Chapter 1514: The Frustrated Nine Nether
The light radiating from the Phoenix Nest grew increasingly dim.
In the sea of fire, the mid-level Purifying Divine Flame had already dissipated, and the temperature of the flames was dropping rapidly. It was precisely for this reason that Zhang Ruochen was able to jump into the sea of fire without being burned to death.
"Sizzle, sizzle."
Zhang Ruochen transformed into a streak of blood light and rushed out from the sea of fire. The Hundred Saint Blood Armor on his body had been forged into a golden-red color, extremely hot, with sparks flying off it. He turned his head to look back. The massive Phoenix Nest, under the refining of the Purifying Divine Flame, was burning fiercely, with flames soaring into the sky, brilliant and beautiful.
That enormous fireball resembled a phoenix undergoing nirvana.
"As the Phoenix Nest turns to ashes of calamity, the glorious era of the Ice Fire Phoenix has completely become a thing of the past. The Ancestral Spirit Realm, this great world that once nurtured billions of living beings and endless civilizations, is probably about to vanish entirely from the universe, becoming nothing more than a passage of text on the pages of history."
"Gods have died. Great Saints have turned to ashes. In this world, who has left behind a complete corpse?"
"On this land, how many heroic figures worthy of song and tears once existed? How many tales of love and hate? How many gifted scholars and beautiful women... And now, only a stretch of desolation and ruin remains."
Zhang Ruochen's emotions surged, and a heaviness settled in his heart. He couldn't help but ask, "When will this great era, filled with slaughter and destruction, finally end?"
No one could give him an answer, probably not even the gods.
Zhang Ruochen gazed into the distance. He saw that around the ninety-nine sacred mountains encircling the Phoenix Nest, the battle had turned the sky and earth dark. The sounds of combat continuously rang out, and waves of powerful sacred force fluctuations spread across heaven and earth.
"By the time I entered the Phoenix Nest, the battle between the Seven Realms of Shatuo and the Rakshasa Clan should have already erupted." Zhang Ruochen took a deep breath, set aside the gloom in his heart, and tightened his grip on the Abyssal Ancient Sword once more.
Zhang Ruochen detested slaughter, but if he didn't raise his sword to kill, he would only be killed himself.
The sacred Qi within his body churned violently. Then, a pair of dragon wings spread from Zhang Ruochen's back. He flew out of the sea of fire, released his spiritual power, and contacted Mo Yin.
Mo Yin was hiding near the sea of fire. Because she carried the twelve Buddha beads, which could conceal her aura, she had not been discovered.
"Greetings, Master."
Mo Yin took out the twelve Buddha beads and returned them to Zhang Ruochen.
Zhang Ruochen put the twelve Buddha beads back on his wrist. Seeing that the Merit Record Wall was still there, he breathed a slight sigh of relief and asked, "When did the Rakshasa Princess, Lingquan Young Lord, Chu Siyuan, and Nine Nether Sword Saint leave the Phoenix Nest?"
"They left one after another about half an hour ago..."
A hint of confusion appeared on Mo Yin's charming face, and she added, "It seems the Nine Nether Sword Saint obtained some extraordinary treasure. Lingquan Young Lord and a large number of first-class marquises are hunting him down."
"Oh? Is that so?"
Zhang Ruochen's heart grew heavy. He shook his head gently and said, "The Nine Nether Sword Saint may not necessarily have obtained a treasure. Lingquan Young Lord is hunting him down, perhaps to retrieve the purple divine stone."
Although the Nine Nether Sword Saint had lost the purple divine stone to Zhang Ruochen, Lingquan Young Lord was unaware of this.
Perhaps because a large number of Rakshasa Clan experts had gone to hunt down the Nine Nether Sword Saint, the area near the sea of fire was relatively calm. Only occasionally, a few Rakshasa marquises flying high in the sky would spot Zhang Ruochen and Mo Yin, but Zhang Ruochen would shoot them down immediately.
Half an hour later, Zhang Ruochen and Mo Yin ascended to the top of Qifeng Sacred Mountain and looked toward the other side of the mountain.
Instantly, both of their hearts trembled violently, and they couldn't help but gasp in shock.
It was too shocking, too tragic.
The heaven and earth of the ninety-nine sacred mountains had been beaten into a wasteland. Countless Rakshasa marquises and saints from the Seven Realms of Shatuo were locked in an unending battle. The sounds of slaughter pierced the clouds, while the ground was covered in corpses.
Corpses of Rakshasa marquises, corpses of barbarian beasts, corpses of humans...
The mountains and rivers were dyed red with blood. The formation inscriptions densely packed within the sacred mountains had long been erased. The souls and resentment of the saints soared into the sky, forming a black, ominous cloud.
Saints, in any great world, were the most supreme beings. Yet here, they fell continuously, their flesh and blood flying, their bodies shattered, their souls scattered.
"Roar."
A half-step Saint King from the Great Demon Ten Directions Realm let out a long howl. Demonic Qi surged out of his body, forming a demonic cloud. His body swelled continuously, becoming hundreds of zhang tall.
"Boom, boom, boom."
That half-step Saint King, with horns on his head and a body like a demonic bull, charged across the battlefield, slaughtering through the ranks of Rakshasa marquises. No one knew how many Rakshasa marquises he crushed into bloody mud beneath his feet.
Unfortunately, the number of Rakshasa marquises was too great. Over a thousand sacred artifacts struck him simultaneously, severely wounding him. His hundreds-of-zhang-tall body crashed heavily to the ground.
A first-class marquis with a head full of red hair swung his blade, cutting off the half-step Saint King's head, and directly swallowed it into his stomach.
Other Rakshasa marquises swarmed like locusts, surrounding the half-step Saint King's body.
Moments later, only a stark white skeleton lay on the blood-soaked ground.
The half-step Saint King, who had been full of life just moments before, had now become food in the bellies of the Rakshasa marquises.
Such scenes played out continuously across the ninety-nine sacred mountains. No matter how powerful one's cultivation, if surrounded by a large number of strong enemies, death was the only outcome.
"This great battle has been going on for at least a day."
Zhang Ruochen made this judgment based on the degree of destruction of the ninety-nine sacred mountains and the number of corpses on the ground.
Not far from Qifeng Sacred Mountain, a battlefield was particularly intense. One rather aged figure caught Zhang Ruochen's attention.
It was the Nine Nether Sword Saint.
As many as seven or eight hundred Rakshasa marquises were hunting down the Nine Nether Sword Saint, and every single one of them was a top-tier expert. Among them, the dozens of figures at the very front were especially powerful. Thick, evil Rakshasa Qi surged from their bodies, making them look like demon gods.
"The Nine Nether Sword Saint is being hunted by dozens of first-class marquises, and even more Rakshasa Clan experts are rushing over. It doesn't seem like they're just trying to retrieve the purple divine stone," Mo Yin said.
The Nine Nether Sword Saint's robe was already soaked with blood, and his heart was filled with indescribable frustration.
First, he had been severely injured by that junior Zhang Ruochen inside the Phoenix Nest. After finally recovering from his injuries, no sooner had he left the Phoenix Nest than a large group of Rakshasa first-class marquises charged out, shouting and clamoring to kill him.
Keep in mind, traveling with him were the Nine Heavens Mysterious Maiden and Chu Siyuan.
Yet the Rakshasa Clan experts had singled him out. The strongest among them all attacked him, while only the weaker marquises went after the Nine Heavens Mysterious Maiden and Chu Siyuan.
"Do they really think I'm a soft persimmon, just waiting to be squeezed?"
The Nine Nether Sword Saint was an extremely proud man. At first, naturally, he was full of heroic spirit, wielding nine swords alone against hundreds of Rakshasa marquises. But those Rakshasa marquises showed no fear. Those in front were killed, and those behind surged forward.
As more and more Rakshasa marquises arrived, no matter how strong the Nine Nether Sword Saint was, he couldn't hold out. He had to pick up his sword and flee. After all, once surrounded, even with his cultivation, he would most likely be killed.
"Kill! The princess has ordered that whoever kills this man will be enfeoffed as a king."
"This marquis wants to be a king! Who will help me activate the dual-perfection power of the Thousand-Blade Blade?"
"Use the Limitless Blood Diagram! Take him down!"
...
Dozens of first-class marquises were utterly frenzied. For the sake of becoming kings, their eyes were bloodshot. They roared loudly, staring at the fleeing Nine Nether Sword Saint ahead as if he were a naked, stunning beauty.
Besides them, second-class and third-class marquises were also howling, charging in from all directions.
There was no helping it. The temptation of "becoming a king" was simply too great. It meant rising above all other marquises, gaining access to more profound cultivation scriptures, more fiefdoms, and so on.
"Pfft."
The Nine Nether Sword Saint used the Red Sun Sword Technique. With one sword strike, he pierced through a first-class marquis's body, blasting him into pieces.
But before he could catch his breath, a blood diagram pressed down from above.
Not far away, five first-class marquises were pouring their sacred Qi into a sacred blade. Over twenty thousand inscriptions appeared on the blade's surface, forming two layers of sacred light waves. A majestic, awe-inspiring power erupted from the sacred blade.
The Nine Nether Sword Saint groaned in misery. He had no choice but to unleash his fastest speed and flee into the distance.
"Boom, boom, boom."
The power of the Limitless Blood Diagram and the Thousand-Blade Blade struck down, shattering nearly a third of a sacred mountain. The earth trembled for thousands of li, and the ground was filled with chaotic fluctuations of sacred force.
The Nine Nether Sword Saint burst out from the thick dust. His hair was covered in blood, his robe was tattered, and he was constantly spitting blood. Yet he still had to flee forward at top speed.
"He's still not dead! Continue the assault, Young Lord! We want to see him alive or his corpse dead!"
"We can't let him escape! I want to be a king!"
"We've set up the Thousand Star Grand Formation on the outskirts of the ninety-nine sacred mountains. None of the saints from the Seven Realms of Shatuo can escape!"
...
The Rakshasa Clan experts surged forward like a tidal wave, continuing to hunt down the Nine Nether Sword Saint.
The saints of the Seven Realms of Shatuo were all exchanging bewildered glances, not knowing why this was happening. However, whenever the Nine Nether Sword Saint rushed toward them, they immediately moved out of his way.
At this moment, the Nine Nether Sword Saint was no different from a jinx. Anyone who dared to get close to him would undoubtedly be attacked by a horde of powerful Rakshasa marquises.
"What heinous crime did the Nine Nether Sword Saint commit to provoke such fury from those Rakshasa marquises?"
"That sword cultivator from the Kunlun Realm must have obtained the inheritance of the Ice Fire Phoenix. How enviable."
At the top of Qifeng Sacred Mountain, Zhang Ruochen was somewhat astonished. He couldn't help but stroke his chin and said, "It shouldn't cause such an uproar over just a piece of purple divine stone, should it? Could it be that the Nine Nether Sword Saint really obtained some supreme treasure inside the Phoenix Nest? That old fellow actually has such luck?"
If the purple divine stone were truly that important, Lingquan Young Lord wouldn't have abandoned it to flee for his life that day. That was why Zhang Ruochen had this speculation.