Chapter 1476: Charge Over
About thirty zhang from the sacred mansion, two extremely tiny specks were moving forward slowly. If one looked closer, they would discover that those two specks were actually two figures radiating saintly light—none other than Fang Yi and Dongliu Sword Venerable.
It was only because their bodies were so minuscule compared to the sacred mansion that they appeared as mere specks.
Fang Yi and Dongliu Sword Venerable both wore solemn expressions. With every step forward, dense patterns emerged beneath their feet.
At such moments, they would take a talisman from their storage bags and strike it against the ground.
With a rumbling boom, those patterns shattered one after another, vanishing into nothingness.
Then, the two of them continued onward.
No one knew how many talismans they had used, but finally, Fang Yi and Dongliu Sword Venerable drew closer and closer to the sacred mansion. Even with their composed minds, they could not help but reveal excited expressions.
A Rule Imperial Artifact.
Obtaining it meant not only acquiring a vast amount of Condensed Truth Saint Dew, making them the wealthiest among saints, but also increasing their chances of breaking through to the Great Saint realm, shortening the time needed, and allowing them to outpace their peers.
With a Rule Imperial Artifact, their status within the Heavenly Court Realm would rise to a new level.
"Roar."
"Rumble."
Suddenly, the air within the underground cavern trembled violently, accompanied by dragon roars and the sound of turning wheels.
"What's happening?"
Fang Yi turned to look and saw a war chariot blazing with golden light, pulled by nine giant dragons, charging out from the darkness at tremendous speed.
Whether it was the war chariot or the nine dragons, the aura they emitted was immensely powerful, causing the space to quiver slightly.
"Zhang... Ruochen..."
Fang Yi was momentarily stunned, then a flash of anger crossed his eyes.
Feng Mo stood atop one of the dragon bones of the Golden Step Dragon Chariot, grinning slyly. "Brother Fang, Brother Dongliu, long time no see. How about letting us have this sacred mansion?"
Let them have it?
How much effort had Fang Yi and Dongliu Sword Venerable expended to break through the outer formations of the sacred mansion? Why should they hand it over?
Dongliu Sword Venerable remained quite calm. "The Blade Prison Realm and Purple Mansion Realm have a large number of top-tier experts stationed here, enough to deal with them. Let's focus on claiming the sacred mansion first."
Fang Yi issued orders to the saint realm experts stationed outside the sacred mansion. "Kill them both."
At least ten saints moved into action. Some struck at the Golden Step Dragon Chariot from a distance with sacred arts and sacred artifacts, while others charged directly at it.
Those who did not join the battle released their spiritual power, staying alert.
Since Zhang Ruochen and Feng Mo had appeared here, there might well be other experts lurking in the shadows.
A thirty-meter-long, purple fish-shaped Ten-Thousand-Pattern Sacred Artifact unleashed its full power, colliding with the Golden Step Dragon Chariot.
From within the chariot, circles of golden saintly light surged forth, and dozens of dragon shadows flew outward, sending the purple fish flying away.
"What a formidable war chariot. I wonder what grade of Ten-Thousand-Pattern Sacred Artifact it is?"
Feng Mo was secretly astonished, believing that Zhang Ruochen's chariot must be of a very high rank to so easily repel a Ten-Thousand-Pattern Sacred Artifact at full power.
Even among Ten-Thousand-Pattern Sacred Artifacts, there were significant differences in power.
Sacred artifacts with ten thousand to twenty thousand inscriptions were called One-Radiance Ten-Thousand-Pattern Sacred Artifacts. When a One-Radiance artifact unleashed its full power, it formed a single ring of saintly force light mist.
Those with twenty thousand to thirty thousand inscriptions were Two-Radiance Ten-Thousand-Pattern Sacred Artifacts, forming two rings of saintly force light mist at full power.
And so on. The more inscriptions a Ten-Thousand-Pattern Sacred Artifact had, the higher its grade and the greater its power.
Of course, for Supreme Saints and Half-Step Saint Kings, Ten-Thousand-Pattern Sacred Artifacts were more of a deterrent. Even their saintly power could only sustain a One-Radiance artifact unleashing its full power once or twice.
Only top-tier prodigies like Fang Yi and Dongliu Sword Venerable, who possessed Perfect Physiques and had far broader Qi Seas than ordinary saints, could repeatedly activate the full power of a One-Radiance Ten-Thousand-Pattern Sacred Artifact.
A Two-Radiance artifact required even more saintly power. Even a saint with a Perfect Physique could not unleash its full power before breaking through to the Saint King realm.
Thus, even if the Golden Step Dragon Chariot were a Nine-Radiance Ten-Thousand-Pattern Sacred Artifact, it could only form a single ring of saintly force light mist at present, far from matching the full power of a Two-Radiance artifact.
The Golden Step Dragon Chariot advanced like a battering ram, smashing through three Ten-Thousand-Pattern Sacred Artifacts and shattering four sacred arts, charging rapidly toward the sacred mansion.
"Break for me!"
A Half-Step Saint King from the Water Clan, with a semi-transparent body, charged forward and blocked the chariot's path. He mobilized water-attribute sacred dao rules, and a silver river appeared in his palm.
The river spun, transforming into a liquid spear that struck at the Golden Step Dragon Chariot.
"Hiss."
The liquid water quickly froze into white ice, still in a spiral shape, carrying a penetrating force.
Feng Mo stomped his foot, leaping out of the chariot. He grabbed his iron staff and swung it down fiercely. That iron staff was no ordinary object, heavier than a mountain. As it descended, ripples spread through the surrounding air.
"Boom."
The spiral ice river was shattered by the iron staff, and even the Water Clan Half-Step Saint King was jolted, retreating seven steps, each spanning over ten zhang.
Cracks appeared on his body, and he suffered minor injuries.
"What a formidable Feng Mo."
The Water Clan Half-Step Saint King spread his arms and quickly raised a water sphere a hundred zhang in diameter, shielding his body inside.
Feng Mo laughed loudly. "You must be the Palace Master of the Water Mother Palace from the Purple Mansion Realm? Not bad strength, but unfortunately, you've met me."
Suddenly, from behind Feng Mo, two powerful saintly force fluctuations erupted, and two more Half-Step Saint King-level beings charged forward.
One of them, covered in purple flames, resembled a monkey and stood three zhang tall. He was the clan leader of the Flame Monkey Clan from the Blade Prison Realm.
The other was humanoid, very old, wielding a crescent-shaped curved blade. He was a disciple of a Great Saint from the Blade Prison Realm, known as Old Man Qili.
With three Half-Step Saint Kings surrounding him, Feng Mo felt the pressure and immediately dropped his smile. He ran his fingers over the iron staff, causing tadpole-shaped patterns to emerge on its surface.
"Fight!"
Feng Mo swung the staff, and a vast wave of tadpole-shaped saintly force surged outward, sweeping toward the three Half-Step Saint Kings.
True to his reputation as one of the top five experts of the Eight Divisions Realm, Feng Mo held his own against three Half-Step Saint Kings, even appearing to have the upper hand.
As he attacked, Feng Mo let out strange cries, half-laughing, half-crying, like a true mad demon.
On the other side, Zhang Ruochen drove the Golden Step Dragon Chariot unimpeded, knocking back seven Supreme Saint-level figures, three of whom were severely injured.
"Rumble."
With nine dragons running together, their momentum was enough to overpower a First-Step Saint King.
Soon, the Golden Step Dragon Chariot caught up to Fang Yi and Dongliu Sword Venerable, arriving beneath the sacred mansion.
The other saint realm experts from the Blade Prison Realm and Purple Mansion Realm were left far behind the chariot.
"What a shameless bastard. We expended so much effort and time to break all the formations, and you just barge in. Trying to reap the rewards without lifting a finger?" Fang Yi sneered.
Zhang Ruochen replied, "When it comes to shamelessness, how could I compare to you? Back then, you and those saints from the Blade Prison Realm forced us into that canyon to die. I've never forgotten that score."
At the mention of this, Fang Yi's anger flared even more. "Fine, since you're here, let's settle all grievances and old debts once and for all."
Fang Yi pressed his hands against his temples, fully activating the White Micro Star on his brow.
The next moment, a white beam shot from his forehead, striking the charging Golden Step Dragon Chariot.
"Rumble."
A ring of golden saintly force light mist formed around the chariot, clashing violently with the white beam. Chaotic waves of sacred dao power surged outward.
Unfortunately, even the power of the White Micro Star could not penetrate the chariot's defenses.
As the chariot was about to crush Fang Yi, he remained unflustered. He bit the tip of his tongue, and blood-red patterns spread across his face, extending from his lips to his brow and into the White Micro Star.
"Whoosh—"
A massive white star phantom manifested before Fang Yi.
The Golden Step Dragon Chariot slammed into the white star phantom, shaking violently before being flung to the right.
Dongliu Sword Venerable, standing nearby, narrowed his pupils to pinpricks and seized the opportunity to thrust his sword forward.
His speed was so extreme that it created eighteen afterimages, all connected in a straight line.
"Whoosh—"
Zhang Ruochen soared out of the chariot like a roc spreading its wings. The space before him twisted into a vortex.
Dongliu Sword Venerable's sword pierced into the spatial vortex but did not deviate, aiming straight for Zhang Ruochen's heart.
This showed that the power and speed of the strike, along with Dongliu Sword Venerable's sword dao will, were formidable enough to counter Zhang Ruochen's spatial distortion.
However, the sword's speed gradually slowed. The sword qi was also dispersed by the twisted space.
Eventually, the sharp sword tip stopped about three inches from Zhang Ruochen's heart.
"So close. If my cultivation were just a step further, Zhang Ruochen would not have been able to block this strike." Dongliu Sword Venerable felt a pang of regret.
"Zhang Ruochen, your cultivation has clearly grown. No wonder you dared to charge in alone. Unfortunately, you've met the two of us. Today, you're destined to taste defeat."
A small, exquisite flying dagger emerged from Fang Yi's palm, turning into a slender streak of light aimed at Zhang Ruochen's brow.
In Fang Yi's view, Zhang Ruochen, fully occupied with countering Dongliu Sword Venerable, would surely be unable to dodge this blade.