Chapter 1385: Killing Frenzy
After the Crown Prince Edict was issued, the Bright Hall also experienced a massive upheaval. A large number of powerful figures rushed to Shengming City, gathering on a spiritual mountain shrouded in white mist in the western part of the city.
The Hall Master of the Bright Hall, Kong Sheng, stood atop the spiritual mountain. His pupils were emerald green as he gazed into the distant smoke and flames of battle. With a meaningful tone, he said, "They actually dare to attack the Lingxiao Heavenly King Manor. Don't they know how formidable the power the imperial court has deployed in Shengming City is?"
Kong Hongbi, clad in a blood-red sacred jade battle armor, stood behind the Bright Hall Master and snorted coldly, "Overestimating themselves. They clearly want to get all the old ministers of the Holy Bright Central Empire killed."
Kong Hongbi was quite frustrated. Back in Shengming City, he had mobilized a large number of people to spread rumors, hoping to use the imperial court's hand to eliminate Zhang Ruochen. He never expected his words to become reality—Zhang Ruochen really was the Holy Bright Crown Prince.
The appearance of the Crown Prince Edict placed the Bright Hall in a very awkward position.
The Holy Bright Crown Prince was the legitimate ruler. If they did not respond to the edict, some of the old Holy Bright remnants under the Bright Hall would certainly have major objections. But if they answered the edict, wouldn't that mean submitting to Zhang Ruochen?
If he truly had to submit to Zhang Ruochen, Kong Hongbi would surely vomit blood from anger.
An elder of the Bright Hall, a Saint, said, "Zhang Ruochen is young and reckless, not knowing the gravity of the situation. But Mingjiang Wang is a figure who has lived for nearly a thousand years—how could he join in this nonsense? Don't they know how powerful the formations in Shengming City are? Don't they know how terrifying Lingxiao Tianwang's cultivation is?"
Inside the Lesser Saint Heavenly King Manor, Wan Huayu stood atop the manor wall, gazing at the waves of sacred battle qi light radiating from afar. A complex expression appeared in her eyes as she murmured to herself, "Zhang Ruochen has finally made his move. I wonder how many will die in this battle."
"Princess, should we dispatch troops to rescue the Lingxiao Heavenly King Manor?" asked an old man with graying hair.
Wan Huayu shook her head. "With the foundation of the Lingxiao Heavenly King Manor, they can handle any enemy. They don't need our help. My father is not in the manor, so we must be cautious. Activate the manor's protective formation immediately to prevent the Holy Bright army from attacking the Lesser Saint Heavenly King Manor."
Shengming City was a city with a history of over a million years. Countless ancient kingdoms had established their capitals here. The city's territory was vast, stretching tens of thousands of miles with no end in sight.
At eighty-one different locations in the ancient city stood a thousand-meter-tall metal formation tower.
A voice echoed above each formation tower: "By order of the Heavenly King, activate the city-protecting grand formation immediately to suppress and kill the Holy Bright rebels within the city."
At that moment, the imperial court officials and formation masters stationed in the towers quickly mobilized their sacred qi and spiritual power, doing their utmost to activate the city-protecting grand formation.
"Boom!"
The eighty-one metal formation towers simultaneously erupted with brilliant light, releasing a terrifying wave of power.
The city, spanning tens of thousands of miles, trembled violently.
Standing within the city, one could see eighty-one points of light on the horizon, as dazzling as eighty-one stars.
Even Saints felt their hearts tremble with fear at this moment.
"The city-protecting grand formation has been activated. It can kill all traitors. The Holy Bright rebels will all be annihilated!"
A voice rang out from within the Lingxiao Heavenly King Manor, followed by the sound of war drums. The morale of the imperial army surged, and they launched a counterattack, cutting down a large number of Holy Bright Central Empire cultivators.
Attacking the Lingxiao Heavenly King Manor would inevitably result in bloodshed and death—it was unavoidable.
The aura emanating from the metal formation towers grew increasingly powerful, yet the city-protecting grand formation could not be activated. The formation inscription patterns had been damaged, preventing it from unleashing its full power.
At the same time, the old Holy Bright ministers hidden within the imperial court launched their attacks. At least half of the formation towers were engulfed in bloody battles.
"The city-protecting grand formation has been destroyed. It's no longer a threat. Keep charging forward, cut a bloody path, and breach the gates of the Lingxiao Heavenly King Manor!"
Mingjiang Wang drew a golden sacred blade. The vast sacred qi within his body flowed like great rivers, surging into the blade as he swung it out.
"Roar!"
A deafening dragon's roar resounded.
Immediately, ten dragon shadows appeared, each tens of miles long, descending with the golden blade's light.
They were the shadows of ten divine dragons.
"Boom!"
The ground outside the city gate was torn apart by the blade qi. The layers of reinforced formation patterns beneath the earth were severed, and the towering Sun-Moon Gate was struck, cracks appearing on its surface.
The Lingxiao Heavenly King Manor had once been the imperial palace of the Holy Bright Central Empire. The ancient palace-protecting formation had been passed down from ancient times.
Even with the protection of the ancient palace formation, the Sun-Moon Gate had been cracked by several strikes. This showed just how terrifying the power of Mingjiang Wang's blade was.
"The Ten-Dragon Blade."
"Legend has it that it was the Ming Emperor's personal blade."
...
The Ming Emperor had four battle treasures: the Eight-Dragon Umbrella, the Nine-Dragon Chariot, the Ten-Dragon Blade, and the Hundred-Dragon Ming Emperor Armor.
It was said that the Eight-Dragon Umbrella, the Nine-Dragon Chariot, and the Ten-Dragon Blade were all extremely powerful ten-thousand-pattern sacred artifacts, containing eighty thousand, ninety thousand, and one hundred thousand inscription patterns, respectively.
The Hundred-Dragon Ming Emperor Armor was a supreme sacred artifact, passed down from the Middle Ages, with boundless power, considered the number one treasure of the imperial clan.
Eight hundred years ago, Mingjiang Wang was the most talented among all of the Ming Emperor's siblings. Thus, the Ming Emperor had gifted him the Ten-Dragon Blade.
The Ten-Dragon Blade was not comparable to ordinary ten-thousand-pattern sacred artifacts. Mingjiang Wang swung it with all his might, unstoppable. After a dozen consecutive strikes, the ancient palace-protecting formation shook violently, and the city wall near the Sun-Moon Gate was covered in dense cracks.
"Only by breaking the ancient palace-protecting formation can we capture the Lingxiao Heavenly King Manor. Where is the Dragon-Protecting Pavilion? Why haven't they made a move?" Zhang Ruochen roared.
"Whoosh!"
Bright white lights flew out from the night sky.
The figures within the light were all clad in white robes and wore starry sky masks.
"Candle Heaven Finger."
The Deputy Pavilion Master formed hand seals with his fingers, then pointed forward, unleashing a sacred art.
Sacred arts were divided into low-rank, mid-rank, and high-rank sacred arts.
The Candle Heaven Finger fell into the category of high-rank sacred arts. The power it unleashed was incomparable to the low-rank sacred arts practiced by Saints.
The sacred power of the Candle Heaven Finger struck the ancient palace-protecting formation. Millions of rays of multicolored light descended simultaneously, as if a god were making a move. The scene was terrifying, covering the entire Lingxiao Heavenly King Manor and forcing countless imperial soldiers to prostrate themselves on the ground.
The ancient palace-protecting formation was scorched red by that sacred power.
Part of the Candle Heaven Finger's power penetrated the formation's defensive barrier, reaching the interior of the Lingxiao Heavenly King Manor. Splendid palaces exploded, mountains collapsed, and it looked like a world-ending force.
"Heavens... what kind of power is this? What kind of terrifying figure has arrived?"
"A high-rank sacred art, definitely a high-rank sacred art. Could it be that among the Holy Bright rebels, there is a peak-level Saint King?"
...
At the very least, one needed to be a peak Saint King to possess enough sacred qi to unleash a high-rank sacred art. Any figure who could reach the peak Saint King realm was a world-shaking existence. Who wouldn't be shocked by such a person's appearance?
The nobles and descendants within the Lingxiao Heavenly King Manor had lost all their arrogance from previous days. They were terrified out of their wits by the power of the Candle Heaven Finger.
Right after the Deputy Pavilion Master unleashed the Candle Heaven Finger, dozens of Dragon-Protecting Pavilion members each struck with a sacred artifact, attacking the palace-protecting formation.
Over thirty sacred artifacts, the weakest of which was a thousand-mark sacred artifact with six thousand inscription patterns. Additionally, there were three ten-thousand-pattern sacred artifacts.
Such powerful sacred artifacts could each cause tremendous destruction, enough to destroy a city or annihilate a mountain range.
When dozens of sacred artifacts descended simultaneously, the thousand-mark annihilation force and the ten-thousand-mark annihilation force intertwined, tearing open a corner of the ancient palace-protecting formation.
"Boom!"
The Sun-Moon Gate, one of the eight gates of the Lingxiao Heavenly King Manor, had its several-zhang-tall gate melted into molten iron in an instant.
During the battle eight hundred years ago, the ancient palace-protecting formation had been damaged. Although the imperial court had repaired it, it was never as powerful as before.
Thus, under the full assault of the Dragon-Protecting Pavilion, it took only a few breaths to shatter a corner of the ancient palace-protecting formation.
"The Dragon-Protecting Pavilion really does exist! This is wonderful!"
A fiery light blazed in Mingjiang Wang's eyes. His battle intent boiled over as he raised the Ten-Dragon Blade and charged into the Sun-Moon Gate, taking the lead.
At the same time, the Deputy Pavilion Master transmitted a spiritual message into Zhang Ruochen's ears: "I'll deal with Lingxiao Tianwang."
Then, the Deputy Pavilion Master transformed into a streak of light and also rushed into the Sun-Moon Gate.
Moments later, a battle at the Saint King level erupted deep within the Lingxiao Heavenly King Manor. The light from various sacred arts turned the night into day.
"The Sun-Moon Gate has been breached! Charge in together! Avenge our fallen relatives and friends! Fight for the Holy Bright! Wash away the shame of eight hundred years ago!"
Zhang Ruochen gripped the Holy Bright War Banner in one hand and the Abyssal Ancient Sword in the other. Like an arrow, he advanced at top speed. In an instant, blood flew everywhere as he killed with a frenzy, as if venting all the hatred accumulated over the years.
The Blood Moon Ghost King, A Le, the Demon Ape, and the Devouring Demon Dragon followed closely behind Zhang Ruochen, shattering the imperial cultivators charging from the left, right, rear, and above into clouds of blood mist.
"So you are the Holy Bright Crown Prince. This old man will take your life!"
An old man who had reached the True Saint realm stepped out from the Lingxiao Heavenly King Manor. He stomped his foot, and a force that could collapse heaven and earth surged outward, pulling Zhang Ruochen into his battle circle.
Because the Empress had no descendants, the Lingxiao Heavenly King Manor was the most powerful branch of the First Central Empire's imperial clan. Its foundation was naturally astonishing, attracting many powerful human cultivators willing to serve it.
This old man was one of them.
He had cultivated for over five hundred years and was a figure comparable to the master of a medieval aristocratic clan.
"You are not worthy. Die!"
At this moment, Zhang Ruochen's battle intent was boiling over. He simultaneously unleashed the Time Domain, Space Domain, and Sword Dao Domain, pulling the True Saint-level old man into his own domain instead.
"Rumble!"
Zhang Ruochen poured all his sacred qi into the Abyssal Ancient Sword, mobilizing the Sword Seven sword intent. He slashed down wildly, delivering over thirty consecutive strikes. The old man was forced back step by step, spitting blood.
Finally, Zhang Ruochen cleaved through his sacred source and qi sea, killing him.
Crimson True Saint blood stained Zhang Ruochen's hair and robes.
"Kill!"
Zhang Ruochen roared. Using the war banner, he hoisted the True Saint's corpse, swung his war sword, and continued charging forward, exuding an overbearing aura of a ruler descending upon the world.