Chapter 1339: A War Spear Flying from Two Hundred Thousand Miles Away
The region where Celestial Mechanism Mountain was located spanned a radius of a hundred thousand miles, extending deep and wide, occupying nearly the entire territory of a single commandery.
Even in the outer areas of Celestial Mechanism Mountain, there were dozens of relic sites, places rarely visited by humans, where even spiritual power could not penetrate.
The Undying Blood Clan that had entered Red River Prefecture was entrenched in one of those relic sites. There, many cave paradises left over from the Middle Ages remained, and although the ancient buildings were already dilapidated, they still exuded grandeur.
Situ Fengcheng stepped on the white, bleached bones scattered on the ground as he arrived at the base of a cliff. He looked up at the figure suspended on the cliff, his gaze as calm as still water.
"Sizzle, sizzle."
Dozens of bolts of lightning surged toward the figure, striking him. Muffled screams of agony escaped his lips as blood flowed, only to turn black and charred in an instant, a sight of indescribable misery.
"Greetings, Vice Commander."
The Undying Blood Clan members beneath the cliff all knelt on one knee, saluting Situ Fengcheng.
Situ Fengcheng nodded, signaling them to rise.
Xia Long's face was cold and grim. He flew down from the cliff and landed before Situ Fengcheng, shaking his head. "This man's will is exceptionally strong. He can endure any pain or torture. Using punishment won't get anything out of him."
The figure suspended on the cliff was none other than the Young Patriarch of the Prison-Suppressing Ancient Clan, "Shi Ren." Nine iron chains pierced through his body, fixing him thirty-three zhang above the ground.
By now, Shi Ren's body was a bloody mess, his skin charred black, making it hard to recognize his face.
"It's useless... just give me a quick death... heh heh..."
Shi Ren let out a low, rasping laugh.
As the Young Patriarch of the Prison-Suppressing Ancient Clan, he held immense value, so Situ Fengcheng had no intention of killing him yet. Situ Fengcheng stroked his chin with his fingers, feeling somewhat troubled.
"Let me try."
A surge of spiritual power transmitted into Situ Fengcheng's mind, forming an extremely melodious female voice.
Situ Fengcheng looked up and saw a semi-transparent, slender figure materialize in midair. Her body gradually solidified, taking the form of an incredibly alluring and beautiful woman.
Yinghuo's snow-white, creamy body was veiled in a faint layer of blood mist, like a red gauze, accentuating her curvaceous and enchanting figure, making her appear especially seductive and captivating.
Her crystalline, glossy jade feet stepped on wisps of blood mist as she walked toward Shi Ren.
"Greetings, Divine Maiden."
All the Undying Blood Clan cultivators knelt on one knee again.
Every one of them wore expressions of infatuation and reverence. They both desired to pursue this incomparably beautiful Divine Maiden and yet feared her deeply, not daring to approach.
Even Situ Fengcheng's eyes flickered with a hint of admiration, but his mental state was profound, and he quickly suppressed the agitation in his heart.
Accompanying Yinghuo were a group of Death God Knights from the Undying Divine Temple and four silver-robed elders. They too arrived beneath the cliff and gathered with Situ Fengcheng.
Clearly, the Undying Divine Temple placed great importance on the "Blood-Suppressing Talisman."
The appearance of such a talisman could threaten the very survival of the Undying Blood Clan.
Yinghuo extended a slender jade finger and pressed it gently against Shi Ren's brow.
"Hiss, hiss."
Shi Ren felt a cool force flow into his meridians, easing his pain. He slowly opened his eyes and looked at Yinghuo, his gaze initially dazed before a smile appeared on his face. "Zhang Ruochen, you've finally come..."
Yinghuo's entire body radiated a layer of pink light, dreamlike and enchanting. She smiled seductively and said softly, "Tell me, who developed that kind of talisman? And what materials are needed to refine it?"
"The Blood-Suppressing... Talisman... is..."
Shi Ren's face twisted in struggle, his teeth clenched tightly, showing extreme pain.
Yinghuo's tongue lightly licked her red lips. Seeing that Shi Ren had resisted her illusion technique, she extended her five slender jade fingers and pressed them against the top of Shi Ren's head.
"Sizzle, sizzle."
Her long, sharp nails pierced directly into Shi Ren's scalp. A powerful surge of spiritual energy poured out as she used a brutal method to forcibly extract his memories.
"Ah..."
Shi Ren seemed to endure inhuman agony. His two eyeballs looked as if they might burst from their sockets, and a piercing scream escaped his lips.
Witnessing this, the Undying Blood Clan cultivators all felt a chill run down their spines, trembling in fear. They had heard of the Undying Divine Maiden's methods before, but this was the first time they truly saw them in action.
She was a complete viper beauty—one to be admired from afar, never approached.
"Boom."
A massive wave of mental power surged from within Shi Ren's skull, forcing Yinghuo to quickly withdraw her fingers.
The smile vanished from Yinghuo's face, replaced by a look of surprise.
"Divine Maiden, what is the result?" asked a silver-robed elder with a weathered face.
Yinghuo floated down, though her jade feet still did not touch the ground, hovering atop a layer of blood mist. "This man's mental will is extraordinarily strong. If I forcibly extract his memories, they might self-destruct."
Xia Long said coldly, "In my opinion, just drain his blood dry. When he's at his most exhausted, then extract his memories. Why make it so complicated?"
Situ Fengcheng shook his head. "That would be killing the goose that lays the golden eggs. It wouldn't make use of the true value of the Prison-Suppressing Ancient Clan's Young Patriarch. Keeping him in our hands not only allows us to deal with Zhang Ruochen but also gives us a good card to play when we rescue Lord Underworld King in the future."
"Exactly."
Yinghuo nodded in agreement with Situ Fengcheng's view. Her eyes blinked playfully, and she smiled. "Although I didn't get the real answer, it wasn't entirely without gain. When he was under the illusion, he called out Zhang Ruochen's name. This suggests that the talisman is most likely closely related to Zhang Ruochen."
Situ Fengcheng added, "And he also revealed the name of the talisman—the Blood-Suppressing Talisman. It seems it was indeed specifically created to deal with our clan."
Both Yinghuo and Situ Fengcheng were exceptionally intelligent. From Shi Ren's fragmented words, they quickly analyzed some valuable information.
"Whoosh—"
A message light talisman flew in from the horizon and landed in Situ Fengcheng's hand.
After reading its contents, a terrifying chill emanated from Situ Fengcheng's body. With a crack, he crushed the message light talisman into powder.
Yinghuo raised an eyebrow slightly. "What happened?"
"The cultivators sent to capture Huang Yanchen have been completely wiped out, including the Four Swords Blood Saint, Qi Zhenhuan, Jingta Blood Saint, and Chilei Blood Saint—over a dozen blood saints in total. Not one escaped." Situ Fengcheng said.
None of the Undying Blood Clan cultivators present were not shocked.
After all, such a massive loss of saints only occurred during super-large-scale wars.
Yet, just capturing Huang Yanchen had resulted in the deaths of over a dozen blood saints. This was an explosive event, and such a huge loss would be enough to send Situ Fengcheng, as the commander, to the judgment platform.
Yinghuo was taken aback. "Could it be that the Ministry of War's stronghold at Zhishiguan rushed over?"
Situ Fengcheng shook his head. "It was Zhang Ruochen, along with the Devouring Demon Dragon."
Yinghuo's starry eyes gleamed with brilliance. She couldn't understand. "Has Zhang Ruochen's three meridians truly recovered? And the Devouring Demon Dragon has a deep-seated hatred for Zhang Ruochen—how could they possibly join forces? Besides, even if they did, they couldn't have killed over a dozen blood saints, including two Heavenly Blood Generals."
Situ Fengcheng nodded. "There must have been another powerful figure involved, at least at the True Saint level. Otherwise, the Four Swords Blood Saint and Qi Zhenhuan wouldn't have had no chance to escape. I initially underestimated him, but it seems Zhang Ruochen is a challenging opponent."
"Since the Blood-Suppressing Talisman is likely connected to Zhang Ruochen, we of the Undying Divine Temple will stay and assist you. This time, we must not let Zhang Ruochen escape again."
Yinghuo felt that Zhang Ruochen's rise was becoming difficult to stop, and she sensed considerable pressure building.
...
...
In Fengyue City, the Devouring Saint Flower had absorbed a large amount of blood energy and saint power. The flower at the top of its vines had reached a diameter of ten meters, emitting a bright radiance.
The Devouring Saint Flower had long been residing within Zhang Ruochen's body, absorbing vast amounts of chaos energy and divine wood energy. Now, its strength could rival that of a Heavenly Blood General.
The Abyssal Ancient Sword had refined all the war weapons left behind by the Undying Blood Clan. The number of inscriptions within the sword had increased by several hundred, bringing the total close to nine thousand.
Huang Yanchen, Qing Mo, and the Golden Bat Giant Python had all fully recovered from their injuries, returning to their peak states.
Guoguo was extremely excited, clenching his chubby fists. "Master Chen, when are we going to rescue Shi Ren? I can't wait anymore. Let's just charge over and sweep them away."
"Charge where?" Zhang Ruochen asked.
"Uh... right, we don't even know where they're hiding. What a hassle." Guoguo shook his head and sighed.
"Wait. They'll definitely contact me on their own." Zhang Ruochen said.
Just then, a powerful wave of saintly energy flew in from beyond the sky.
A pitch-black spear pierced through the clouds and crashed into the center of Fengyue City. The already ruined city rumbled once more, kicking up a thick layer of black dust.
Guoguo quickly rushed over, pulled the spear out of the crater, and carried it to Zhang Ruochen. "Master Chen, the Undying Blood Clan's challenge letter is carved on the spear. They want to meet at the Southern Cliff of Celestial Mechanism Mountain."
Zhang Ruochen grabbed the spear and raised it, reading the characters inscribed on it. His gaze grew colder and colder. "The Southern Cliff of Celestial Mechanism Mountain—that's about two hundred thousand miles from Fengyue City, isn't it?"
Huang Yanchen nodded. "Only someone at the True Saint level could have such terrifying power, hurling a saint-level war spear across two hundred thousand miles of void and still causing destruction. They're not just issuing a challenge; they're also showing off their strength, trying to intimidate us. They're asking us a question: Do you dare to come?"