Chapter 1445: Ninety-Nine Sacred Mountains
Mu Lingxi, Su Qingling, and Bu Ji had just arrived, and their gazes first fell upon the Rakshasa Princess.
There was no helping it—the Rakshasa Princess’s aura was far too unique and eerie, capable of captivating even women who laid eyes on her.
Su Qingling circled the Rakshasa Princess, inspecting her, then giggled, “No wonder Zhang Ruochen was so late getting here—he had a beauty by his side. May I ask how to address you, sister?”
“Lingyan.”
The Rakshasa Princess remained composed, a soul-snatching power emanating from her seductive eyes.
The moment Su Qingling met her gaze, her eyes turned vacant and lifeless, her body swaying as if her soul had been stolen.
Knowing how terrifying the Rakshasa Princess’s demonic eyes were, Zhang Ruochen quickly extended his hand, pointing forward to unleash a stream of Purifying Divine Flame, which condensed into a wall of fire before Su Qingling, blocking the eerie power of those demonic pupils.
Instantly, Su Qingling’s eyes regained their clarity, and her legs, weak and trembling, stumbled back two steps.
“What… what evil art did you just use?”
Su Qingling’s pretty face was pale.
The Rakshasa Princess chuckled dismissively, ignoring Su Qingling entirely, and moved to stand beside Zhang Ruochen, pressing close to him.
“How dare you secretly harm Sister Qingling—take this punch!”
From within Bu Ji’s body, a thunderous lion’s roar erupted as waves of sacred power surged outward, gathering on his fist before blasting toward the Rakshasa Princess.
The Rakshasa Princess glanced at the Nine-Headed Azure Bird, which let out a strange cry, spread its massive azure wings, and pounced at Bu Ji. Not only did it neutralize his fist’s force, but it also pinned him down, its nine sharp beaks pecking down like raindrops.
“Where did this freak bird come from… don’t peck my eyes… I’ll kill you… ah…”
The Nine-Headed Azure Bird fought with increasing ferocity, completely dominating Bu Ji and leaving him utterly helpless.
“Stop.”
Zhang Ruochen had finally fully refined the five golden arrows. His eyes darkened as he shot the five arrows out, planting them between the Nine-Headed Azure Bird and Bu Ji.
The Nine-Headed Azure Bird and Bu Ji immediately halted their struggle.
The bird’s nine pairs of eyes turned to the Rakshasa Princess, and upon seeing her nod, it folded its wings and released Bu Ji.
Bu Ji, however, was in a sorry state—his hair was a mess, his sacred robe was torn to shreds, and a small portion of his backside was exposed.
In the Guanghan Realm, he was a top-tier prodigy, yet today he had been beaten by a bird. The humiliation was unbearable.
Zhang Ruochen fixed his gaze on the Rakshasa Princess. “They are my friends. If you want to continue cooperating, you’d better put away those sinister tricks of yours.”
The Rakshasa Princess seemed unperturbed. “The weak have no right to be friends with the strong.”
Su Qingling and Bu Ji were furious. Their strength was among the best in the entire Guanghan Realm, yet in her eyes, they were weaklings?
How outrageous.
Mu Lingxi, however, remained remarkably calm. “The entrance to the Phoenix Nest has been sealed off by the Rakshasa Clan, and it’s become extremely dangerous. I think… there’s no need to clash with the Rakshasa Clan head-on. Collecting merit points is more important now.”
“You want to give up on the Ice Fire Phoenix inheritance?” Zhang Ruochen asked.
“Yes.”
Mu Lingxi nodded.
Zhang Ruochen walked over, ruffled Mu Lingxi’s hair, and said, “I know what you’re thinking. The Phoenix Nest is indeed dangerous, but since I agreed to let you come to the Merit Battlefield, I will help you obtain the Ice Fire Phoenix inheritance.”
Zhang Ruochen called Bu Ji and Su Qingling over, gathering them together. “You’ve been near the Phoenix Nest for a while now. Tell me the specifics of the situation here.”
Su Qingling, clearly wary of the Rakshasa Princess, erected a Sacred Soul Domain to envelop them before asking, “Is she really the Lingyan Demon Consort from the Great Demon Ten Directions Realm?”
Zhang Ruochen shook his head slightly. “I’m not sure. But her strength is formidable—definitely at the Realm Son level.”
Su Qingling dropped the subject of the Rakshasa Princess and began explaining, “The Phoenix Nest is on the left bank of the Giant Whale River, surrounded by ninety-nine sacred mountains. Each mountain holds immense danger. A Supreme Saint-level expert once tried to breach one of the outer thirty-three sacred mountains but was burned to ashes by flames erupting from the ground.”
“Now, a large number of Rakshasa Marquises have sealed off the outer thirty-three sacred mountains. Any cultivator from the Seven Realms of Shatuo who approaches within a thousand li is immediately killed.”
Su Qingling drew the terrain of the outer thirty-three sacred mountains on the ground.
Zhang Ruochen frowned. “Are even the outer thirty-three sacred mountains this perilous?”
“Exactly. However, the Rakshasa Clan has many strong warriors and seems to have broken through some of the formations on the outer thirty-three sacred mountains,” Su Qingling said.
Zhang Ruochen said, “With thirty-three outer sacred mountains, there are thirty-three paths into the Phoenix Nest. Even if the Rakshasa Clan is powerful, they can’t block every path, can they?”
“That’s the crux of it.”
Su Qingling drew the positions and terrain of the middle thirty-three sacred mountains on the ground, then pointed to the peak of one. “This is where the Merit Record Wall is located.”
“The Merit Record Wall is on the peak of one of the middle thirty-three sacred mountains?” Zhang Ruochen frowned.
Su Qingling nodded. “The Holy Arrow Marquis is stationed at the entrance to the path leading to the Merit Record Wall. For the cultivators of the Seven Realms of Shatuo, the Merit Record Wall’s value surpasses even that of the Phoenix Nest.”
“So, in reality, the Rakshasa Clan has only blocked the one path to the Merit Record Wall. The other thirty-two paths are still accessible?” Zhang Ruochen asked.
Bu Ji shook his head. “The other thirty-two paths are also extremely dangerous. Breaking through won’t be easy.”
Zhang Ruochen stroked his chin. “Wait for me here. I’m going to take a closer look at the Merit Record Wall and the other thirty-two sacred paths.”
With that, Zhang Ruochen released his Space Domain, used Spatial Distortion, and vanished into the space.
Moments later, Zhang Ruochen suppressed his aura and flew to an altitude of ten thousand zhang.
From afar, he could see the ninety-nine ancient sacred mountains, each one massive, majestic, and radiating mysterious power.
The ninety-nine sacred mountains were arranged in three neat layers—outer, middle, and inner—with thirty-three mountains in each layer. At the center of the ninety-nine mountains, a light half-blue and half-red emanated, shaped like a giant nest.
The ninety-nine mountains themselves, connected together, also resembled a nest, higher on the outside and lower on the inside.
Finally, Zhang Ruochen’s gaze settled on the southernmost of the middle thirty-three sacred mountains. That mountain was ten thousand meters tall, entirely composed of cliffs.
The Merit Record Wall stood atop that mountain, emitting a dazzling white light.
“Each of the four world fragments has a Merit Record Wall. If I could obtain one and claim it as my own, wouldn’t the Guanghan Realm’s chances of topping the Sacred Merit Ranking increase?” Zhang Ruochen mused.
The most direct way to secure first place on the Sacred Merit Ranking was to collect all four Merit Record Walls.
But if he did that, Zhang Ruochen would surely be besieged by cultivators from the other six worlds. No matter how strong he was, he might not withstand it.
Zhang Ruochen gestured in another direction and let out a soft exclamation of surprise.
“This path… it might also lead to the Merit Record Wall…”
After careful calculation, Zhang Ruochen confirmed that entering through another sacred mountain could also reach the Merit Record Wall’s location, though the path was slightly longer, and no one knew what dangers lay ahead.
Zhang Ruochen temporarily retreated to inform the others.
“Bad news—I just received a message from a Guanghan Realm saint. A Rakshasa Marquis army destroyed the Merit Record Wall in the Western World,” Su Qingling said.
“Whoosh—”
A Message Light Talisman flew in from the horizon, landing in Bu Ji’s hand.
After reading its contents, Bu Ji’s expression darkened. “News from the Northern World—another Rakshasa Marquis army has destroyed the Merit Record Wall there.”
Zhang Ruochen clenched his fists involuntarily, a sense of foreboding washing over him.
Moments later, Qing Mo also received a Message Light Talisman. After reading it, she paused, then said, “Sister Danqing sent word—the Merit Record Wall in the Eastern World has also been destroyed. They’re heading our way.”
Su Qingling, too, sensed the anomaly, muttering to herself, “Three Merit Record Walls destroyed by the Rakshasa Clan in the three world fragments. What are they trying to do? And where did so many Rakshasa Marquises come from?”
Bu Ji said, “Without the Merit Record Walls, collecting Rakshasa blood and remnant souls is useless—they can’t be exchanged for merit points. Now only the Southern World’s Merit Record Wall remains. If only we could seize it.”
Zhang Ruochen’s gaze turned toward the ninety-nine sacred mountains. “Could the Rakshasa Clan be deliberately destroying the other three Merit Record Walls to lure all the saints from the Seven Realms of Shatuo to the Phoenix Nest?”
Not far away, the Rakshasa Princess’s eyes flickered. She glanced at Zhang Ruochen with an ambiguous smile.
Zhang Ruochen’s thoughts were in turmoil, and he didn’t notice the Rakshasa Princess’s strange expression. He closed his eyes, shook his head slightly, and stopped overthinking. “The priority now is to seize the last Merit Record Wall. I’ve found another path that might lead to the sacred mountain where it’s located. Who dares to explore it with me?”