Chapter 1273: Smashing to Death
Seeing only Ao Xinyan and not Huang Yanchen, Zhang Ruochen was extremely worried, his heart burning with urgency and his killing intent surging. Without a moment's hesitation, he charged toward the Python-Jiao King, forming hand seals with both palms as blood energy radiated outward from his body, transforming into a cloud of blood.
With a single palm strike, the seven apertures in his palm shone like seven stars.
The palm force transformed into a hurricane, slamming into the Python-Jiao King's body, causing it to stagger backward, sliding across the ice.
"Just the palm wind is this powerful? Is Zhang Ruochen really still only at the Lower Realm Saint level?"
The Python-Jiao King no longer dared to underestimate Zhang Ruochen. Sacred energy within its body churned violently, surging into its legs and arms, which transformed into massive dragon claws wreathed in crimson flames.
Four patches of fire clouds melted the ice, forming a lake dozens of miles wide, its waters boiling.
Zhang Ruochen's palm strike tore through the fire clouds and struck the Python-Jiao King's body. A bone-cracking sound followed as one of its right claws snapped and hung limp.
"How can he be this strong? I can't even withstand a single palm strike?"
The Python-Jiao King realized that Zhang Ruochen's power was terrifying. A single palm strike felt like five great mountains crashing down on it—utterly unstoppable.
Abandoning any thought of a direct confrontation, the Python-Jiao King turned to flee.
"Where do you think you're going? Stay right here." Zhang Ruochen activated Spatial Displacement, stepping forward. In the next instant, he appeared above the Python-Jiao King's head and pressed down with another palm.
The Python-Jiao King's face changed. It let out a long roar, releasing sound waves that formed layered attack waves. At the same time, Xuanhuang Qi surged from its pores, carrying a wild, primal force as it reverted to its true form.
Its true body was over eight hundred meters long, with four claws, resembling both a dragon and a serpent. Its tail coiled like a pillar of flame, lashing out at Zhang Ruochen.
Ignoring the sound wave attacks, Zhang Ruochen passed through the rippling layers and struck diagonally with his palm, cutting into the Python-Jiao King's tail and leaving a wound over ten meters long, nearly severing it.
The Python-Jiao King howled in pain and fled even faster.
"Young Lord Manlong, aren't you going to make a move?" the Python-Jiao King roared deeply.
If Young Lord Manlong didn't show up soon, the Python-Jiao King would have to use an escape secret art to flee, unwilling to fight Zhang Ruochen alone any longer.
"You're utterly useless, getting injured this easily. No wonder you can't evolve into a true dragon."
Young Lord Manlong stood over twenty meters tall, like a giant, wielding a black battle axe as he charged across the ice plain. Each step covered hundreds of zhang, shaking the ground.
The battle axe Young Lord Manlong had once used was destroyed by Qing Mo. This new one was unearthed from an iceberg in the Abandoned Deep Sea and was of a higher grade, an ancient sacred artifact of immense power.
Recently, Young Lord Manlong had also encountered a stroke of fortune, advancing his cultivation further, with combat power nearing that of a Thorough Earth Realm Saint.
When he was about ten miles from Zhang Ruochen, Young Lord Manlong leaped like a cannonball, gripping the axe with both hands and swinging it downward.
The dozen-meter-long battle axe instantly lit up with thousands of inscriptions, releasing waves of Thousand Ripple Annihilation Force. Those destructive energies interwove into a cloud mass.
The axe blade grew enormous, bursting from the cloud and slashing down at Zhang Ruochen below.
Young Lord Manlong's combat power was astonishing. Ao Xinyan was deeply worried and called out, "Leader, be careful..."
The ice plain rumbled and began to sink.
"Zhang Ruochen, you're dead! Haha!"
The Python-Jiao King laughed as it fled.
Zhang Ruochen snorted, reaching his hand into the void. A sword's cry rang out as the Abyssal Ancient Sword appeared in his palm. He swung it upward.
A black sword shadow hundreds of meters long rose from the ground.
Tens of thousands of sharp sword energies swirled around the shadow, filling the sky.
"Boom."
The cloud mass formed by the Thousand Ripple Annihilation Force was torn apart by the sword energies as the Abyssal Ancient Sword clashed with the battle axe.
"Crack." A fissure appeared in the battle axe, and streams of essence surged out from the gap, flowing into the Abyssal Ancient Sword's blade.
"How is this possible?"
Young Lord Manlong's face twisted in horror, as if witnessing the most terrifying sight in the world.
That battle axe was a formidable ancient sacred artifact, taken from the corpse of a True Saint. Young Lord Manlong had planned to use it to dominate all comers, yet it had cracked in its very first battle.
With the Abyssal Ancient Sword's current power, ordinary ancient sacred artifacts were no match for it.
"Bang."
The battle axe shattered completely, scattering into metal fragments and a mass of black essence.
The Abyssal Ancient Sword absorbed all the fragments and essence, its sword light intensifying as it slashed toward Young Lord Manlong.
The Python-Jiao King was stunned into paralysis. Zhang Ruochen was too monstrous—nothing could stop him.
Without any hesitation, the Python-Jiao King activated a secret art, igniting the blood in its body to burst forth at several times its normal speed, fleeing with all its might.
With this secret art, even a True Saint couldn't catch it.
A spatial fluctuation appeared ahead, and Zhang Ruochen stepped out from a series of ripples, saying, "I told you, you can't escape. Why bother trying?"
Zhang Ruochen's figure flickered, landing on the Python-Jiao King's head. He struck down seventeen palm seals in succession, shattering its protective light barrier and splitting its skull into pieces.
"Bang." The Python-Jiao King collapsed to the ground, dead.
In another direction, Young Lord Manlong was wounded by the Abyssal Ancient Sword, a bloody gash across its back.
"Zhang Ruochen, your fiancée has probably already been captured by Lord Devouring Demon Dragon. And you dare to kill a sacred beast of the Ancestral Dragon Mountain? Do you know what you're about to face?" Young Lord Manlong said.
Zhang Ruochen said nothing, recalling the Abyssal Ancient Sword into his hand. Then, merging with the sword, he transformed into a black light and charged at Young Lord Manlong.
"Whoosh."
The black light streaked past, leaving a ten-zhang-deep trench that extended all the way to Young Lord Manlong.
"I am not the Python-Jiao King. You can't kill me."
Bright dragon runes appeared on Young Lord Manlong's body, each scale bearing one.
These runes connected into a spell.
The dragon runes on its body were inscribed by a Saint King of the Manlong clan, called the "Dragon-Solidifying Spell." It possessed formidable defensive power. Once activated, even a True Saint would need multiple strikes to break through.
Only pure-blooded dragon royalty enjoyed such treatment.
Young Lord Manlong's wings also had the Dragon-Solidifying Spell, but it hadn't had time to activate it before Zhang Ruochen killed it unexpectedly with the Time Sword Art—a tragic death.
"Bang."
Zhang Ruochen's sword strike failed to breach the Dragon-Solidifying Spell, blocked by it.
Each dragon rune forming the spell looked like a coiled dragon, emitting golden light like a golden bell jar, making Young Lord Manlong's entire body gleam with gold.
"It's useless. I have the Dragon-Solidifying Spell to protect me. Below the True Saint level, I am invincible. I can kill others, but no one can kill me."
Young Lord Manlong gathered all its strength and punched out, striking the Abyssal Ancient Sword.
A metallic clang rang out as Zhang Ruochen was sent flying backward, landing several miles away.
The Manlong clan was renowned for its strength across the world. At the same cultivation level, few races could match them in raw power. That punch had unleashed force comparable to a Thorough Earth Realm cultivator's attack.
"I recall that not long ago, you were howling in pain while being beaten by a little girl. At that time, your Dragon-Solidifying Spell didn't seem to do much good," Zhang Ruochen said.
Hearing this, Young Lord Manlong's eyes blazed red with fury.
That battle with Qing Mo was the greatest shame of its life—utterly dominated, with no chance to fight back.
"That was no little girl! It was clearly a ferocious plant that had cultivated for tens of thousands of years. The silver kitchen knife in her hand was definitely a Divine Relic Ancient Artifact. Even the Dragon-Solidifying Spell couldn't stop it," Young Lord Manlong roared.
"Breaking your Dragon-Solidifying Spell isn't difficult for me either," Zhang Ruochen said.
"Arrogant talk. Die!"
Young Lord Manlong's hand transformed into a dragon claw, striking downward.
That dragon claw, wrapped in golden spell runes, was dozens of times larger than Zhang Ruochen's entire body.
Zhang Ruochen didn't dodge. Dragon roars and elephant trumpets sounded from within his body as he struck upward with his palm, colliding with the dragon claw.
"Crack."
The glacier beneath his feet shattered, and his body was pressed downward by the claw's force.
"When it comes to strength, you're still far behind," Young Lord Manlong laughed.
"Break!"
Purifying Divine Flame surged from Zhang Ruochen's palm, burning the golden spell runes. In moments, the runes dissolved into wisps of golden dragon energy and scattered.
"This is impossible... What kind of flame is this? How is it more terrifying than Nuanling Dragon Fire?"
Young Lord Manlong's dragon claw was touched by the Purifying Divine Flame and couldn't withstand it. The claw caught fire and turned to ash.
Young Lord Manlong acted decisively, severing its own arm to prevent the cyan flames from spreading across its body.
Then, it activated an escape secret art and fled into the distance.
"You can't escape."
Zhang Ruochen blocked Young Lord Manlong's path, swinging his sword and cutting it down. A long, bloody gash appeared across its abdomen, nearly splitting its body in two.
"Don't kill me! Your fiancée has likely been captured by the Devouring Demon Dragon. Spare my life, and I can be a bargaining chip in your negotiations with it."
Knowing it couldn't escape, Young Lord Manlong begged for mercy.
"I don't need bargaining chips," Zhang Ruochen said.
"Then we'll die together! We'll all perish here!"
Young Lord Manlong's expression twisted with malice as it triggered the dragon pearl in its Qi Sea, intending to self-destruct and kill Zhang Ruochen on the spot.
Zhang Ruochen wouldn't give it the chance.
"Pfft."
The Abyssal Ancient Sword descended from above, piercing into Young Lord Manlong's body and pinning it to the ice plain. It also penetrated its Qi Sea, preventing the self-destruction.
At lightning speed, Zhang Ruochen extracted the dragon pearl from Young Lord Manlong's body and the jiao pearl from the Python-Jiao King's. Then, he rushed to Ao Xinyan's side and asked, "Where are Yanchen, Qing Mo, and Xiao Hei? Take me to them immediately."
(End of Chapter)