Chapter 1338: Hunt Down and Slay to the Last
“The Ancestral Dragon Mountain has declared war on the Undying Blood Clan? How is that possible? Why haven’t we received any news?”
In the Central Imperial City, within the Lianzhu Mansion, a group of great Confucian scholars, saint scholars, and high-ranking court officials gathered together, all staring at each other in bewilderment, finding it hard to believe.
The various races of the Barbarian Secret Realm were still locked in a chaotic, bloody battle that darkened the sky and earth. How could the Ancestral Dragon Mountain suddenly declare war on the Undying Blood Clan?
Yet, the intelligence they received clearly indicated that this matter was personally stated by the Devouring Demon Dragon himself, so it couldn’t be false.
Even the exceptionally brilliant Shengshu Cainü furrowed her brow, sensing that this matter was somewhat baffling.
A moment later, another message arrived from the Northern Domain: “The Heaven-Connecting Blood General of the Qitian Tribe, Qi Zhenhuan, died beneath Zhang Ruochen’s Abyssal Ancient Sword. The Heir of Time and Space has risen powerfully and is determined to fight the Undying Blood Clan to the death.”
The Central Imperial City erupted in fervor. Neither the younger generation of cultivators nor the saint realm elders who had cultivated for centuries could remain calm.
Not long ago, when news spread that Zhang Ruochen had killed Qiu Lanshan, the Ninth Academy Master of the Northern Domain Saint Academy, at Xianji Mountain, many had still been skeptical.
Now, with another major achievement of Zhang Ruochen’s being reported back to the Central Domain, no one could dismiss it as mere rumor.
A Confucian saint, quite puzzled, asked Shengshu Cainü, “Is this Zhang Ruochen righteous or evil? Why does he kill both good and bad people?”
Shengshu Cainü pursed her lips slightly and smiled gracefully. “In this world, there are no clear-cut good or bad people. Perhaps he is simply doing what he believes is right. Based on the information I have, if all the Undying Blood Clan members killed by Zhang Ruochen were converted into military merit, it would be enough to enfeoff a Heavenly King.”
“That formidable?”
“Among the young saints, there are a few who make the Undying Blood Clan gnash their teeth in hatred: Wan Zhaoyi counts as one, Qingxiao counts as one, Pei Yutian counts as one, and clearly, Zhang Ruochen counts as one as well. These four alone are probably enough to make the Blood Emperor of the Undying Blood Clan fume with rage.”
…
…
Not only were the Confucian bigwigs in the Lianzhu Mansion discussing this, but the entire Central Imperial City, in every street and alley, was abuzz with talk of today’s news.
“What’s going on? Weren’t Zhang Ruochen’s three meridians crippled? How has he become even stronger instead? First, he killed a Heaven-Connecting Realm saint, then he killed Qi Zhenhuan. Is he trying to ascend to heaven?”
“Is Zhongying King reliable? Could it be that he didn’t actually cripple Zhang Ruochen’s three meridians?”
“How many years has Zhang Ruochen been cultivating? At this rate, can he be considered the number one cultivator in history? Even the Empress wasn’t this dominant when she was young.”
“The Empress used a vast amount of sacred medicine, even divine pills, consuming endless resources from the Kunlun Realm to cultivate the nine Realm Sons, yet they all seem to be overshadowed by Zhang Ruochen. The title of Realm Son is becoming increasingly awkward.”
…
In the Central Imperial City, some people dared to discuss the Empress. This showed that after the Empress’s disappearance, her influence and deterrent power were waning, and many human cultivators believed she had already fallen.
This was a very dangerous phenomenon. Once people stopped fearing the Empress, it would inevitably trigger a chain reaction. The court’s rule would no longer be as unbreakable as before, and the great aristocratic families and clans would surely start to have their own ideas.
Chu Siyuan walked through the streets, observing this phenomenon, and gently stroked his beard, deeply worried. “It seems it’s time to make the ‘Blood Clan Secret Scroll’ public. The Undying Blood Clan must be suppressed as quickly as possible, or else there will be great chaos.”
Chu Siyuan quickened his pace, heading toward the Lianzhu Mansion.
…
By the banks of the Snow Flow River, in Wanxiang City.
Xue Wuye was practicing swordsmanship on a bluestone martial arts field. As his sword techniques flowed, pure white snowflakes drifted down from the sky, blanketing the entire Wanxiang City. The green pavilions, red towers, flying-eaved pagodas, star-gazing divine platforms… all were covered in a thick layer of icy crystal snow.
A beautiful woman with a pure and refined countenance flew over on a sword, landing at the edge of the martial field. Using sound waves, she whispered something to Xue Wuye.
Instantly, Xue Wuye’s sword came to a halt.
The snowflakes in the sky also stopped abruptly, hanging in midair as if space had frozen—a truly eerie sight.
“He’s already able to slay a Heaven-Connecting Blood General. Such a rate of improvement is truly baffling. Could he have also swallowed a divine medicine?” Xue Wuye said.
The pure woman asked, “Young City Lord, after a full year of training within that time-space treasure, your strength should now be no less than Zhang Ruochen’s, right?”
Xue Wuye merely smiled faintly and didn’t answer her. Instead, he asked, “Among the Undying Blood Clan, who is the weakest Sword Saint?”
“The Wuji Sword Saint of the Fengtian Tribe.”
“Deliver a challenge letter to him for me. Five days from now, outside Zhiling Pass, we’ll meet until one of us falls.”
Having said this, Xue Wuye resumed his sword practice.
The snow in Wanxiang City fell even more fiercely.
…
In the Eastern Domain, at Fengdu Ghost City, Han Qiu, clad in a long black robe, stood atop the towering city wall. Her long hair danced in the wind as she gazed toward the Northern Domain. “So what if he declared her your wife? Huang Yanchen will eventually die by my hand, and she won’t come to a good end.”
At the main altar of the Moon Worship Demon Sect, Mu Lingxi wore a smile on her face, but tears flowed from her eyes. Her heart was a mix of emotions—unable to tell if it was joy or pain.
In the most luxurious tavern of Taizhou, Zhu Hongtao and Wan Ke both burst into laughter, drinking heartily. They celebrated not only Zhang Ruochen’s great advancement in cultivation but also the union of Zhang Ruochen and Huang Yanchen as a married couple.
Many messages came from the Northern Domain, but different people focused on different points. It was a scene of mixed emotions—some happy, some worried, some fearful, some anxious.
…
The battle outside Fengyue City was not yet over.
Zhang Ruochen, the Demon Ape, and Guo Guo chased after the Blood Saints who were retreating, launching continuous attacks, unwilling to let a single Blood Saint escape.
A Xuanhuang Realm Blood Saint, seeing the one man and two beasts closing in from behind, knew she couldn’t escape. She stopped and threatened, “If you keep chasing, do you believe I’ll self-detonate my sacred source and take you all down with me?”
“I don’t believe you.”
Guo Guo extended a dragon claw and struck down at her.
How could that Xuanhuang Realm Blood Saint withstand such an attack? She was severely injured and fell to the ground, a look of despair in her eyes. She let out a fierce roar: “Then let’s destroy everything together! All of you, die!”
The sacred energy within her body began to spin rapidly, her form growing brighter and brighter, releasing a chaotic aura of destruction.
“Whoosh—”
Zhang Ruochen crossed space, appearing diagonally above her. With a flick of his finger, he tore open a spatial rift and swallowed her into it.
“Boom.”
By the time the sacred source exploded, the spatial rift had already closed to just a foot long. Only a small amount of destructive force was released, unable to harm Zhang Ruochen.
He continued the pursuit. One by one, the Blood Saints of the Undying Blood Clan were slain, until only the Four-Sword Blood Saint remained alive.
The human cultivators watching were all stunned. Zhang Ruochen’s killing intent was far too heavy. He was like a bloodthirsty demon king, leaving no escape for the Undying Blood Clan.
“If I had known Zhang Ruochen would grow to this point, I should have killed him at all costs back at Xianji Mountain.”
The Four-Sword Blood Saint was filled with regret. Suddenly, he halted, stopping his escape. His eyes fixed on the path ahead, a look of wariness appearing in them.
A crimson fire cloud blocked his way.
Canglan Martial Saint flew out from the fire cloud, the phoenix wings on her back gently fluttering, her entire body radiating powerful sacred dao energy.
“At Xianji Mountain, you stabbed me once. Now it’s time to pay back the principal and interest.”
Canglan Martial Saint pointed her finger into the void. Immediately, phoenix feathers flew from her back, coalescing into a flaming phoenix sword.
A sword cry rang out as the flaming phoenix sword shot forward, piercing through all of the Four-Sword Blood Saint’s defenses and passing straight through his chest.
“You… you’ve broken through to the Heaven-Connecting Realm?”
The Four-Sword Blood Saint’s face was deathly pale. He didn’t dare to fight Canglan Martial Saint and activated an escape secret technique, fleeing in another direction.
It was a battle with no suspense. By the time Zhang Ruochen arrived, the Four-Sword Blood Saint had already fallen. All four of his arms were severed, and his body bore over a dozen sword wounds.
Zhang Ruochen exchanged a glance with Canglan Martial Saint but said nothing. He turned and left, heading back to Fengyue City.
On the way back, Zhang Ruochen gathered the corpses of the Blood Saints and piled them together with the blood slave bodies in Fengyue City. Then, he summoned the Shi Shenghua to absorb the nutrients within.
Thanks to taking the Fengchun Pill, Huang Yanchen and Qing Mo’s injuries healed quickly and had completely stabilized.
Guo Guo turned back into a rabbit and rushed to Huang Yanchen, seeking credit. “Madam Sect Leader, all the Undying Blood Clan members who dared to surround you have been completely wiped out. Does Madam Sect Leader have any further orders?”
Huang Yanchen’s face showed no joy; instead, it was quite somber. She stared at Zhang Ruochen and said, “Before you arrived, Shi Ren was captured by them.”
“How did this happen?”
The killing intent in Zhang Ruochen’s eyes had already subsided somewhat, but upon hearing this, it flared up even more intensely.
Shi Ren was the young patriarch of the Zhenyu Ancient Clan. He had gone through life-and-death trials with Zhang Ruochen in the Underworld, and together they had resisted the Undying Blood Clan’s invasion at the Mingwang Sword Grave. They were sworn brothers.
It was precisely because of this bond between Zhang Ruochen and Shi Ren that he had trusted the Zhenyu Ancient Clan with ten million drops of divine blood, asking them to help refine the Blood-Suppressing Talismans.
Huang Yanchen said, “Shi Ren knew that your three meridians were severed and that you were at your weakest, needing help the most. So, he brought a large number of experts from the Zhenyu Ancient Clan and rushed to the Northern Domain with me. But somehow, the news leaked. As soon as we entered the Northern Domain, we were ambushed by a large force of Undying Blood Clan experts.”
“Although the Blood-Suppressing Talismans can restrain the Undying Blood Clan, they are not all-powerful. Once the Undying Blood Clan launches long-range attacks, even if we have the talismans, we can’t strike them with them.”
“After four consecutive sieges, the experts of the Zhenyu Ancient Clan were completely annihilated. Apart from Shi Ren, who was captured, not a single one survived. The Undying Blood Clan’s target should have been me. I’m the one who caused their deaths.”
Zhang Ruochen clenched his fists tightly and shook his head. “No, it’s not you. I’m the one they were after. It seems the bloody war with the Undying Blood Clan isn’t over yet. This is just the beginning.”
Zhang Ruochen knew very well that the Undying Blood Clan would stop at nothing to interrogate the source of the Blood-Suppressing Talismans. Once Shi Ren was taken back, he would surely suffer the most brutal torture.
“No matter who dares to touch my wife and my brother, I will make them pay a heavy price.”
Zhang Ruochen took a deep breath, his ten fingers digging into his palms, blood seeping through the gaps between his fingers.