# Chapter 1255: The Power of the Kitchen Knife
Nine rings of sound waves reached Zhang Ruochen's front, breaking through his Saint Soul Domain and shaking him backward nine steps. Each step he took caused a large area of ground to sink and collapse beneath his feet.
Zhang Ruochen steadied himself, once again propping up his Saint Soul Domain. At the same time, he activated the Ten Saint Blood Armor to wrap around his body.
Earlier, Zhang Ruochen had been worried that he might not be able to control the Nuanling Dragon Flame properly and would burn the Ten Saint Blood Armor, so he had put it away. Now, facing the Barbarian Dragon Young Lord who had broken through to a new realm, Zhang Ruochen had no choice but to don the Ten Saint Blood Armor once more.
The Barbarian Dragon Young Lord's roar rang out: "Zhang Ruochen, your time of death has come!"
One black and one yellow, two colors of Saint Qi surged from within the Barbarian Dragon Young Lord's body, spinning rapidly to form a massive vortex.
It was precisely the color of Xuanhuang Qi.
"Rumble!"
The vortex moved swiftly, in an instant charging to Zhang Ruochen's front.
From the center of the vortex, a black dragon claw extended outward, like a five-fingered mountain peak, striking toward Zhang Ruochen.
Zhang Ruochen looked up. The entire sky had darkened. In his field of vision, there were only scales the size of winnowing baskets pressing down rapidly. The entire space seemed to have frozen, making one feel suffocated.
"Break."
Zhang Ruochen fully mobilized his Space Rules, waved his hand in a slashing motion, tore open a Space Rift, and severed the dragon claw above.
The dragon claw dissipated, transforming into a wisp of dragon qi that flowed back into the vortex.
"It was only a wisp of dragon qi."
Zhang Ruochen's expression grew even more solemn.
The Barbarian Dragon Young Lord, having broken through to the Xuanhuang Realm, was truly unfathomable. Even a mere wisp of dragon qi possessed the power to suppress a Xuanhuang Realm Saint.
"Boom!"
"Boom!"
...
A series of nine dragon claws extended from the vortex, each one like a black mountain, all striking toward Zhang Ruochen.
Zhang Ruochen retreated while tearing apart space.
Yet one dragon claw still came at him from the edge of a Space Rift, striking Zhang Ruochen's body.
Zhang Ruochen mobilized the power of the Ten Saints, unleashing the Seven Orifices Blood Nether Palm, erupting with forty-eight times attack power, colliding with the dragon claw.
"Bang."
A mountain-toppling, sea-overturning force surged from the dragon claw, shaking Zhang Ruochen's blood qi into turmoil. His body flew backward in a straight line, continuing until he was over ten miles away before stopping.
All the saints of the imperial court drew in a breath of cold air, feeling horrified.
A Military Saint revealed an expression of amazement, saying: "So formidable! The Barbarian Dragon Young Lord's power is already comparable to half a Thorough Earth Realm Saint. With his current strength, could he be considered the number one among those sacred beasts of Ancestral Dragon Mountain?"
Wan Huayu said: "It's hard to say whether the Barbarian Dragon Young Lord is the number one powerhouse suppressed by Ancestral Dragon Mountain, but among the saints who entered Yin-Yang Sea, there are few who can contend with him."
Qi Sheng, Devouring Demon Dragon, Chi Wansui, Sui Han, and Zhang Ruochen indeed possessed extraordinary physiques and tremendous potential, but they were only at the Lower Realm Saint level. At least for now, they were no match for a powerhouse like the Barbarian Dragon Young Lord.
"Zhang Ruochen is in big trouble. Earlier, he chased the Barbarian Dragon Young Lord so miserably. How could the Barbarian Dragon Young Lord not retaliate?"
Although the sacred beasts of Jiuli Palace did not side with either party, they still hoped that the sacred beasts of Ancestral Dragon Mountain could suppress Zhang Ruochen, or at least not let a human steal the spotlight.
Xiao Hei transmitted a stream of spiritual power into Zhang Ruochen's ear: "Since we've already seized a Dragon Pearl, let's leave Dragon Fire Island now. There's no need to continue fighting with Ancestral Dragon Mountain."
Zhang Ruochen let out a soft sigh. It had originally been an excellent opportunity, one that could have wiped out Ancestral Dragon Mountain entirely. Who could have imagined that the Barbarian Dragon Young Lord, fighting desperately, would actually break through to a new realm?
Zhang Ruochen transmitted a stream of spiritual power to Xiao Hei: "We can't leave just yet. Ao Xinyan hasn't come out of the volcano yet. Have Qing Mo come over to help me."
With no other options, Zhang Ruochen could only let Qing Mo make a move now.
Although that girl was very timid and rarely fought with others, her actual strength was indeed quite formidable.
Within the formation, Xiao Hei slapped his forehead, saying: "How could I have forgotten about her?"
"Who?" Huang Yanchen asked.
"The princess of the Divine Dragon Half-Human Clan, Ao Xinyan." Xiao Hei said.
A strange expression flickered in Huang Yanchen's eyes, and she said: "So it's her. No wonder Zhang Ruochen wasn't willing to bring me along to Yin-Yang Sea. There really is an unknown reason."
Xiao Hei couldn't be bothered to explain to Huang Yanchen. That kind of matter was best left for Zhang Ruochen to explain himself. He said: "You withdraw the Realm Son Seal. This emperor will activate the Heavenly Battle Fire God Formation and continue suppressing the five sacred beasts of Ancestral Dragon Mountain. Qing Mo, girl, you go help Zhang Ruochen and hold off the Barbarian Dragon Young Lord."
"I... I won't go. Even Zhang Gongzi can't defeat the Barbarian Dragon Young Lord. How could I... how could I possibly defeat him?"
Qing Mo's face was somewhat pale, appearing timid and fearful, not daring to fight the Barbarian Dragon Young Lord.
In the end, Huang Yanchen stepped forward and whispered a few words to Qing Mo, after which Qing Mo nodded and agreed.
However, Qing Mo was still quite terrified. Even her walking was somewhat weak in the legs. It took her a long time to walk out of the concealment formation.
When Zhang Ruochen entered the volcano, Xiao Hei had been setting up formations, including the Heavenly Battle Fire God Formation. This Heavenly Battle Fire God Formation was more complete than the one used against Xue Zhen Yaoji, and its power was naturally even greater.
After Huang Yanchen withdrew the Realm Son Seal, Xiao Hei immediately activated the Heavenly Battle Fire God Formation, causing the earth within a ten-mile radius to burn with blazing flames. The five sacred beasts of Ancestral Dragon Mountain were all trapped within the formation.
On the other side, Zhang Ruochen and the Barbarian Dragon Young Lord engaged in fierce combat, with neither able to do anything to the other.
As long as Zhang Ruochen was unwilling to fight, even encountering a Thorough Earth Realm Saint would not harm him.
Within the massive vortex, the Barbarian Dragon Young Lord let out an angry roar: "Zhang Ruochen, if you have the guts, don't run. Fight me head-on, this saint!"
Zhang Ruochen stopped, fixed his gaze on the vortex suspended in midair, and laughed: "With my current cultivation, I truly cannot deal with you. Once I break through to the Middle Realm Saint level, I will definitely come back to fight you. Today, I have other matters to attend to, so I can only ask a new friend to spar with you."
With that, Zhang Ruochen glanced behind him, fixed his eyes on Qing Mo, and said: "With your strength, dealing with it shouldn't be a problem, right?"
Qing Mo shook her head vigorously, her voice trembling slightly, and said with a bitter expression: "It's better if... if you fight it. I'll support you from behind..."
"There's no need to be so afraid. Just think of it as an ingredient. I've heard that pure-blooded Barbarian Dragon meat is quite delicious." Zhang Ruochen said.
"Really?"
Qing Mo's eyes lit up. She pulled out a kitchen knife, gripped it in her hand, and stared at the massive vortex above. She revealed an eager expression, showing her teeth in a smile: "I've never used pure-blooded saint-level Barbarian Dragon to make dishes before. I'm just a bit worried I might not be able to defeat it."
The kitchen knife in her hand was imprinted with some strange patterns, very much like a divine diagram, emitting specks of silver light.
The Barbarian Dragon Young Lord sneered: "Zhang Ruochen, are you insulting this saint? Having a little girl whose hair hasn't even grown out fight this saint? It seems I need to show you my true strength."
"Roar."
A furious roar came from within the vortex.
Then, an enormous cyan battle axe rose from the vortex and slashed down fiercely. Over a hundred dragon shadows flew out from the blade's edge. The momentum was such that it seemed it would split the entire Dragon Fire Island in two.
The air on Dragon Fire Island seemed to have been sucked dry. All the saint-level beings fixed their gaze on that giant axe, feeling an invisible oppressive force pressing down on their heads.
"As expected of the ancestral artifact of the Barbarian Dragon Clan. What terrifying power fluctuations!"
"With the power of the ancestral artifact, the Barbarian Dragon Young Lord's strike is enough to clash head-on with some Thorough Earth Realm Saints."
"Zhang Ruochen missed his chance to escape. Even if he uses his space power now, he might not be able to get away. The Barbarian Dragon Young Lord's strike is shaking space itself. Space power cannot be used freely."
...
Zhang Ruochen, however, appeared quite calm. His gaze shifted to Qing Mo.
Qing Mo rolled up her sleeves, revealing a section of snow-white forearm. The kitchen knife in her hand spun rapidly, the silver light it emitted growing brighter and brighter, before it transformed into a beam of silver light that flew out.
"Bang."
The kitchen knife collided with the cyan giant axe, instantly cutting the giant axe in two.
The kitchen knife's momentum did not diminish. It flew into the vortex and struck the center.
With a "puchi" sound, a large patch of blood mist spread from the center of the vortex, followed by a miserable cry from the Barbarian Dragon Young Lord: "My... ear..."
The vortex shattered and dissipated in midair.
The Barbarian Dragon Young Lord's figure was revealed. Blood was streaming from its head. One of its dragon ears had been cut off and fallen to the ground.
When it saw the broken axe lying on the ground, its heart collapsed even further. It let out a mournful roar: "Destroying my ancestral artifact, cutting off my dragon ear! Today, you are dead!"
Qing Mo had just retrieved her silver kitchen knife when she was startled by the Barbarian Dragon Young Lord's roar. She looked at Zhang Ruochen with a pleading expression, saying: "Can you please stay? What if it beats me to death?"
Zhang Ruochen found it somewhat laughable and cry at the same time. Clearly, her strength far surpassed the Barbarian Dragon Young Lord's, yet she was still afraid of it. He really didn't know what to say to her.
"I'll leave this place to you. I have other matters to attend to."
Zhang Ruochen transformed into a blurry afterimage, charging rapidly toward the volcano.
Arriving at the volcano's summit, Zhang Ruochen looked down the mountain.
The Barbarian Dragon Young Lord was indeed chasing Qing Mo, but it couldn't catch up to her at all. Instead, its other dragon ear was also cut off by Qing Mo's knife.
"Qing Mo's true strength is truly unfathomable. She is probably not inferior to the two Divine Maidens of the Earth Divine Temple and the Undying Divine Temple."
Zhang Ruochen had originally been worried that Qing Mo wouldn't be able to handle it, but now it seemed his concern was completely unnecessary.
Suddenly, a layer of blue light fire emerged from below the volcanic crater, growing brighter and brighter, and the temperature it emitted also grew higher and higher.
Zhang Ruochen's expression changed, and he quickly retreated backward.
"Swoosh——"
Black Li Prince transformed into a black beam of light, fleeing out of the volcanic crater like an escape. Behind it, a three-zhang-long blue fire dragon was chasing.
Black Li Prince had failed to collect it and had instead suffered quite serious injuries. Its body was like a piece of charcoal, its tail had melted away, leaving it with only half its life as it fled at top speed.
The mature Nuanling Dragon Flame possessed extremely high intelligence. It closely pursued Black Li Prince, both of them charging into the high sky.