Chapter 1297: Repelling
The two female saints had both reached the Xuanhuang Realm, and after using their combined attack techniques, their combat power became even stronger.
However, the Undying Blood Clan had a total of five Blood Saints: three Xuanhuang Realm saints and two Upper Realm peak saints. They held an absolute numerical advantage, one that could not be reversed by the combined attack techniques of the two women.
The two female saints had spent years in the palace and possessed high cultivation levels. Yet, their mental fortitude was far inferior to that of Blood Saints who constantly lived on the edge of death. Faced with such a dangerous situation, they could not remain calm, and their hearts were on the verge of collapse.
The female saint named Yuan Su was already severely injured. Seeing the Blood Saints staring at her with naked, lecherous gazes, fear and despair filled her heart. She could not muster even a shred of will to survive. Clenching her teeth, she said, "Sister Li, try to break through. If it's truly impossible, I will have no choice but to self-destruct my Sacred Source and take them all down with me."
The Blood Saint wielding the scythe let out a deep laugh. "With the five Saint Realm powerhouses of the Undying Blood Clan here, she still wants to break through? Aren't you being a bit too naive?"
"Rustle."
The five Blood Saints each produced a Sacred Artifact, suspending them in midair to seal off the area and prevent the uninjured female saint from escaping.
At the same time, if Yuan Su truly self-destructed her Sacred Source, the five Sacred Artifacts could form a defensive barrier, suppressing the destructive power of the explosion to a certain extent.
The bald Blood Saint wore a lecherous grin on his face, exuding an eerie, sinister aura. He no longer waited and charged toward the two female saints.
The Blood Saint wielding the scythe remained stationary, but he infused his Saint Qi into the black scythe.
Every time the black scythe swept through the air, it left behind a long trail of sinister energy, causing the space itself to tremble slightly.
The female saint Liu Li had to protect the severely injured Yuan Su while also dealing with two Saint Realm powerhouses of the Undying Blood Clan. She simply could not hold on. Her situation became extremely dire, fraught with danger, and she narrowly avoided being struck several times.
Qing Mo bit her lip tightly, looking at Zhang Ruochen with pitiful, pleading eyes. "Young Master..."
Zhang Ruochen gave a faint, bitter smile. If he hadn't seen it, he might have been too lazy to get involved. But how could he turn a blind eye to something happening right before his eyes?
"Go ahead."
Zhang Ruochen nodded.
Qing Mo's face lit up with joy. She transformed into a slender green shadow and rushed toward the two female saints.
The five Blood Saints had long noticed two humans standing nearby. The three who hadn't acted were all on guard against Zhang Ruochen and Qing Mo.
As Qing Mo charged forward, one of the Blood Saints, a short, stocky man, let out a strange laugh and moved to intercept her.
"Little girl, you should just stay on the sidelines and enjoy the show. Getting involved in this won't do you any good."
The short Blood Saint didn't take Qing Mo seriously at all, thinking she was just a little girl.
"Slap."
Before they even made contact, still a dozen zhang apart, the short Blood Saint was sent flying by a palm strike from Qing Mo from a distance. His skin burst open, and a large amount of blood sprayed out, a truly miserable sight.
However, the Undying Blood Clan's vitality was indeed incredibly strong. The short Blood Saint didn't die, but his body was a bloody mess, writhing and wailing in pain on the ground.
The other four Blood Saints were all startled. They hadn't expected that little girl to possess such formidable strength.
At the same time, their gazes shifted to Zhang Ruochen, curious if this frail, sickly-looking man might be even stronger.
When they looked, they were shocked.
With their cultivation levels, they couldn't even clearly make out the face of that sickly man. He was probably another formidable figure.
The bald Blood Saint and the scythe-wielding Blood Saint both stopped, no longer attacking. Instead, they warily watched Qing Mo and Zhang Ruochen.
Yuan Su and Liu Li were severely injured and had already been in despair, ready to self-destruct their Sacred Sources together and take the five Blood Saints down with them. But the appearance of Zhang Ruochen and Qing Mo gave them a glimmer of hope.
Now, their gazes were also fixed on this strange pair: a sickly young man and a girl of about ten years old. Neither looked like a powerful figure.
The scythe-wielding Blood Saint could tell that Zhang Ruochen held a higher status than Qing Mo, so he addressed him directly, speaking coldly, "You'd best mind your own business, lest you bring death upon yourself."
Zhang Ruochen walked over and chuckled. "Honestly, I didn't want to meddle either, but for some reason, I just can't stand the Undying Blood Clan. What do you think I should do?"
An older Blood Saint, with white hair and a white beard, let out a hoarse laugh. "If you can't stand it, then you have to endure it. Young man, I advise you to flee Immortal Machine Mountain immediately. You might still save your life. Going against the Undying Blood Clan never ends well. That Heir of Time and Space from your human race—wasn't he too arrogant and ended up a cripple? Even if you're stronger, can you compare to him?"
Hearing this, even Qing Mo grew quite angry.
But Zhang Ruochen remained calm, showing no significant emotional change. He extended a hand, and from each of his five fingers, a bolt of purple lightning shot out. The five bolts coalesced into a sharp, long spike.
The severely injured Blood Saint had recovered somewhat, his skin gradually healing. He had just gotten up from the ground...
"Whoosh—"
Zhang Ruochen flicked his wrist, and the lightning spike in his hand flew out, piercing through the Blood Saint's sacred body.
The power contained in the lightning spike was extremely fierce, melting the Blood Saint's sacred body into a pile of ash. Only a blood-red Sacred Source remained, glittering on the ground.
"A lightning-elemental Spiritual Power Saint."
All the saints present changed their expressions.
"So what if he's a Spiritual Power Saint? I'll kill him anyway."
The bald Blood Saint raised both hands, and two surges of vast Saint Qi flowed from his palms, pouring into a bell-shaped Sacred Artifact. The bell-shaped Sacred Artifact grew larger and larger, its diameter exceeding a hundred meters. Purple flames erupted from it as it spun rapidly, pressing down toward Zhang Ruochen.
The bell-shaped Sacred Artifact was a powerful Thousand-Mark Sacred Artifact called the Cloud-Swallowing Bell, ranking high on the list. The destructive force it released was terrifying, causing the faces of the two female saints to turn even paler.
The opponent wielded a top-tier Thousand-Mark Sacred Artifact like the Cloud-Swallowing Bell. Even if they self-destructed their Sacred Sources, they probably couldn't take them down with them.
The bald Blood Saint bared a mouthful of sharp teeth and laughed wildly. "Regretting it now, aren't you? Too late."
"The Cloud-Swallowing Bell is a decent Thousand-Mark Sacred Artifact, but in your hands, it can't unleash its true power."
Zhang Ruochen shook his head slightly, looking at the bald Blood Saint as if he were an idiot. He said calmly, "Qing Mo, cut him down."
Qing Mo spread her hands, and a mass of green, infinite sacred flame appeared between her jade-white palms. The infinite sacred flame was like a divine lamp, illuminating the entire area in green.
The infinite sacred flame condensed into the shape of a bell and flew out, colliding with the Cloud-Swallowing Bell.
"Rustle."
The flame passed through the Cloud-Swallowing Bell and landed on the bald Blood Saint. Immediately, his skin and flesh began to burn, emitting black smoke.
"Ah... Infinite Sacred Flame... It's Infinite Sacred Flame..."
The bald Blood Saint was terrified, screaming in agony. He quickly circulated his Saint Qi, using a divine communication technique, offering his own blood to the gods to stimulate his body's potential, trying to suppress the Infinite Sacred Flame.
To be fair, the bald Blood Saint was indeed battle-hardened and knew how to save his life.
Unfortunately, Zhang Ruochen wasn't going to give him a chance to live. He condensed another lightning spike in his hand and shot it out, piercing through the bald Blood Saint's chest, leaving a black, cracked hole.
"Boom."
The bald Blood Saint died in the end, his body falling stiffly to the ground.
Zhang Ruochen said to Qing Mo, "When you kill someone, you should be decisive. Never give them a chance to counterattack. Just now, if that Blood Saint had successfully used his divine communication technique, offering his blood as a sacrifice, he could have multiplied his combat power several times, even tenfold. If he had succeeded, it would have been a considerable nuisance for us."
Qing Mo stuck out her tongue. Though she seemed somewhat dismissive, she still took Zhang Ruochen's words to heart. She attacked again, going after the remaining three Blood Saints.
In an instant, two more Blood Saints died. The remaining three knew that Zhang Ruochen and Qing Mo were ruthless characters. How could they dare to stay any longer? They immediately used their fastest movement techniques to flee into the mist.
Zhang Ruochen sent out a lightning blade, slashing in one direction.
From the mist came a muffled groan.
Qing Mo chased after them. A moment later, she returned to Zhang Ruochen's side and shook her head gently. "They all escaped. One of them was probably seriously injured by you—there's a lot of blood on the ground."
Zhang Ruochen was somewhat disappointed. "With your cultivation level and my support, we should have been able to keep them all here. But we only killed two and injured one."
Qing Mo pouted, a bit dissatisfied. "I'm just a cook, not a professional killer. Your expectations of me are too high."
Zhang Ruochen let out a silent laugh. "Forget it. Everyone has their own strengths. I won't force you."
Using his telekinesis, Zhang Ruochen collected the two Sacred Sources and the Cloud-Swallowing Bell, then left with Qing Mo.
"Please wait, young master."
Liu Li suppressed her injuries, supporting Yuan Su as she limped after them. She clasped her hands together and said, "We are Liu Li and Yuan Su of the White Feather Twelve Saints under Martial Saint Canglan. Thank you for your help, young master."
Zhang Ruochen glanced at them, nodded, and simply said, "Mm." Then he continued on his way.
A look of urgency appeared in Liu Li's eyes. She quickly added, "We were surrounded by a large number of Undying Blood Clan members and split into six groups to break out. The fate of our other sisters is unknown. Martial Saint Canglan is also fighting four Tongtian Blood Saints alone—things look grim for him too. Young master, please, help us."
"I'm sorry, but I have serious injuries and can't help you," Zhang Ruochen said.
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