Chapter 1314: Quasi-Sword Saint
Canglan Martial Saint let out a light snort, sacred qi surging violently within her body. The pair of fiery wings on her back grew even hotter, her delicate form seeming to transform into a blazing sun.
She indeed made her move, attacking the Four-Sword Blood Saint.
On the other side, six female saints stood at six positions, once again forming a sword formation. Six beams of sacred light burst forth from within them, launching an assault on Miefeng Blood Saint.
"Do you really think you can contend with me?"
Miefeng Blood Saint let out a wild laugh, spreading his arms wide. A violent storm manifested between his hands, and then, pressing his palms forward, a chaotic force like a raging tempest collided with the sword formation.
"Boom."
The gap in their cultivation was too vast. In an instant, the sword formation was torn apart. The six female saints flew in all directions like fallen leaves, each sustaining some injuries.
Miefeng Blood Saint bared two rows of sharp teeth, laughing again as he strode toward two of the female saints. Reaching out his hands, he lifted them from the ground.
"Canglan Martial Saint, if you don't want them to die by my hand, you'd better put down your sacred sword immediately," Miefeng Blood Saint called out.
Canglan Martial Saint did not lower her sacred sword. Instead, she continued unleashing attack sword techniques, forcing the Four-Sword Blood Saint and the four sword slaves to retreat step by step.
The female saint held in Miefeng Blood Saint's right hand sneered mockingly, "Trying to use us to threaten the Martial Saint? You're dreaming. Since we've been defeated by you, we might as well die together."
With that, the two female saints attempted to self-destruct their sacred sources, only to find that all their meridians had been sealed by Miefeng Blood Saint, and the sacred qi within their bodies could not circulate at all.
"Since Canglan Martial Saint is so cold-blooded and heartless, you've lost all value in living. All of you, die."
Miefeng Blood Saint prepared to go on a killing spree, but at that moment, a powerful sacred might erupted behind him, and a dangerous aura rapidly approached.
"Another expert?"
Miefeng Blood Saint felt a chill on his back, a strong sense of crisis surging within him. He had no choice but to hurl the two female saints behind him as meat shields to block the sneak attack from the rear.
Just as he threw the two female saints out, Miefeng Blood Saint realized that the powerful energy fluctuation had appeared directly in front of him.
A sword light came straight at him, reaching his chest in an instant.
Unable to dodge, Miefeng Blood Saint had to mobilize all his sacred qi to his chest. A blood-red light pillar surged violently from that spot.
"Boom." The two forces collided fiercely, both the sword light and the blood pillar shattering simultaneously.
Miefeng Blood Saint staggered back three steps, leaving three deep footprints on the ground. A faint pain throbbed in his chest.
He looked ahead, an expression of extreme surprise on his face. "It's you."
Zhang Ruochen stood opposite Miefeng Blood Saint, clad in pure white robes, his long hair flowing. He exuded a sharp, distinctive aura, completely different from his previous weak and gentle demeanor.
He was the one who had just struck.
"Gu Songzi didn't deceive me after all. The three meridians have truly reconnected," Zhang Ruochen thought to himself.
After swallowing the Meridian-Binding Pill, Zhang Ruochen could feel the chaotic qi within him circulating rapidly through his sacred meridians and regular meridians alongside his sacred qi. Both his martial cultivation and physical strength had increased significantly.
The feeling of recovering his cultivation was incredibly comfortable, like a bedridden, dying man suddenly able to walk briskly, basking in the sunlight and fully enjoying the joy of life.
"As expected of a Heaven-Connecting Blood General. Even with a sneak attack, I still couldn't gain the slightest upper hand."
Miefeng Blood Saint had retreated three steps, but Zhang Ruochen had retreated even farther.
No wonder Qiu Lanshan, with his Heaven-Connecting realm cultivation, had fled immediately upon seeing a Heaven-Connecting Blood General appear. The gap in strength between the two was truly enormous.
The six female saints were all stunned, their eyes fixed on Zhang Ruochen.
"He's also a martial saint."
"And he can force Miefeng Blood Saint back three steps. Even if he hasn't reached the Heaven-Connecting realm, he's definitely at the peak of the Earth-Penetrating realm."
"Unbelievable. I always thought he was just a spiritual power saint."
...
Miefeng Blood Saint laughed. "Your strength is decent, but the gap between us is still huge. In five moves, I can kill you."
"Don't be too sure of yourself."
Zhang Ruochen reached out with his finger and grasped the void. Spiritual energy from heaven and earth converged, condensing into a four-foot-long white sword. "Form the formation."
The six female saints were taken aback.
However, as saint realm figures, their reaction speed was beyond ordinary. They immediately used their movement techniques to gather with Zhang Ruochen and form a sword formation.
Liu Li Female Saint said, "Young Master, we'll use the sword formation to attack him head-on. You just need to cooperate and hold him off for a moment. Once the Martial Saint finishes off the Four-Sword Blood Saint, the situation will turn around."
"No need for that trouble. I'll lead the sword formation from now on."
Zhang Ruochen shifted his stance twice, raising his long sword horizontally, and instantly merged with the sword formation formed by the six female saints.
The six-person sword formation became a seven-person sword formation, its power greatly enhanced, and the area it covered doubled.
The six female saints were shocked again, exchanging glances.
How could he be so proficient in their sword formation? Had he studied it before?
That couldn't be right. Even if he had studied the formation before, without long practice and coordination with them, he couldn't have integrated into it so quickly.
Though extremely surprised, the six female saints were also quite delighted. Zhang Ruochen's strength far surpassed theirs, and his addition to the formation would undoubtedly increase its power significantly, perhaps enough to contend with a Heaven-Connecting Blood General.
"No formation can withstand absolute power. Annihilation Storm."
Miefeng Blood Saint raised his hands again, executing a sacred technique. Between his palms, a massive blood-red storm vortex formed, emitting a deafening roar.
As he unleashed the storm, heaven and earth spun, and even the formation inscriptions of the Great Saint's remnant formation snapped one after another.
Zhang Ruochen's gaze was calm as still water. With a movement of his long sword, the sword formation began to operate. The sacred swords of the six female saints, beyond their control, merged with Zhang Ruochen's sword as he slashed out in one strike.
The blood-red storm was torn apart. Sword qi flew out like raindrops, striking Miefeng Blood Saint's body with a series of thumping sounds.
Miefeng Blood Saint retreated continuously, stopping only after more than ten zhang. He let out a great roar, and vast blood qi surged from his body, forming a massive grinding disc that spun rapidly, deflecting all the sword qi.
"Whoosh—"
Another sword light thrust forward, emitting a blinding radiance, colliding with the blood-red grinding disc.
With a loud crash, Miefeng Blood Saint was forced back again, crashing through a row of phantom trees. He barely managed to steady himself, or he would have fallen into the Great Saint's remnant formation.
The fearsome Heaven-Connecting Blood General had been repelled twice in a row. Miefeng Blood Saint's gaze turned icy cold. "You're asking for death."
With Zhang Ruochen at the lead, the seven-person sword formation advanced rapidly, closing in on Miefeng Blood Saint.
Miefeng Blood Saint was furious. Ever since encountering this brat, everything had gone wrong. It was as if he were his destined nemesis. Today, even if it cost him something, he would kill him.
Just as Miefeng Blood Saint was about to use a trump card, the Four-Sword Blood Saint on the other side could no longer hold out and was the first to fall. He immediately sent a telepathic message: "Retreat quickly. Join up with Kongqian Blood Saint, and then we'll deal with them."
Two of the Four-Sword Blood Saint's four arms had been severed, and it would be difficult to regenerate them in a short time. He turned and fled, vanishing into the forest as a cloud of blood mist.
Miefeng Blood Saint knew Canglan Martial Saint's prowess. Since the Four-Sword Blood Saint had already fled, how could he dare to continue fighting?
By the time Canglan Martial Saint returned, Miefeng Blood Saint had already disappeared.
The six female saints all showed expressions of relief. The crisis had finally been resolved, and once again, they had this mysterious man to thank. Without him, the consequences would have been dire.
Canglan Martial Saint's gaze turned cold. Suddenly, she thrust her sword, the blade faster than lightning, aimed at Zhang Ruochen's brow.
Zhang Ruochen stood still, not moving an inch.
Canglan Martial Saint ultimately stopped her sword momentum, the tip of her sacred sword halting between Zhang Ruochen's eyebrows. In the end, she did not thrust forward.
"Why didn't you block?" Canglan Martial Saint asked.
Zhang Ruochen smiled. "Since I know you won't kill me, why should I bother blocking?"
Canglan Martial Saint's delicate brows furrowed slightly. She felt somewhat helpless against this man. She withdrew her sacred sword and said, "The Returning One Sword Formation, created by the Empress herself, was only taught to the seventy-two female palace saints. How did you learn it?"
Zhang Ruochen murmured to himself, "So this sword formation is called the Returning One Sword Formation. Is it derived from the Returning One Sword Technique?"
It seemed he truly hadn't known about the Returning One Sword Formation before.
"Did you just watch them perform the Returning One Sword Formation and, in an extremely short time, comprehend its mysteries?" Canglan Martial Saint asked.
Zhang Ruochen's lips curled slightly. "That's right."
The six female saints all showed expressions of disbelief. Only those who had trained in the Returning One Sword Formation understood how complex and profound it was. How could anyone comprehend it in just a few decades?
To learn it after just one look—that was simply too monstrous.
"I see."
Canglan Martial Saint was not at all surprised. "With your powerful spiritual power and sword dao attainment close to that of a Sword Saint, being able to achieve this is not strange at all."
Zhang Ruochen humbly said, "The Returning One Sword Formation is ever-changing and can borrow the power of heaven and earth. How could it be so easy to fully comprehend? I've only learned a bit of the surface."
"With your sword dao attainment, you can be called a Quasi-Sword Saint. Figures like you are rare in the entire Kunlun Realm. You couldn't have appeared out of nowhere. Who are you?"
Canglan Martial Saint was also a Quasi-Sword Saint and a personal guard of the Empress. She had some understanding of all the powerful sword cultivators in the world, but Zhang Ruochen's appearance caught her completely off guard.
Zhang Ruochen smiled and shook his head, naturally not revealing his identity.
Disappointment flickered in Canglan Martial Saint's eyes, but soon, as if she had thought of something, she smiled charmingly. Her beautiful eyes blinked, full of enchanting allure. "It's rare to meet a Quasi-Sword Saint. How about we compare sword techniques? Only moves, no sacred qi."
...
(Staying up late every night feels unhealthy, so I've decided to adjust my schedule and try to write during the day. I notified everyone on Weibo last night. This chapter counts as the first one today.)
(Chapter End)