move, forcing them to let out a series of angry roars.
All the saints present knew that Huang Yanchen had made her move again.
"The Realm Son Seal is indeed the most powerful weapon forged by the Empress, but it can't possibly be this strong. How can Huang Yanchen, at the Lower Realm Saint level, suppress five sacred beasts?"
"There must be more than just Huang Yanchen controlling the Realm Son Seal. Other powerful figures are hiding in the shadows, standing on the same side as Zhang Ruochen and Huang Yanchen."
The sacred realm beings who hadn't joined the battle were all searching for traces of Huang Yanchen, eager to know how many other powerful figures were hidden in the shadows.
Zhang Ruochen had beaten Barbarian Dragon Young Lord into a sorry state, forcing him to flee. He looked nothing like a dragon clan young lord—more like a drenched dog.
"Zhang Ruochen, when I break through to the Xuan Huang Realm, that will be your day of death."
Barbarian Dragon Young Lord's eyes were bloodshot as he roared in fury. Now that he was at a life-or-death juncture, he had no reservations. He mobilized the Nuan Ling Dragon Fire within him and went all out to break through to the Xuan Huang Realm.
"Zhang Ruochen, take this attack from me first."
Winged Dragon Young Lord's entire body emitted dazzling silver light, transforming into a silver orb that rolled toward Zhang Ruochen, buying time for Barbarian Dragon Young Lord to break through.
Winged Dragon Young Lord was no weakling. Although he was only at the peak of the Upper Realm Saint level, as a pure-blooded dragon clansman, he possessed the power to fight across realms and had once killed a Xuan Huang Realm sacred beast. If Zhang Ruochen continued attacking Barbarian Dragon Young Lord, he would definitely be hit by Winged Dragon Young Lord, and even if he didn't die, he would lose the strength to continue fighting.
Zhang Ruochen stopped in his tracks but didn't turn around. However, the corner of his eye swept behind him, and a killing light flashed through his pupils.
"Die."
Winged Dragon Young Lord burst out of the silver orb, gripping the Sky-Piercing Dragon Spike, and thrust it toward Zhang Ruochen's back. Yet Zhang Ruochen stood there motionless, not dodging at all.
Even the saints from the imperial court, standing far away, held their breath, showing tense expressions. They thought Zhang Ruochen was frozen in place by the powerful aura radiating from Winged Dragon Young Lord.
"Zhang Ruochen, why aren't you attacking? Even if you don't attack, you should at least dodge!" Wan Huayu's starry eyes widened as she watched the Sky-Piercing Dragon Spike get closer and closer to Zhang Ruochen. Even she was so nervous she could barely breathe, worried that Zhang Ruochen might really die under the dragon spike.
"Whoosh—"
In the next moment, all beings saw a blur before their eyes. Zhang Ruochen had vanished from his spot, his body seemingly transforming into a sword.
A pitch-black sword light flashed, and the entire Dragon Fire Island dimmed slightly.
"Plop."
Winged Dragon Young Lord's body was split in two by the sword light. Zhang Ruochen walked out from between the two halves of the corpse, holding his long sword, appearing calm and graceful. Only the sword in his hand still emitted a sharp light, inspiring fear.
"Sizzle, sizzle."
The sword carried Nuan Ling Dragon Fire, and the two halves of the dragon corpse ignited, quickly turning to ash.
Zhang Ruochen opened his left palm. In the center of his hand was a silver dragon pearl, which he had dug out from Winged Dragon Young Lord's body while killing him.
"With this pure-blooded sacred dragon's pearl, I should be able to break through to the Middle Realm Saint level."
Zhang Ruochen smiled slightly. But a moment later, his smile froze. He spun around sharply and stared at Barbarian Dragon Young Lord in the distance.
"Roar!"
An earth-shaking dragon roar erupted from Barbarian Dragon Young Lord's mouth, forming nine rings of sound waves that surged in all directions. Wherever the sound waves struck, all the rocks exploded. The three peaks closest to Barbarian Dragon Young Lord collapsed with a thunderous crash.
"Has he broken through to the Xuan Huang Realm?"
Zhang Ruochen's expression grew serious.
(Chapter End)