Chapter 1347: Fame-Shaking Sword Saint
A blood-red longsword flew out from the depths of Immortal Mechanism Mountain, descended from the sky, and with a thunderous crash, landed on the ground.
The sword vanished, leaving only an old man with graying hair standing there. Four wings grew from his back, and streaks of sword qi flew around his body.
The old man’s gaze locked onto the direction of Situ Fengcheng and Zhu Qingyi, and he said, “It seems I arrived a step too late.”
Situ Fengcheng’s eyes were fixed on Zhu Qingyi, not shifting away, and he said in a deep voice, “Uncle Master, shouldn’t you give me an explanation?”
“I was ordered by the Blood Emperor to go deep into Immortal Mechanism Mountain. So, it wasn’t that I deliberately arrived late,” the old man said.
Hearing Situ Fengcheng’s address to the old man, Qingxiao’s expression tightened. He quickly used his movement technique to rush to Zhang Ruochen’s side and said with great wariness, “That old man is likely the junior disciple of Zhongying King, known as the Fame-Shaking Sword Saint. I never thought he would actually come here.”
“A Sword Saint!”
Zhang Ruochen looked toward the Fame-Shaking Sword Saint, and at that moment, the other’s gaze also locked onto him.
With just two glances, Zhang Ruochen felt as if two sacred swords were flying toward him, stabbing straight into his eyes.
But Zhang Ruochen was no longer what he used to be. Even a Sword Saint couldn’t seriously injure him with just a look.
“Sizzle.”
Zhang Ruochen summoned the Purifying Divine Flame, which surged from his pupils, turning into two pillars of fire that collided with the Fame-Shaking Sword Saint’s gaze, neutralizing his attack.
The Fame-Shaking Sword Saint wasn’t surprised. He nodded and said, “Indeed, it’s the Purifying Divine Flame. No wonder you’re a human prodigy who has cultivated a divine destiny. I wonder, if I drink your blood, can I seize your divine destiny?”
“Wanting to drink my blood isn’t that easy,” Zhang Ruochen retorted sharply.
“Then I’ll just have to try.”
The Fame-Shaking Sword Saint pointed a finger forward. The space around them trembled slightly, and a sword qi flew from his fingertip.
It seemed like a casual strike, but it displayed profound sword dao mastery, with power so concentrated that not a trace leaked out.
“Be careful.”
Qingxiao, knowing full well the terror of a Sword Saint, stepped in front of Zhang Ruochen, activated the Heavenly King Seal, and punched out, colliding with the incoming sword qi.
“Crack.”
The fist glove on Qingxiao’s hand was pierced, shattering into metal fragments. The sword qi struck his arm, leaving it bloodied and mangled.
The immense impact force from the sword qi sent Qingxiao flying backward in a straight line, blood gushing from his arm and splattering across the ground.
The Fame-Shaking Sword Saint said indifferently, “Even when your master, Xuanji Sword Saint, was alive, he might not have been my match. As for you, before reaching the True Saint realm, it’s best to stay out of my sight.”
Xuanji Sword Saint had never returned from the underworld, and as time passed, many beings in the Kunlun Realm believed that “Xuanji Sword Saint’s resurrection” was just a lie fabricated by Zhang Ruochen—that he had long since died.
The Fame-Shaking Sword Saint thought the same.
After all, although Qingxiao hadn’t reached the True Saint realm, he stood at the peak of the Heavenly Passage realm. Using the power of the Heavenly King Seal, even those at the early or middle stages of True Saint were no match for him.
Yet, the Fame-Shaking Sword Saint had severely wounded him with a single casual sword wave.
What level of power was that?
The battle between the humans and the Undying Blood Clan came to a halt. White Li Princess, Guo Guo, Demon Ape, Huang Yanchen, and Qing Mo all gathered around Zhang Ruochen, their expressions grave.
The battlefield, which had been in chaos, fell into utter silence.
But then, a voice broke the silence: “You think you’re worthy to fight my master?”
The speaker was Zhang Ruochen.
The Fame-Shaking Sword Saint clenched his five fingers, and countless sword-shaped sword qi condensed around him. “Junior, what did you say?”
“I said, you’re not even worthy to fight my master. Stop flattering yourself,” Zhang Ruochen said bluntly.
Qingxiao was badly injured. Not only could he not lift his arm, but his internal organs had also been damaged by the sword qi. Just then, he sensed a chilling aura emanating from the Fame-Shaking Sword Saint. Realizing the danger, his expression changed, and he quickly said, “Sixth Junior Brother, don’t be reckless. Retreat now. That’s an undying old monster who has lived for nearly a thousand years. You can’t contend with him yet.”
But the Fame-Shaking Sword Saint had already made his move, using the unity of man and sword, moving as fast as a beam of light.
Not long ago, the Fame-Shaking Sword Saint had received a message from the Undying Divine Temple ordering him to capture Zhang Ruochen alive. Of course, before capturing him, he had to severely wound the junior to prevent him from using his strange spatial techniques to escape.
The aura erupting from the Fame-Shaking Sword Saint was terrifyingly immense, his speed so fast it was impossible to track. Even Blood Moon Ghost King’s eyes lit up, a wisp of ghostly qi forming between her five pale fingers.
She was about to strike but then let out a soft exclamation, her gaze fixed on Zhang Ruochen’s back. “This guy… he’s mobilizing the power of the Qiankun Realm… interesting…”
Except for Zhang Ruochen, who remained standing, everyone else was blasted backward by the aura of the Fame-Shaking Sword Saint.
Zhang Ruochen’s body radiated ten thousand rays of light. He pointed his sword and clashed with the Fame-Shaking Sword Saint’s thrust.
“This power…”
The Fame-Shaking Sword Saint sensed something was wrong and immediately increased his strength, unleashing his full power.
“Boom.”
With the two of them at the center, the ground for dozens of miles around began to sink. Dust flew, and sword qi filled the sky. The scene was utterly shocking, like the arrival of doomsday.
When the dust settled, everyone looked over and saw Zhang Ruochen still standing in his original position. Because the ground had collapsed, he seemed to be standing in midair.
As for the Fame-Shaking Sword Saint, he had been blasted into the ground. His robes were tattered, covered in bloody, fine cuts, and the hand holding his sword was trembling uncontrollably.
All the cultivators were dumbfounded, staring at Zhang Ruochen as if he were a monster. Even Qingxiao and Pei Yutian were no exception.
The Fame-Shaking Sword Saint had been knocked down?
“You can’t even defeat me, yet you want to fight my master?” Zhang Ruochen said.
Just now, Zhang Ruochen had only mobilized a portion of the Qiankun Realm’s power, not his full strength.
He prepared to summon the Qiankun Realm’s power again to completely annihilate the Fame-Shaking Sword Saint, but he found no response from within his body. He couldn’t help feeling frustrated—what was going on?
He tried several more times, but still, no power was channeled into him.
That earlier strike was Zhang Ruochen’s first time using the Qiankun Realm’s power in battle. He had never used it before, so he had no idea what had happened.
“I’ll have to study it after this battle is over,” Zhang Ruochen thought to himself.
The Fame-Shaking Sword Saint flew up from the ground, his gaze fixed on Zhang Ruochen once more, a hint of wariness in his eyes. The power of Zhang Ruochen’s earlier sword strike had far exceeded his own.
“What’s going on? How can a mere Upper Realm Saint be this heaven-defying, even if he’s extraordinary?”
The Fame-Shaking Sword Saint didn’t dare to act rashly. He sent out a mental message: “Wang Beilie, go test that kid and see what trick he’s using.”
Wang Beilie, holding a sacred sword and enveloped in sixty-four layers of holy light, charged out from the distant white mist.
White Li Princess frowned. “Another Sword Saint? No, it’s just a blood slave.”
Huang Yanchen said, “This man was once the clan leader of the Zhenyu Ancient Clan, a genuine Sword Saint. After being captured by Qingtian Blood Emperor, he was refined into a blood slave.”
White Li Princess shifted her gaze from Wang Beilie to Zhang Ruochen and said, “Zhang Ruochen must have used the power of the Qiankun Realm to injure the Fame-Shaking Sword Saint earlier. But now, his condition seems off. He probably can’t handle that blood slave.”
White Li Princess moved, charging toward Wang Beilie to intercept him, but a gray figure was faster, attacking Wang Beilie first.
That gray figure was Pei Yutian.
The stone knife in Pei Yutian’s hand was forged from a massive boulder. When that boulder was unearthed, it had shaken the entire Northern Domain because of its immense size, earning the title “Northern Domain’s First Boulder.” Moreover, the patterns on the boulder corresponded to the mountains, rivers, and waterways of the Northern Domain, making it extremely eerie.
Many cultivators speculated that the boulder might have been born alongside the land of the Northern Domain and might one day develop consciousness, becoming a stone god.
Even after being forged into a knife, the patterns on its blade could still reflect the mountains and rivers of the Northern Domain.
Every strike Pei Yutian made carried immense power, allowing him to fight Wang Beilie to a standstill.
Blood Moon Ghost King watched with little interest. She stopped observing and fixed her gaze on the Fame-Shaking Sword Saint. “If I kill you, will this battle end today?”
Zhang Ruochen stepped back, passing by Blood Moon Ghost King, and said, “You should have acted sooner.”
“I thought you could handle it yourself. Who knew you’d only last one round?” Blood Moon Ghost King said with a sidelong glance, a hint of disdain in her eyes.
Zhang Ruochen was also quite frustrated. He didn’t argue with Blood Moon Ghost King and instead used his mental power to examine himself, wanting to know why he couldn’t continue mobilizing the Qiankun Realm’s power after just one strike.
The Fame-Shaking Sword Saint’s attention was locked onto Blood Moon Ghost King, and a strange expression crossed his face. “A Three Calamity Ghost King. So you’re the real powerhouse here.”
The crescent moon mark on Blood Moon Ghost King’s brow glowed with a layer of blood light, and she said, “Will you hand over your sacred soul willingly, or shall I come and take it myself?”
“A Three Calamity Ghost King, so what? Since you’ve appeared, today I’ll make you vanish into thin air.”
The Fame-Shaking Sword Saint clasped his hands and bowed toward the depths of Immortal Mechanism Mountain. “Senior of the Death Clan, Blood Emperor will agree to your terms. Now, please act and kill our enemies. Just leave the Heir of Time and Space alive.”
“Whoosh!”
In an instant, the entire sky turned pitch black.
A yin-cold power that made even sacred realm beings tremble surged from the depths of Immortal Mechanism Mountain, causing hundreds of thousands of peaks to shake.
Countless black shadows ran across the ground, crossing mountains and ridges, charging toward the direction of Nanya. From afar, the entire Immortal Mechanism Mountain seemed to transform into a black ocean, with those black shadows forming a surging wave, as if they would destroy everything in heaven and earth.
(Chapter End)