Chapter 1328: Repelling the Enemy
Zhao Qilin was also a demonic overlord who had cultivated for over four hundred years and had even killed several Saint realm beings. How could he be afraid of a young Saint who had only risen to prominence in a few years?
"I heard you used spatial power to kill Qiu Lanshan of the Northern Domain Holy Academy. Could it be that because of that battle, you've become arrogant? Do you think you can challenge a Heaven-reaching realm Saint?"
Zhao Qilin wore a mask, so his expression was invisible, but a hint of disdain could be heard in his tone.
Zhang Ruochen said, "It seems you have no intention of retreating."
"Clang!"
A sword cry rang out.
The Abyssal Ancient Sword appeared in Zhang Ruochen's hand. With its heavy blade and black sword light, as soon as it flew out, the surrounding space automatically condensed into streaks of sword qi.
Except for Zhao Qilin, all the other Dark Night Envoys felt a tremendous oppressive sword intent. Their legs went weak, and they involuntarily stepped backward.
Just the sound of the sword cry caused blood to flow from the ears of some of the Dark Night Envoys.
"Such powerful sword intent."
Zhao Qilin's heart tightened. Setting aside his contempt, he quickly activated his Saint Soul Domain. Instantly, a hundred thousand strands of demonic qi shot out from his body, spreading outward, turning this ruined area into a dark demonic domain.
"Eight Desolates, Six Unities, I Alone Am Supreme."
Zhao Qilin's Saint might grew stronger and stronger. Beneath his golden mask, his pupils turned blood-red, appearing both domineering and fierce, yet also sinister and evil.
"So you cultivate the Eight Desolates Six Unities Art." Zhang Ruochen muttered to himself.
The Eight Desolates Six Unities Art was one of the most powerful King-grade techniques, not much weaker than the Six Great Marvelous Books.
With Zhao Qilin cultivating the Eight Desolates Six Unities Art and reaching the Heaven-reaching realm, his strength was definitely not comparable to an ordinary Heaven-reaching realm Saint.
Although the other Dark Night Envoys were also strong, they were insignificant compared to a Heaven-reaching realm Saint. Seeing Zhao Qilin use the Eight Desolates Six Unities Art, they realized Zhang Ruochen was not easy to deal with, so they all used movement techniques and retreated to a distance.
Zhao Qilin launched the attack first. He pointed two fingers forward, and a bone-chilling cold Saint qi surged out.
"Crack."
The ground between him and Zhang Ruochen was split open by the finger force.
Zhang Ruochen stood his ground, proud and upright. He raised the Abyssal Ancient Sword and traced a circle, sending out rings of sword qi that neutralized the finger force.
At the same time, he quickly thrust his sword toward Zhao Qilin's brow.
The two became entangled, sometimes soaring into the sky, sometimes diving underground, fighting to a standstill.
One of the observing Dark Night Envoys said, "Zhang Ruochen is truly formidable. His cultivation has reached a level where he can contend with our leader. Compared to him, the Divine Son has fallen behind a bit."
"Don't speak nonsense. Zhang Ruochen is indeed strong, but the Divine Son is no weakling either. Who will have the last laugh is still unknown."
...
Without a doubt, in this era, the radiance of the Nine Realm Sons was exceptionally dazzling. Each had been nurtured by the Empress using the resources of the entire Kunlun Realm. Their cultivation speed and potential were unmatched by ordinary prodigies.
Perhaps only the Heir of Time and Space, Zhang Ruochen, could suppress the brilliance of the Nine Realm Sons.
"It's time to end this. Eight Desolates Unities Infinite Seal."
Zhao Qilin's voice came from the rolling demonic clouds. He formed a seal with his hands, drawing in all the spiritual qi of heaven and earth from hundreds of miles around.
A massive handprint, a thousand zhang long, descended from the sky. Every palm line contained mysterious Sacred Dao rules. Before it even landed, it pressed the ground down into a depression.
Zhang Ruochen looked up, his gaze calm, without fear.
"Grand Void Light Split."
Three thousand inscriptions appeared on the blade of the Abyssal Ancient Sword, unleashing the Thousand Ripple Annihilation Force and forming a pitch-black sword pillar.
He swung the war sword, directly tearing apart the descending Eight Desolates Unities Infinite Seal. Even Zhao Qilin was struck and fell from the sky.
The demonic qi between heaven and earth became somewhat thinner.
A long bloody gash appeared on Zhao Qilin's body, from his left shoulder to his abdomen. The wound was so deep it nearly split him in two. His eyes were filled with disbelief. "How is that possible? You used the Nine Lives Sword Art, the ultimate technique of our sect's Holy Maiden First. How did you learn it?"
In the distance, Xiao Mie, who was recovering from his injuries, also showed a hint of surprise.
Xiao Mie was not surprised that Zhang Ruochen could use the Nine Lives Sword Art, as he had long heard some secrets and knew that Zhang Ruochen and the Holy Maiden First had a deep friendship.
What surprised him was the power Zhang Ruochen had just unleashed, which had surpassed Zhao Qilin.
"An Upper Realm Saint can be this powerful. No wonder someone told me that Zhang Ruochen is the number one among young Saints. Seeing it today, the reputation is well-deserved."
Xiao Mie's two green eyeballs returned to their sockets. He walked to Zhao Qilin's side and stood opposite Zhang Ruochen.
Zhao Qilin slightly bowed to Xiao Mie. "Palace Master, please focus on healing. Leave this to me."
"Leaving it to you probably won't work. Haven't you noticed? Zhang Ruochen hasn't been using his full strength at all. He's just been using you to practice his sword." Xiao Mie said.
Zhao Qilin simply couldn't believe Zhang Ruochen was that strong. He felt it was only because he had been careless that Zhang Ruochen had wounded him with a single sword strike.
"Give me one more chance, and I will capture Zhang Ruochen alive." Zhao Qilin said.
"Give you one more chance, and you'll probably lose your life."
Xiao Mie didn't let Zhao Qilin continue. He lifted his right foot and stomped down. With a crash, a circular flame formation seal appeared.
At first, the flame formation seal was only ten zhang in diameter, but it gradually grew larger.
Twenty zhang, fifty zhang, eighty zhang, one hundred zhang...
"The Heir of Time and Space is no ordinary person. Today, I, the old man, will have to bully the young and capture you myself." Xiao Mie said.
The flame formation seal extended to Zhang Ruochen's feet, and a scorching heat surged toward him.
"His spiritual power has been severely wounded by the Mad Drunkard, yet he's still this formidable. The masters of the Nine Palaces of the Demon Sect are indeed no simple characters."
Zhang Ruochen was well aware that he absolutely could not let himself be drawn into Xiao Mie's formation. So, he used the Luan Phoenix Divine Seal Speed, stepping on a Luan and a Phoenix, and shot rapidly into the sky.
"Do you think flying into the sky will let you escape the formation? When you face a formation master, it means you have no way to heaven and no door to earth."
Xiao Mie's lips curled slightly. He pointed a finger at the sky.
Above the heavens, another flame formation had also condensed, slowly rotating and pressing downward.
Zhang Ruochen stood a hundred zhang above the ground, with seas of fire above his head and beneath his feet. Two massive formation seals rotated, reflecting off his skin and turning it a fiery red.
"Sword Seven."
The Saint qi within Zhang Ruochen's body surged violently. A surging sword intent erupted, and the Abyssal Ancient Sword emitted a ten-thousand-zhang black light, unleashing tens of thousands of sword qi.
That terrifying sword power instilled fear even in the cultivators standing on the ground. At that moment, Zhang Ruochen seemed like a peerless Sword Saint.
"Whoosh—"
Zhang Ruochen transformed into a streak of light, riding the Abyssal Ancient Sword, and struck the center of the flame formation in the sky, piercing straight through it.
"Boom."
The flame formation shattered, turning into balls of fire that fell downward.
"Sword Seven... Could Zhang Ruochen have become a Sword Saint?"
Zhao Qilin gasped in a breath of cold air, finally realizing the gap between himself and Zhang Ruochen.
He definitely could not withstand that sword strike just now.
At the same time, Qing Mo stood atop the Golden Bat Giant Python. Combining the Saint qi of herself and the python, she activated the power within the Silver Kitchen Knife and slashed toward the flame formation on the ground.
With a boom, the silver blade light tore the flame formation apart, splitting it in two.
After the flame formation disappeared, only a tens-of-miles-long blade scar remained on the ground, like a dried-up riverbed.
"A Divine Relic Ancient Artifact..."
Xiao Mie sensed that when the Silver Kitchen Knife struck down, a terrifying aura was released.
That trace of power surpassed the Sacred Dao; it was the power of a god.
Only a Divine Relic Ancient Artifact could unleash such power.
Xiao Mie pressed his hand to his head, feeling an excruciating pain. Earlier, the Mad Drunkard's attack had severely wounded his spiritual power and Saint Soul, and now it flared up again.
"Retreat, retreat immediately..."
While suppressing the pain in his head, Xiao Mie mobilized his spiritual power, turning into a streak of flame light and flying into the darkness.
Zhao Qilin, on the other hand, unrolled a Sacred Edict and used its power to carry the group of envoys from the Dark Night Palace as they began to flee.
Unfortunately, they didn't get away.
The Golden Bat Giant Python was furious, believing these people had come to harm Gu Songzi. It gave chase and fiercely attacked Zhao Qilin and the Dark Night Envoys, causing them to scream in agony. Some were poisoned by the Golden Bat venom, while others were swallowed into its belly.
Zhang Ruochen did not pursue. He slowly floated down to the ground, pressing his hand to his chest, a pained expression on his face.
Forcibly using Sword Seven had exceeded the capacity of his three meridians, causing a piercing pain to once again spread through his body. His face was covered in cold sweat.
"Master, what's wrong?"
Qing Mo rushed over and quickly supported Zhang Ruochen.
"It's nothing serious."
Zhang Ruochen gently shook his head, sat down cross-legged, and slowly began to circulate his technique.
As the Saint qi and Chaos qi flowed through his meridians and Saint meridians, completing several major cycles, the pain gradually faded away.
By the time Zhang Ruochen had recovered, the Golden Bat Giant Python's massive body approached from the distance and appeared before him, its mouth full of blood, looking especially ferocious.
Qing Mo, however, was not at all afraid of the Golden Bat Giant Python. "Xiao Jin says that all the Dark Night Envoys, except for Zhao Qilin, have been killed. Zhao Qilin was also seriously injured and only escaped by using a life-saving secret technique."
Zhu Qingyi had already fallen to the Golden Bat Giant Python, so it was naturally a very powerful beast. Dealing with a group of Dark Night Envoys was an easy task.
"Xiao Mie's spiritual power has likely reached the peak of the fifty-fourth rank. Coupled with his mastery of formations, there are very few people below the Saint King realm who can contend with him. The reason he retreated was only because his spiritual power had been severely damaged, leaving him somewhat powerless. Once his spiritual power recovers a bit, he will definitely return. By then, we won't stand a chance against him." Zhang Ruochen said.
Qing Mo asked, "What should we do?"
"Let's leave this place first and find another hiding spot."
Zhang Ruochen was still in the midst of recuperation and didn't want to engage in battle, lest he leave hidden problems in his three meridians. Otherwise, he would have definitely seized this excellent opportunity to eliminate Xiao Mie and Zhao Qilin. Why would he have let them escape?
Zhang Ruochen walked into the Thousand-Leaf Saint Core Grass, carried out the unconscious Zhu Qingyi, and put the Thousand-Leaf Saint Core Grass into the Water Star Gourd. Then, he and Qing Mo sat on the head of the Golden Bat Giant Python and left the ruined scorched earth.
(Chapter End)