Chapter 1483: Bone Phoenix
“This is too much. Not only did they take the Rule Imperial Weapon, they also want to use the saints of the five great worlds to suppress us together.”
“Find Zhang Ruochen. We must tear him into a thousand pieces.”
...
Inside the Wujin Holy Mountain, the saints of the Blade Prison Realm and the Purple Mansion Realm learned of this and were all gnashing their teeth in fury.
Fang Yi and Dongliu Sword Venerable also had grim expressions. Knowing they could not sit idly by, they immediately summoned the top-tier saints of the two worlds to discuss ways to kill Zhang Ruochen.
If they did not kill Zhang Ruochen immediately, the Blade Prison Realm and the Purple Mansion Realm would be in a very passive position, and it was highly likely they would end up at the bottom.
At this moment, Zhang Ruochen, A Le, and the Rakshasa Princess had already arrived at the foot of Qifeng Holy Mountain. Looking up, they saw the mountain was densely covered with ancient parasol trees, their branches lush and leaves thick. Wisps of Heavenly Saint Qi coiled around the mountain, presenting a scene of a blessed immortal land.
Qifeng Holy Mountain was one of the thirty-three innermost holy mountains, once the habitat of the Phoenix Clan of the Ancestral Spirit Realm.
Of course, the phoenixes of the Ancestral Spirit Realm were already extinct, and Qifeng Holy Mountain had become lifeless and desolate.
The moment they stepped into Qifeng Holy Mountain, the ground shook violently.
"Boom, rumble."
Huge white bones emerged from beneath the soil, each segment over ten meters long, covered with faint blue patterns. Then, a chilling cold air burst forth from the bones, covering nearly half of Qifeng Holy Mountain with white frost.
Each of the thirty-three innermost holy mountains held great danger.
Therefore, facing this sudden change, Zhang Ruochen, the Rakshasa Princess, and A Le were not panicked. They quickly retreated at lightning speed, creating a long distance.
Only when the white bones had completely emerged from the ground did they see clearly—it was a complete phoenix skeleton. When its bone wings spread out, they were over five hundred meters long.
"Even though it has turned into bones, it can still burst out from underground," the Rakshasa Princess said with a seductive smile.
Zhang Ruochen stood with his hands behind his back, his expression solemn. "Deep within the bone phoenix's skeleton, there is a wisp of an undying holy soul. It is that wisp of soul that allowed it to crawl out from underground."
A Le said coldly, "It's not just a holy soul; there is also a tremendous resentment."
"Caw—"
A sharp cry came from the bone phoenix's beak, the sound waves layering one after another, carrying extremely powerful offensive force.
The Heavenly Saint Qi of Qifeng Holy Mountain shook violently. Boulders shattered into powder. Even the parasol trees that had grown for tens of thousands of years and developed intelligence could not withstand it, making creaking sounds as they shed leaves the size of winnowing baskets.
Zhang Ruochen took out the Buddha Emperor Relic and formed a layer of Buddhist light protective shield to withstand the impact of the sound waves.
"So powerful. When the bone phoenix was alive, its cultivation must have reached the level of a Three-Step Saint King," Zhang Ruochen said.
The Rakshasa Princess said, "This is no small trouble. Even if a Three-Step Saint King has turned into bones and can only unleash one-tenth of their power, they are still far stronger than a One-Step Saint King."
"Boom, rumble."
The bone phoenix flapped its wings, soared into the air, and swooped down toward the three of them.
One of its bone claws pressed down.
Immediately, a wave of air pressed down on them, as if solidifying the air itself, making it impossible to escape from beneath the claw.
Zhang Ruochen quickly circulated his Saint Qi and pointed upward.
"Sizzle."
Space was torn open, turning into a pitch-black rift that slashed upward.
On the surface of each segment of the bone phoenix's claw, a phoenix pattern emerged. From these patterns, spatial power radiated out, pressing the spatial rift shut again.
"That is... a Space Imprint."
Zhang Ruochen stared at the center of the bone claw, his eyes narrowing sharply. Then, he activated the Hundred Saint Blood Armor, summoned the Abyssal Ancient Sword, and began to activate the inscriptions within the sword.
Along the way, through the ninety-nine holy mountains, they had discovered a large number of Space Inscriptions and Time Imprints. This showed that the master of the Phoenix Nest must have been a formidable space cultivator and time cultivator.
That existence was likely the Ice-Fire Phoenix, who held a lofty status in the Ancestral Spirit Realm. It was entirely normal for the Ice-Fire Phoenix, having cultivated the Way of Space to such a profound level, to bestow a few Space Imprints on a junior at the Three-Step Saint King level.
The Rakshasa Princess took out a seven-foot-long water-blue holy staff. As her spiritual power surged into the staff, a circular arc-shaped light membrane burst forth from a strange stone at the top of the staff.
The giant bone claw collided with the light membrane, causing it to tremble violently.
Even with her spiritual power at the fifty-fifth rank, the force of this blow turned her face pale, and she could barely hold onto the holy staff.
Then, the bone phoenix struck a second time, piercing through the light membrane and descending straight toward the three of them.
At this moment, Zhang Ruochen unleashed the full power of the Abyssal Ancient Sword. Leaping up, he raised the war sword and slashed upward.
"Crack."
The Abyssal Ancient Sword was incredibly sharp, cutting off a small piece of the bone phoenix's claw.
However, Zhang Ruochen was also injured by the force from the claw. He crashed heavily to the ground, causing the earth to sink beneath him.
Wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth, Zhang Ruochen used his Heavenly Eye to stare at the massive bone phoenix above. "That wisp of the bone phoenix's holy soul is hidden inside its holy source, which is located in the middle of the third phoenix bone of its spine. Lingyan Demon Concubine and I will hold it off. A Le, you dig out the bone phoenix's holy source."
The bone phoenix was highly alert and had Space Imprints on its body that could suppress spatial power. Using Space Displacement to dig out the holy source would be extremely risky.
Working together as a team would give them a better chance of success.
"Whoosh."
A Le leaped up, reaching a height of over ten zhang, and grabbed a bone at the tail of the bone phoenix. Then, he quickly climbed upward from the tail.
The bone phoenix noticed the tiny "ant" on its body and let out another sharp cry. The phoenix patterns on its body grew brighter.
Zhang Ruochen stepped on a luan bird and a phoenix, rising into the air to the same height as the bone phoenix. He summoned the Purifying Divine Flame and sent a wave of fire directly at the bone phoenix.
The Rakshasa Princess used her holy staff to condense a series of icebergs over a hundred meters tall, which fell and smashed onto the bone phoenix.
Facing the fierce attacks from Zhang Ruochen and the Rakshasa Princess, the bone phoenix became enraged. It had no time to deal with the "ant" on its body and focused all its efforts on these two major enemies.
The phoenix patterns on the bone phoenix's body withstood the burning of the Purifying Divine Flame. Its right bone wing pierced through the flames and struck Zhang Ruochen's waist horizontally, sending him flying like a swatted fly. He crashed into a cliff face on Qifeng Holy Mountain.
Even wearing the Hundred Saint Blood Armor, Zhang Ruochen felt immense pain, as if his waist had been cut in half. His entire body was momentarily paralyzed.
"What terrifying power. Even a dead Three-Step Saint King is this strong... cough..."
Blood coughed from Zhang Ruochen's mouth.
"Boom."
The Rakshasa Princess also flew over and crashed into the cliff, causing shocking cracks to spread across the entire cliff face. A large mouthful of bright red blood spilled from her lips.
Even at this moment, a smile still hung on her face. "I wanted to use Space Displacement to dodge, but the bone phoenix was too fast. I couldn't dodge... pfft..."
She spat out another mouthful of blood.
"Caw!"
The bone phoenix's entire body was shrouded in cold air, like a demon god from hell. It charged up from below, extending its two giant bone claws to press down on Zhang Ruochen and the Rakshasa Princess, who were embedded in the cliff.
The Rakshasa Princess's pupils contracted. Her finger pressed toward her navel, ready to use her trump card.
Just then, the bone phoenix's massive body suddenly stopped, becoming motionless. The phoenix patterns on its bones dimmed and lost their luster.
"Boom."
The killing intent on the bone phoenix vanished, and its skeletal body fell to the bottom of the cliff with a loud crash.
In midair, A Le held his sword in one hand and the holy source he had just dug out of the bone phoenix's body in the other. He asked, "Can you still hold on?"
"Of course," Zhang Ruochen said with a smile.
"Bang."
An unexpected event occurred.
A ball of flame flew out from somewhere and struck A Le, sending him flying.
When the flame dissipated, it turned into parasol tree leaves, fluttering in the air.
A Le's body fell limply into the abyss below. It was unclear whether he was alive or dead.
Zhang Ruochen had never expected such a turn of events. His gaze was extremely cold as he roared, "A Le!"
The Rakshasa Princess was also quite surprised. Even with her level of spiritual power, she had not sensed the danger in advance.
Below the cliff, an ancient parasol tree swayed. An extremely handsome young man walked out from inside the trunk, his entire body radiating a fiery red light.
It was as if the ancient parasol tree had all its life force drained by the handsome young man. It withered rapidly, its leaves turning yellow and falling to the ground, leaving it bare.
Seeing that handsome young man, Zhang Ruochen's gaze grew even colder. "It's you."
Qiu Yu grabbed the holy source that had been dug out of the bone phoenix's body from a distance, pinching it between two fingers and playing with it. A smile curled at the corner of his mouth. "I originally sneaked into Qifeng Holy Mountain to absorb the parasol tree essence here. I never expected you to come here too."
"Was it you who ambushed A Le?" Zhang Ruochen asked.
Qiu Yu stepped through the void, climbing the cliff step by step, approaching Zhang Ruochen and the Rakshasa Princess. He said indifferently, "He was someone I already killed once. What does it matter if he dies again?"
Murderous intent surged in Zhang Ruochen's eyes. "Last time at the Demon Sect's headquarters, Chi Yao shielded you, allowing you to barely keep your dog's life. I never thought you would dare to oppose me again."
Thinking of what happened at the Demon Sect's headquarters, Qiu Yu became furious. That was the greatest shame of his life. Not only was he defeated by Zhang Ruochen in three moves and thrown into a cauldron to be refined, forcing him to beg for mercy, but Zhang Ruochen also took away his fiancée.
These four great humiliations had caused him to lose all face and be ridiculed by the entire Kunlun Realm. It was more painful to him than death itself.
However, Qiu Yu quickly suppressed the anger in his heart. A smile appeared on his face, and he spoke with the air of a victor. "In your current state, I could crush you with one hand. But I won't kill you so easily. Zhang Ruochen, once you fall into my hands, you should prepare yourself for a fate worse than death, a life of unbearable pain."