Chapter 1290: Before Leaving
Zhang Ruochen's spiritual power characteristic was the manipulation of lightning, representing attack and combat among spiritual power cultivators.
However, Zhang Ruochen had previously only cultivated the most basic lightning-type spells and possessed only low-level spiritual power artifacts. Even with a spiritual power intensity reaching the fifty-second rank, he was among the weakest of spiritual power cultivators at the same level.
"Sizzle, sizzle."
Zhang Ruochen's right palm opened, and strands of lightning as thin as silk appeared in the center of his hand, interweaving into a spherical shape, emitting a purple glow.
First-level spell: Ball Lightning.
Zhang Ruochen did not release the spell. Under the control of his spiritual power, the lightning dissipated and became formless.
Then, Zhang Ruochen mobilized his spiritual power again to examine the state of the Devouring Demon Flower.
When Zhongying King shattered the three meridians within Zhang Ruochen's body, he had also severely wounded the Devouring Demon Flower, causing it to fall into a dormant state from which it had yet to awaken.
Fortunately, the Devouring Demon Flower had been heavily injured; otherwise, given Zhang Ruochen's current condition, he might not have been able to suppress it.
Huang Yanchen had long since returned to the valley. Standing not far away, seeing Zhang Ruochen's good mental state, a faint smile appeared on her beautiful face. "Your injuries seem to have improved somewhat?"
"Not bad. My spiritual power has just increased a bit."
Zhang Ruochen didn't want her to worry, so he maintained an optimistic attitude and asked, "According to the Madman, that Saint Alchemy Grandmaster lives in Heifeng County, Hongchuan Prefecture. How far is that from our current location?"
Zhang Ruochen was in a hurry, eager to reconnect his three meridians as soon as possible.
Huang Yanchen said, "The Northern Domain is divided into thirty-six prefectures. Hongchuan Prefecture is located in the central part of the Northern Domain and is the prefecture where the fiercest battles between the Undying Blood Clan and the imperial army are taking place. Our current location is Ningfeng Prefecture, in the northern part of the Northern Domain, which has been fully occupied by the Undying Blood Clan."
"An entire prefecture has been occupied?"
Hearing this, Zhang Ruochen's mood grew somber.
After the establishment of the First Central Empire, the world was divided into prefectures and counties for governance. The entire Northern Domain had only thirty-six prefectures, each further divided into thirty-six counties.
Even a single county's territory was vast, spanning over a hundred thousand miles.
After centuries of peace and prosperity, humanity had multiplied, leading to a population explosion. A single county had at least tens of billions of people.
A prefecture covered a million miles of territory, with a population exceeding a hundred billion.
For an entire prefecture to be occupied by the Undying Blood Clan was an astonishing event. Countless humans had died, reduced to white bones, or turned into livestock raised by the Undying Blood Clan to provide a steady supply of blood.
Huang Yanchen's expression turned serious. "In fact, ten prefectures in the Northern Domain have already fallen completely. The ten major tribes of the Undying Blood Clan each occupy one prefecture. Moreover, the ten tribes are mobilizing their forces, preparing to conquer more prefectures and counties. Right now, the most fiercely contested prefecture is Hongchuan Prefecture. It's said that all ten major passes of Hongchuan Prefecture have been stained red with blood, the fighting has turned the sky dark and the earth dim, and both the Undying Blood Clan and the imperial army have suffered heavy casualties."
"How long has it been, and ten prefectures have already fallen? What is the imperial army doing?" Zhang Ruochen said coldly.
Huang Yanchen sighed. "The First Central Empire has been at peace for centuries. The children of aristocratic families and powerful clans have become indulgent and lazy, rarely experiencing life-and-death battles. How can they compare to the bloodthirsty Undying Blood Clan? Moreover, the Undying Blood Clan has incredibly strong vitality, giving them a significant advantage. On the battlefield, they can continuously absorb blood to recover their injuries, maintaining full combat effectiveness."
After a pause, Huang Yanchen added, "However, after a year or two of intense fighting, the combat effectiveness of human cultivators has clearly improved by a level. They can now stand against the Undying Blood Clan, no longer collapsing at the first clash."
Zhang Ruochen was a major criminal of the imperial court and a mortal enemy of the Empress, but he was not a cold-blooded person. He could not remain indifferent to the slaughter of humans, treated as food.
"Counting the time, the Confucian path and the internal purge of the imperial court should be over. Within the next few days, Shengshu Cainü will probably release the 'Blood Clan Secret Records' to the world."
Zhang Ruochen thought to himself that once the "Blood Clan Secret Records" were released, the war situation would surely change.
At the same time, Zhang Ruochen considered that he should quickly brew the Six Saints Ascension Wine to strengthen the physique of all humanity and cultivate more powerful warriors.
Only half-saints and saints were the pillars supporting a race, the main force.
Soon, Zhang Ruochen let out a bitter laugh. He himself was now a half-crippled man, with no guarantee of recovery, yet he was still thinking about doing things for all of humanity. Wasn't that a bit overreaching?
"For now, I'll set these aside. Among humanity, there are countless powerful figures far more capable than me. They will handle these problems. Right now, reconnecting my three meridians and restoring my cultivation is the most important thing." Zhang Ruochen laughed at himself.
Then, Zhang Ruochen asked, "Has the battle at Yin-Yang Sea reached a conclusion?"
Huang Yanchen nodded solemnly. "The Divine Dragon Sun-Moon Chaos Tower has emerged. The most top-tier beings of the Kunlun Realm have all fought over it, making the desolate secret realm even more turbulent."
Zhang Ruochen had already guessed as much, but hearing about the emergence of the Divine Dragon Sun-Moon Chaos Tower still shook him. He quickly asked, "Who ultimately seized the Divine Dragon Sun-Moon Chaos Tower?"
"Do you remember that mysterious being sealed on the stone bridge? He came back to life, seized the Divine Dragon Sun-Moon Chaos Tower, defeated emperor-level existences from various major forces, and became the ruler of Yin-Yang Sea." Huang Yanchen said.
"So it was him."
Zhang Ruochen found it hard to believe, then asked, "Any news about Xiao Hei?"
Huang Yanchen shook her head. "Xiao Hei hasn't contacted us, and there's no news about him from the outside world."
"What about the Undying Bird?"
Zhang Ruochen didn't believe Xiao Hei had fallen. He suspected that the Undying Bird might be him.
Huang Yanchen said, "Witnesses claim that the Undying Bird was injured by that supreme being of Yin-Yang Sea and fled into the wilderness. There's been no news since."
Zhang Ruochen fell silent. After a moment, he forced a smile and asked, "Any news about me? Has the news that Zhongying King crippled my three meridians spread across the world?"
"Don't worry about that. Focus on healing. Only when your injuries are fully recovered can you do what you want."
Huang Yanchen didn't tell Zhang Ruochen about the outside world, afraid he might be provoked, lose his composure, and worsen his injuries.
Zhang Ruochen could sense that Huang Yanchen was hiding something from him, but he didn't press further. She was right—given his current physical condition, he should focus all his energy on recovery.
Without healing, he would be powerless to do anything.
"Let's go. Head to Hongchuan Prefecture."
Zhang Ruochen stood up and, together with Huang Yanchen and Qing Mo, walked out of the cave piled with dried corpses. They stood in the blood-mist-filled valley, their eyes fixed on the blood pool at the bottom.
About sixty half-saints of the Undying Blood Clan were sitting around the blood pool, cultivating, inhaling and exhaling blood energy, their auras growing stronger.
Feeling the killing intent emanating from Zhang Ruochen, Huang Yanchen knew what he was thinking. "This valley is built near Langxin County City. Around the county city, nearly a million Undying Blood Clan troops are stationed. Three Blood Saints are stationed in the army. With our cultivation, as long as we aren't surrounded by the army, we can easily escape unscathed."
"Before leaving, let's teach the Undying Blood Clan another lesson. It's a good chance to test my current spiritual power attack methods."
Zhang Ruochen walked lightly toward the bottom of the valley.
The Undying Blood Clan half-saints, sensing the human's presence, stopped cultivating and looked at Zhang Ruochen and the other two in surprise.
"What human dares to break into Wanxin Valley? Don't you know this is forbidden ground?"
An Undying Blood Clan half-saint stood up, grabbed a blood-red crystal spear, and shot toward Zhang Ruochen's heart like lightning.
"Whoosh!"
Zhang Ruochen waved his finger lightly, mobilizing his spiritual power to slash out an electric blade, cutting the half-saint in two. The two halves of the body turned charred black, all life force drained away. Even as an Undying Blood Clan member, he was thoroughly dead.
"How dare you!"
All the Undying Blood Clan half-saints were enraged, activating their saintly energy. Some began casting sacred arts, while others summoned sacred artifacts.
Zhang Ruochen pointed a finger at the sky. The spiritual energy of heaven and earth converged above his head, condensing into countless lightning bolts.
Before the Undying Blood Clan half-saints could unleash their sacred arts or artifacts, the lightning bolts rained down upon them.
"Boom, rumble!"
The entire valley was covered in lightning. All the dried corpses turned to ashes, and even the stones and soil melted into droplets.
By the blood pool, a large number of Undying Blood Clan half-saints fell. Twenty or thirty of them were annihilated, while the rest were severely wounded, lying on the ground gasping for breath.
When a spiritual power saint clashed with a martial saint of the same level, the advantage wasn't particularly obvious.
However, the most formidable aspect of a spiritual power saint was the ability to fight multiple opponents at once. Especially on the battlefield, their destructive power far surpassed that of martial saints. If used well, they could even change the outcome of a war.
If it were a martial saint trying to take down dozens of half-saints, it wouldn't be as easy as Zhang Ruochen had done.
Zhang Ruochen looked at the electric light in his palm, then at the fallen Undying Blood Clan half-saints, and sighed lightly. "I really should cultivate some advanced spells. Using a first-level spell, I couldn't even wipe them all out."
"Which spiritual power saint has come to Langxin County? Let this saint meet you!"
Outside Wanxin Valley, a furious roar rang out.
Then, a vast expanse of blood mist surged from afar, hovering above the valley. A powerful saintly energy fluctuation emanated from the blood mist, and a four-winged Blood Saint stepped out.