Chapter 1469: Facing the Enemy Alone
The Rakshasa marquis hiding around the temple spotted Qing Mo, and immediately, a third-class marquis-level Rakshasa woman raised an ebony sacred staff and swung it in Qing Mo's direction.
As Qing Mo sprinted frantically, a large cluster of black feathers flew out from the swamp, silently wrapping around her from behind.
Zhang Ruochen held the Azure Sky Bow and shot an arrow.
"Whoosh——"
The Daylight Arrow shattered the black feathers in the sky, turning into an arc of light that slammed into the third-class marquis-level Rakshasa woman.
With a splattering sound, the Rakshasa woman's body was pierced through, and she flew backward, crashing into a sea of flames where her entire body ignited.
In an instant, she turned to ash.
Qing Mo was startled and looked back behind her.
A figure flashed by, and the next moment, Zhang Ruochen appeared before her, saying, "How reckless. Don't you know how dangerous it is here?"
Zhang Ruochen walked toward the temple while drawing the bowstring and firing another arrow in an unknown direction.
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...
Inside the temple, the battle was nearing its end.
Only a dozen or so saints remained alive.
Canglan Wu Sheng, after all, had not reached the Ultimate Saint realm. Even by burning her sacred blood, she could only fight evenly with Tian Ge Hou.
As time passed, the side effects of burning sacred blood became apparent. Canglan Wu Sheng's combat power rapidly declined, and her body grew weaker.
Tian Ge Hou chuckled lightly, touched his waist, and pulled out a golden, radiant chain.
"The Saint-Binding Chain."
The golden chain was originally only one zhang long, but as the evil-fiend energy was infused into it, it spun violently, growing longer and longer until the sky was filled with the shadows of chains.
In Canglan Wu Sheng's current weakened state, she had no way to dodge, and the chain wrapped around her snow-white neck.
"Come here."
Tian Ge Hou exerted force with his wrist, and Canglan Wu Sheng was pulled toward him like a paper doll.
"Trying to enslave me? That's impossible. Let's die together."
Canglan Wu Sheng gritted her teeth, feeling deeply humiliated. She tried to circulate her sacred energy to self-destruct her Qi Sea and Sacred Source. However, the Saint-Binding Chain contained an extremely sinister power that suppressed the sacred energy within her.
Without being able to circulate her sacred energy, she naturally couldn't self-destruct.
"Bang."
Canglan Wu Sheng fell heavily to the ground, the golden chain around her neck clattering as it dragged her to the feet of Ling Quan Shao Jun.
"Ah..."
As the foremost of the Nine Heavens Mysterious Maidens, Canglan Wu Sheng held a commanding status in the Kunlun Realm. She had never suffered such humiliation, but she couldn't die even if she wanted to. Her heart was filled with indescribable despair.
In addition, several other first-class marquises also used Saint-Binding Chains to restrain all the other saints.
The saints of the Kunlun Realm had lost their combat ability.
Ling Quan Shao Jun's gaze fell on Canglan Wu Sheng's slender, snow-white body at his feet, then looked at the other Mysterious Maidens and Confucian cultivators, sneering contemptuously: "I told you to obey obediently, but you wouldn't listen. With your meager strength, you should show some reverence for the Rakshasa Clan."
Only Shengshu Cainü, relying on the Confucian Ancestor Sacred Book, was still struggling to hold on.
"Break for me."
Bai Yun Hou raised a dark red battle axe, mobilized all his evil-fiend energy, and swung it down with a single strike. A tens-of-zhang-long axe shadow appeared.
"Boom."
The pages of the Confucian Ancestor Sacred Book trembled violently.
Hundreds of thousands of characters were sent flying by the force of the axe.
Shengshu Cainü let out a muffled groan, her slender body flying backward like a yellow leaf in the wind. The Confucian Ancestor Sacred Book, losing its spiritual power support, fell from midair.
Bai Yun Hou laughed loudly, pulled out the Saint-Binding Chain, and swung his arm. The chain turned into a golden thread, winding toward Shengshu Cainü's slender waist.
At that moment, a crystalline red hand reached out from below the temple steps, grabbed the Saint-Binding Chain, and neutralized all the power within it.
"Whoosh."
Zhang Ruochen's imposing figure rushed up from below the temple, and in the next instant, he stood opposite Bai Yun Hou.
One of Zhang Ruochen's hands gripped the Saint-Binding Chain, while the other reached up and caught Shengshu Cainü's waist as she fell from above.
Shengshu Cainü's body trembled slightly, then she turned her delicate face, her starry eyes locking onto Zhang Ruochen's chiseled facial contours. Involuntarily, the corners of her mouth lifted slightly.
But the next moment, she quickly averted her gaze and lowered her head, even the curve of her lips fading away.
"It's him."
Canglan Wu Sheng and Siming Shennü were momentarily stunned. They never expected Zhang Ruochen to appear here.
The nine first-class marquises present were slightly surprised by this uninvited guest, but then they sneered coldly.
"Bai Yun Hou, what are you waiting for? Kill him," Tian Ge Hou said.
Bai Yun Hou's arm exerted force, activating the inscriptions within the Saint-Binding Chain. Purple lightning emerged from the chain, transforming into dozens of electric dragons that lunged at Zhang Ruochen with bared fangs and claws.
Zhang Ruochen's palm surged with a large amount of lightning, shattering the electric dragons. Then, he pulled back sharply, sending a tremendous force through the Saint-Binding Chain toward Bai Yun Hou.
The next moment, Bai Yun Hou's body was pulled by that force, flying toward Zhang Ruochen.
"Not good..."
Bai Yun Hou sensed that Zhang Ruochen's strength was far greater than that of the Kunlun Realm saints. He quickly raised his battle axe, activated tens of thousands of inscriptions within it, and slashed down at Zhang Ruochen.
Zhang Ruochen's hand was clad in a crystalline red fist glove. He formed a palm seal and struck upward.
"Roar!"
A deafening dragon roar echoed as a several-hundred-meter-long azure fire dragon flew from Zhang Ruochen's palm, colliding with Bai Yun Hou.
"Boom."
Bai Yun Hou flew backward, his sturdy body slamming into a pillar of the temple, causing the entire structure to shake slightly.
When Bai Yun Hou slid to the ground, he found that his sacred armor had been burned with numerous small holes.
"Purifying Divine Flame."
Bai Yun Hou's expression changed. He looked at Zhang Ruochen again, and this time, there was a hint of wariness in his eyes.
The other first-class marquises present also dropped their smiles. Even if they hadn't fought Zhang Ruochen, they could tell that his strength was formidable—a true heavyweight on the Heavenly Court side.
Zhang Ruochen set Shengshu Cainü down, withdrew his hand from her waist, and stood upright, his gaze sweeping over the Rakshasa marquises and the Kunlun Realm saints.
Canglan Wu Sheng lay on the ground, the Saint-Binding Chain around her neck. When her eyes met Zhang Ruochen's, she immediately looked down, wishing she could find a crack in the ground to crawl into.
Finally, Zhang Ruochen's gaze settled on Ling Quan Shao Jun.
Ling Quan Shao Jun was also sizing up Zhang Ruochen, apparently recognizing him. A smile crept onto his face: "Zhang Ruochen, I've been looking for you for a long time. I didn't expect you to deliver yourself to my doorstep."
Zhang Ruochen's aura was powerful and icy cold: "It might not be me delivering myself. Perhaps I'm here to send you off."
Ling Quan Shao Jun's lips curled: "Your strength is indeed decent. But don't be overconfident. There are nine first-class marquises here. How many can you handle?"
"Given the current situation, I have no choice. I'll have to fight all nine at once."
Zhang Ruochen activated the Hundred Saint Blood Armor, covering his entire body, then drew the Abyssal Ancient Sword. His entire presence became incredibly sharp.
Tian Ge Hou raised his bronze war halberd and walked toward Zhang Ruochen, chuckling darkly: "I've killed many human saints, but this is the first time I've met a human as arrogant as you."
The Kunlun Realm saints sighed inwardly.
The ten Rakshasa cultivators present were no ordinary figures. Each one could fight against a Saint King and sweep through ordinary saints.
If Zhang Ruochen had appeared earlier and joined forces with them, they might have been able to fight their way out.
But now...
For Zhang Ruochen to defeat two first-class marquises working together would be no easy feat. To fight nine first-class marquises plus Ling Quan Shao Jun, whose strength was unfathomable, was simply impossible.
Faced with such a lineup, even a One-Step Saint King would have to retreat.
Tian Ge Hou was confident in his own strength, but he wasn't arrogant. He glanced at Bai Yun Hou and said, "Let's join forces and take him down."
Bai Yun Hou nodded, his battle intent boiling. He also wanted to defeat Zhang Ruochen and reclaim the face he had lost earlier.
Ling Quan Shao Jun crossed his arms over his chest, looking calm and composed: "I want him alive."
Ling Quan Shao Jun's main purpose in coming to the Ancestral Spirit Realm was to deal with Zhang Ruochen. Since the princess thought so highly of him, Ling Quan Shao Jun intended to capture him and tame him into a war pet.
Only then would the princess realize that Ling Quan Shao Jun was stronger and more powerful than this human man.
Bai Yun Hou and Tian Ge Hou both rose into the air, surging with vast evil-fiend energy that turned into two dark demonic clouds.
The Lin Tian War Halberd and the Giant Halberd Axe trembled violently. Within them, two artifact spirits manifested as enormous humanoid demonic shadows.
"Suppress."
Under the control of the two first-class marquises, the two Ten-Thousand-Pattern Sacred Artifacts unleashed their full power, crashing down toward Zhang Ruochen.
Zhang Ruochen's pupils rapidly contracted. He stomped his foot on the ground, activating the first layer of the Hundred Saint Blood Armor. A hundred lower-level saint soul shadows burst forth from the armor, standing in a hundred different positions.
"Break."
Zhang Ruochen mobilized the power of a hundred saints and executed the True One Thunder Fire Sword Technique.
With a single slash, a torrent of sword energy and lightning intertwined, forming a stream dozens of miles long that slammed into the two Ten-Thousand-Pattern Sacred Artifacts.
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(Today I can only update one chapter. I really want to say it's because of a headache, but you probably wouldn't believe me, so I won't say it. I'll try to update three chapters tomorrow. Of course, if I don't manage three, don't complain. After all, having this intention is worth encouraging, right?)