Chapter 1489: Realm Son Falls
Zhang Ruochen naturally could not kill Feng Mo, and he could also tell that Feng Mo was truly unaware of the situation. Immediately, he recounted what had just happened to Feng Mo.
Feng Mo was not a fool. After hearing this, he quickly understood what was going on. Clenching his teeth tightly, he cupped his hands toward Zhang Ruochen and said, "This is entirely my fault for not thinking things through. Please don't be angry, Brother Zhang. I will return to the Eight Divisions Realm camp right now and demand an explanation."
Before Feng Mo could leave, he received a telepathic message through spiritual power. His expression shifted slightly as he said, "Yuan Hun and Golden Winged Leopard are under siege by a large number of Rakshasa Clan experts not far from Qifeng Holy Mountain. They sent me a message asking for help."
Zhang Ruochen frowned deeply. "Yuan Hun and Golden Winged Leopard's movements should have been quite secretive, and they would have been extremely cautious. How did the Rakshasa Clan know their whereabouts and set up an ambush to kill them?"
Feng Mo shook his head, equally puzzled.
The Rakshasa Princess chuckled inwardly, but her face showed a thoughtful expression. "Perhaps, after failing to receive a report from Zhen Tian Hu, they realized their plan had been exposed and set up a second trap. It's very possible that they aren't actually being besieged by the Rakshasa Clan at all—this could just be a ploy to lure us over. Zhang Ruochen, you absolutely must not go to save them, or you might fall into their scheme again."
Zhang Ruochen fell into deep thought, feeling as though an invisible force was manipulating one event after another. That force seemed very close to him, yet also as if it didn't exist at all, making it impossible to grasp.
Feng Mo grew anxious. "I have to go back. After all, many saints from the Eight Divisions Realm know that Yuan Hun came with me to see you. If Yuan Hun meets with misfortune, they might think I conspired with you to harm him. If those guys go crazy, the consequences would be unimaginable."
After Feng Mo left, Zhang Ruochen fixed his gaze on A Le and said, "Follow him. No matter what happens, at least ensure Feng Mo's life is spared. Otherwise, we'll face a frenzied retaliation from the Eight Divisions Realm, and all my plans will be ruined."
A Le's figure flickered and vanished from the spot.
Seeing A Le leave, the Rakshasa Princess sent a spiritual message out of Qifeng Holy Mountain, informing Qian Yu and issuing new orders: intercept and kill A Le.
A Le was Zhang Ruochen's right-hand man. Killing him would be like cutting off one of Zhang Ruochen's arms.
With her spiritual power at the fifty-fifth rank, the Rakshasa Princess held a significant advantage. Even staying by Zhang Ruochen's side, she could control the entire situation. Only someone like Chu Siyuan, whose spiritual power was also at the fifty-fifth rank and standing nearby, might detect her secret transmissions.
Zhang Ruochen suspected some possibilities but had no concrete evidence, so he suppressed his thoughts for now.
"First, heal my injuries. Only with strong strength can I calmly handle any variables that arise."
Sitting cross-legged, Zhang Ruochen swallowed a Spring Revival Pill and continued to recover.
Earlier, he had only temporarily stabilized his injuries, not fully healed them.
About an hour later, A Le returned to Qifeng Holy Mountain, drenched in blood, carrying an iron sword in one hand and a barely alive Feng Mo in the other.
Feng Mo's injuries were severe—a bowl-sized hole in his chest, his internal organs nearly shattered, and part of his skull had been sliced off, exposing the white bone beneath.
With his cultivation at the Half-Saint King level and strength comparable to a One-Step Saint King, even he had been beaten half to death, showing just how brutal the battle had been.
At this moment, Zhang Ruochen's injuries had mostly healed. He stood up abruptly and asked, "What happened?"
"It really was the Rakshasa Clan. One of them was Ling Quan Shaojun, who escaped from us last time," A Le said.
Zhang Ruochen took out a Spring Revival Pill and placed it into Feng Mo's mouth, pressing his palm against Feng Mo's chest. A surge of sacred Qi flowed from his palm.
As the pill's energy was refined and absorbed, the wounds on Feng Mo's chest and head rapidly healed, and within moments, they were completely closed.
The external injuries had healed, but the internal injuries remained severe. To fully recover, Feng Mo would need to wake up and slowly recuperate on his own.
While Zhang Ruochen was treating Feng Mo, the Rakshasa Princess opened her eyes. Seeing A Le return alive, a flicker of disappointment passed through her pupils.
"At least twenty Rakshasa Marquises' blood stains his clothes. Truly a formidable figure—killing so many experts in just one hour," the Rakshasa Princess thought to herself.
A Le looked at Zhang Ruochen and said, "I need to speak with you alone."
Zhang Ruochen's gaze sharpened, and he glanced at the Rakshasa Princess from the corner of his eye, suddenly realizing something.
Clearly, A Le's request for a private conversation was not to guard against Bai Li Princess but to avoid being heard by "Ling Yan Mo Fei."
Zhang Ruochen and A Le walked far away.
A hundred zhang away, Zhang Ruochen activated his Space Domain, enveloping both of them within it to prevent their conversation from being eavesdropped on by "Ling Yan Mo Fei."
"Among us, there must be one who has defected to the Rakshasa Clan," A Le said.
Zhang Ruochen asked, "Why do you say that?"
A Le replied, "The moment I left Qifeng Holy Mountain, I was ambushed by the Rakshasa Clan, and all of them were top-tier experts. I don't think there are such coincidences in the world."
Zhang Ruochen nodded silently. "Yuan Hun and Golden Winged Leopard being besieged by the Rakshasa Clan also seems premeditated."
A Le said, "Feng Mo, Bai Li Princess, and Ling Yan Mo Fei—all of them are suspects."
"You even suspect Bai Li Princess?" Zhang Ruochen showed a faint smile.
A Le said, "Except for you, I suspect everyone."
Zhang Ruochen naturally understood the gravity of the situation. He put away his smile and said solemnly, "Bai Li Princess only just joined us. If it were her, some of the earlier events wouldn't make sense. So, she is the least likely. As for Feng Mo and Ling Yan Mo Fei... both of them suffered severe injuries this time, which seems like an attempt to divert suspicion."
"However, Ling Yan Mo Fei is the Realm Son of the Great Demon Ten Directions Realm. The possibility of her defecting to the Rakshasa Clan is extremely low. Moreover, after spending so much time with her, she has had many opportunities to harm me but never acted. If it were her, there would also be many inconsistencies."
"By that logic, Feng Mo is the most suspicious. It's entirely possible that he led the Rakshasa Clan's experts to ambush Yuan Hun out of old grudges. But if it were him, wouldn't his flaws be too obvious?"
A Le said, "No matter which of the three it is, that person must be extremely difficult to deal with. Their intelligence and methods are certainly above both of ours."
Zhang Ruochen had to admit this. After all, the person had managed to stay by his side without revealing any flaws—a feat Zhang Ruochen himself doubted he could achieve.
Zhang Ruochen asked, "Did Yuan Hun escape?"
A Le shook his head gently. "Probably not. At the time, at least three terrifying experts of comparable strength to Yuan Hun were attacking him together and had already severely wounded him. Escaping would be nearly impossible."
"Yuan Hun cannot die. Take me there—I hope we're not too late."
Zhang Ruochen withdrew his Space Domain, his gaze sweeping over the Rakshasa Princess, Bai Li Princess, and Feng Mo before settling on the Rakshasa Princess. "Lady Mo Fei, would you like to come with us?"
The Rakshasa Princess was extremely cautious. Knowing that Zhang Ruochen had begun to suspect her, she readily agreed. "Fine."
Zhang Ruochen, A Le, and the Rakshasa Princess left Qifeng Holy Mountain, while Bai Li Princess stayed behind to watch over Feng Mo and guard Qiu Yu.
Leaving Qifeng Holy Mountain, they entered a swampy area.
The heavens and earth were filled with chaotic sacred power. The vast swamp had been torn apart, with some areas frozen for dozens of li and others turned into lakes of magma.
Beside a magma lake, Zhang Ruochen and the others found Yuan Hun's corpse.
Yuan Hun had died a miserable death. Except for his head, all the flesh on his body had been devoured clean by Rakshasa Marquises, leaving only a human-shaped skeleton.
His corpse was hung on a broken spear, his eyes wide open, his face twisted in agony. It was clear he had been eaten alive, not killed first.
A peerless genius with a perfect physique had died such a tragic death, undoubtedly enduring unbearable pain before his end.
Even Zhang Ruochen and A Le found it hard to remain calm at the sight, involuntarily drawing sharp breaths.
The Rakshasa Princess deliberately made her face pale. "Why didn't Yuan Hun self-destruct his Sacred Source?"
"Perhaps the Rakshasa Clan's experts carried some spiritual sacred artifact that suppressed Yuan Hun's spiritual will, preventing him from self-destructing," Zhang Ruochen speculated.
A Realm Son being devoured was a shocking event. Through the battlefield mirrors, all the beings of the Eight Divisions Realm and the Heavenly Court's experts could see this. One could imagine their fury and despair.
In the magma lake, Zhang Ruochen found Golden Winged Leopard's skeleton, also picked clean.
There was nothing to be done. Even if Zhang Ruochen and A Le had rushed over together, given Zhang Ruochen's severe injuries at the time, they likely couldn't have changed the outcome.
Now, Zhang Ruochen had to focus on how to handle the subsequent events that Yuan Hun's death might trigger—that was the real headache.
"Is there still a living saint here?"
A thunderous voice echoed through the swamp.
A Rakshasa Clan expert had detected Zhang Ruochen and the others.
Instantly, a surge of evil Rakshasa Qi rose from all directions, like thick dust shooting into the sky, forming a dark red evil cloud that surrounded Zhang Ruochen, the Rakshasa Princess, and A Le at the center.