Chapter 1359: Throne Knight, Saint Corpse King
The corpse qi surging from the bottomless pit grew increasingly intense, causing the entire district spanning over ten miles to shake violently.
Even with the cultivation levels of Zhang Ruochen and White Li Princess, they could barely keep their footing, as if about to be lifted off the ground and sucked into the vortex.
"Something's wrong. No matter how powerful the Heavenly Corpse Emperor is, he couldn't be this strong. Leave this place immediately and retreat into the space maze. Hurry!" Zhang Ruochen shouted.
Guo Guo, Demon Ape, and White Li Princess rushed toward the abandoned estate at top speed, entering the space maze.
Zhang Ruochen withdrew from Bright Mirror Manor but did not leave. Holding the Buddha Emperor Relic, he protected himself.
"Boom."
A metallic arm, over sixty meters long and seven or eight meters thick, extended from the bottomless pit, shattering the ground around the opening.
The force erupting from that arm sent Zhang Ruochen sliding backward dozens of yards.
A massive metal hand tightly gripped the body of Blood Moon Ghost King, each finger as thick as a pillar, with dragon-shaped lightning flowing across them, suppressing her ghostly form until cracks appeared.
Even with her cultivation, she barely held on, struggling with all her might to avoid being destroyed.
"Roar."
Another earth-shaking roar rang out.
Slowly, the metallic arm continued to rise, the ground growing even more fragmented. A metal head the size of a palace emerged from the earth, revealing itself.
Inside the metal shell was a half-rotted human head, with exposed bone and flesh on the face.
"Rumble."
The entire ground of Bright Mirror Manor shattered as a giant corpse clad in metal armor stepped out from underground, revealing a body nearly two hundred meters tall.
The power radiating from it was even greater than that of Ling Feiyu and Spirit King Saint Ancestor, who were still locked in battle.
Zhang Ruochen looked up, took a deep breath, and his expression turned extremely grave. "Saint Corpse King."
White Li Princess, Huang Yanchen, and Qing Mo gazed toward Bright Mirror Manor, feeling an immense pressure. They quickly sent a telepathic message to Zhang Ruochen, urging him to hide in the space maze.
In the distance, on a towering war platform, Lin Yun and Canglan Martial Saint also changed expressions drastically.
The Heavenly Corpse Emperor stood on the left shoulder of the Saint Corpse King, his body covered in bloody wounds, battered and broken. Yet he stood tall and proud, his posture straight. "What a formidable third-calamity Ghost King. You forced me to use my trump card to suppress her."
"With your current cultivation, you can actually control a Saint Corpse King?" Zhang Ruochen found it hard to believe.
Even though the Corpse-Driving Ancient Clan possessed secret techniques to control battle corpses, those corpses still had consciousness and could rebel against their masters. It was like a Half-Saint struggling to control a Saint-level battle corpse.
Even after a Saint King died and was refined into a battle corpse, it retained a strong will.
A Saint had almost no chance of mastering a Saint Corpse King. Forcibly subduing one would only invite backlash.
The Heavenly Corpse Emperor chuckled. "It was originally my subordinate. Seventy thousand years ago, it followed me in conquering the world, establishing the first Central Empire of humanity after the Middle Ages. Naturally, it will continue to fight by my side now, to create new glory."
Zhang Ruochen showed an expression of disbelief, studying the giant corpse in metal armor once more. "Could it be... one of the Ten Throne Knights?"
Since childhood, Zhang Ruochen had known the legends of the Heavenly Mandate Emperor and the Ten Throne Knights. The records of the Holy Bright Central Empire contained detailed accounts of them.
In historical texts, each of them was a towering figure, conquering the Southern Domain, invincible, and ultimately founding an ancient empire.
To actually see the Heavenly Mandate Emperor and a Throne Knight with his own eyes—Zhang Ruochen's feelings at this moment were beyond words.
The Heavenly Corpse Emperor said, "That's right. It is a Throne Knight. Zhang Ruochen, do you now understand that the gap between your trump card and mine is still vast?"
In the Heavenly Corpse Emperor's view, Blood Moon Ghost King and White Li Princess were Zhang Ruochen's trump cards.
Lin Yun was drenched in cold sweat, his voice trembling. "The Heavenly Corpse Emperor has actually refined a Throne Knight into a Saint Corpse King. Could there be a second? A third? Second Miss, the situation here is beyond our control. You should..."
Canglan Martial Saint interrupted him, speaking calmly, "The Throne Knight has become a Saint Corpse King. Though it retains some consciousness, it might still rebel against the Heavenly Corpse Emperor. With his current cultivation, controlling one is already his limit."
Lin Yun said, "Even one is enough to destroy everything. Second Miss, your life is priceless. Please, you must leave immediately."
"Ling Feiyu is still here. What's there to fear?"
Though Canglan Martial Saint said this, her eyes were fixed on Zhang Ruochen. She thought to herself, "In this situation, Zhang Ruochen, won't you still use your hidden secret?"
At Immortal Mechanism Mountain, a forbidden power had shattered the bone hand of the Death Clan Ancestor. At the time, Pei Yutian, Qing Xiao, and Zhang Ruochen had all remained silent, clearly hiding a massive secret.
Canglan Martial Saint suspected that secret lay with Zhang Ruochen.
That bone hand could shatter planets beyond the universe, yet it was broken by another force. That force was terrifying enough to threaten the fate of the First Central Empire.
Even facing a legend from human history, Zhang Ruochen was fearless. An even stronger battle intent erupted from him. "The Throne Knight is indeed powerful, but they are already dead. How much of their living strength can they still unleash? One percent?"
"Even one percent—do you think it can kill you?" The Heavenly Corpse Emperor's gaze was sharp.
Zhang Ruochen said, "Since he was once your subordinate, you should have treated him well, not dug him up and refined him into a tool for your battles. If his corpse is destroyed, won't you feel grief?"
"To fight for me even after death—that is what they dreamed of."
The Heavenly Corpse Emperor was clearly troubled by guilt and did not wish to continue this conversation, lest Zhang Ruochen break his mental state. He said solemnly, "The victor is king, the loser a bandit. Only the living have the right to speak. Great Ren Throne, destroy that third-calamity Ghost King."
The Saint Corpse King in metal armor raised its arm, and even larger dragon-shaped lightning surged toward its palm, intending to crush Blood Moon Ghost King into oblivion.
At the same time, the Heavenly Corpse Emperor extended his hand, pressing it down toward Zhang Ruochen from a distance, preparing to suppress him and seize the Five Elements Chaos Body.
"It seems I have to use its power."
Zhang Ruochen touched his chest with his palm. The next moment, the Saint Talisman Talisman emitted a brilliant light, and specks of radiance scattered outward.
Then, a tremendous force erupted from within Zhang Ruochen's body.
"Whoosh."
Zhang Ruochen shot into the sky, smashing through the hand seal the Heavenly Corpse Emperor had cast. He flew to a point above the Saint Corpse King's head, gripping his sword with both hands. He activated all the inscriptions in the Abyssal Ancient Sword and slashed downward.
"Bang."
The war sword struck the Saint Corpse King's arm, clashing against the metal armor with a resounding clang.
The dragon-shaped lightning flowing along the Saint Corpse King's arm was shattered by the destructive force unleashed by the Abyssal Ancient Sword.
With the lightning suppressed, Blood Moon Ghost King immediately dispersed her ghostly form, turning into a cloud of ghost mist. She slipped through the gaps between the Saint Corpse King's fingers and shot toward the space maze at full speed.
The Saint Corpse King roared, and a force like a tidal wave erupted from its arm, sending Zhang Ruochen flying backward.
But in an instant, Zhang Ruochen stabilized himself, hovering in midair. He stared at the white mark on the Saint Corpse King's arm and said, "So it's the legendary White Silver Throne Saint Armor. Even the Abyssal Ancient Sword can't cut through it."
For the first time, the Heavenly Corpse Emperor showed strong emotional fluctuation, a look of surprise in his eyes. "You still have another Saint Talisman Talisman? Is that your strongest move?"
The specks of light radiating from Zhang Ruochen grew denser, and his aura became increasingly powerful. Behind him, a massive blood-red figure began to take shape.
This was the "Red Sun Saint Form" of the Tenth Emperor, Yan Liren, and the true power of the Saint Talisman Talisman.
Spirit King Saint Ancestor and Ling Feiyu stopped fighting.
"Whoosh—"
A battered coffin flew down from the sky first, crashing violently into the ground beside the Saint Corpse King.
Spirit King Saint Ancestor stood up from the coffin, three bloody sword holes in his body. Drops of ruby-like sacred blood oozed from the wounds, making him look somewhat wretched.
Ling Feiyu turned into a streak of sword light and landed beside Zhang Ruochen. Her tall figure was cold and aloof, and the Purple Mother Armor on her body released immense power, with hundreds of bolts of lightning surging out to interweave with the clouds in the sky.
The contrast was clear.
Clearly, Ling Feiyu had the absolute upper hand, worsening Spirit King Saint Ancestor's injuries.
Ling Feiyu's eyes held a look of disdain. "Who do we destroy first?"
"First, cut down the Heavenly Corpse Emperor," Zhang Ruochen said.
In truth, the Heavenly Corpse Emperor's strength was far inferior to Spirit King Saint Ancestor's. But in Zhang Ruochen's view, he was more dangerous than Spirit King Saint Ancestor. If he could be eliminated, it had to be done as soon as possible.
"If you want to kill the Corpse Emperor, you'll have to get through me first."
Spirit King Saint Ancestor pressed his hands to the ground. A rumbling sound came from beneath the earth, and then a thousand-meter-tall rock mountain rose into the air, hurtling toward Zhang Ruochen and Ling Feiyu.
The Heavenly Corpse Emperor glanced toward Blood Moon Ghost King and White Li Princess. Seeing them hidden within a strange formation, he knew he couldn't capture them to use against Zhang Ruochen.
"To be forced into a losing battle against a junior."
Knowing the tide had turned against him, the Heavenly Corpse Emperor was decisive. He said to Spirit King Saint Ancestor, "Let's go. There's no need to fight further. Continuing will only make things worse for us."