Chapter 1538: Wang Xu
On Yuanxu Peak.
The stone statue of Manjian the Great Saint withdrew its holy light and spoke again, "The other party must be carrying treasures that conceal aura and heavenly secrets. Even I could not locate them."
The assembled saints were all shocked.
Even if a Great Saint did not primarily cultivate spiritual power, their attainment in spiritual power was still extremely formidable. Moreover, a Great Saint's holy thoughts could pierce through heaven and earth, discern heavenly secrets, and perceive the smallest details. For beings who had not reached the Great Saint realm to evade a Great Saint's perception and detection was nearly impossible.
"What kind of formidable figure has arrived?"
"Such a terrifying expert, hiding near Yuanxu Peak Sacred Land, is like a blade hanging over Zhang Ruochen's head, ready to strike down at any moment."
"Why would an expert from the Soul Realm want to kill Zhang Ruochen?"
...
...
Zhang Ruochen lightly stroked his chin, a contemplative expression on his face.
According to what the Moon God had said, there was a dark force within the Heavenly Court that had been constantly cleansing and suppressing major worlds connected to the Kunlun Realm. Although Zhang Ruochen had been forced to leave the Kunlun Realm by Chi Yao, he still bore the label of the Kunlun Realm.
In the Ancestral Spirit Realm, Zhang Ruochen had earned over four hundred million merit points, surging to the top of the "Sacred Merit Ranking" and becoming the most sought-after figure among the saint realm cultivators of the Heavenly Court.
If such a dark force truly existed, how could it possibly let him go?
It would surely crush him with the force of a thunderbolt, killing him and halting his rise.
Of course, Zhang Ruochen had other enemies within the Heavenly Court.
For example, the Blade Prison Realm and the Purple Mansion Realm.
In particular, the cultivators of the Blade Prison Realm likely harbored a deep, bone-deep hatred for Zhang Ruochen. It was because of Zhang Ruochen that the Blade Prison Realm had ended up at the bottom of the merit war, plunged into conflict, and become a sacrificial pawn in the war between the Heavenly Court and the Hell Realm.
It was not impossible for the Blade Prison Realm to offer a high price to enlist experts from the Soul Realm to kill Zhang Ruochen.
Additionally, some hidden agents of the Hell Realm lurking within the Heavenly Court might also come to kill Zhang Ruochen.
"It must be one of these three forces."
Zhang Ruochen made this guess in his heart.
Mu Lingxi was worried and said, "Zhang Ruochen, you shouldn't stay at Yuanxu Peak Sacred Land any longer. Come with me to Moon God Mountain. No matter how powerful the cultivators of the Soul Realm are, they wouldn't dare approach Moon God Mountain."
Su Qingling said, "Even if you don't go to Moon God Mountain, you could go to the Crimson Dragon Sacred Hall and cultivate by Manjian the Great Saint's side. I don't believe they'd be bold enough to kill someone in a Great Saint's cultivation ground."
The experts of the Soul Realm were too terrifying, making everyone extremely uneasy.
Zhang Ruochen remained very calm, shaking his head with a smile. "I can't always hide by the side of the Moon God or Manjian the Great Saint, can I? Besides, Yuanxu Peak Sacred Land is protected by the Ninefold Cloud Tower Formation. Ordinary Saint King realm experts can't break in. Even if the opponent is truly powerful enough to breach the formation and enter, Manjian the Great Saint can manifest at any time and kill them."
Manjian the Great Saint was clearly somewhat angered. A majestic voice came from the stone statue: "The Crimson Dragon Sacred Domain is my territory, and I will surely protect you. That coward from the Soul Realm had better not show himself. If I find his trail, I will make sure his soul is scattered to the winds."
The divine voice spread out in ripples, traveling a thousand miles away.
Deep within the Laurel Ridge, the dozen or so figures standing within the purple formation diagram all heard Manjian the Great Saint's words, but they showed no fear.
Within the purple glow, Xiao Xu laughed, "King, Manjian the Great Saint has already declared he'll scatter your soul. Are you afraid?"
"Afraid? How could I not be? Manjian the Great Saint is indeed very powerful. But he doesn't even know who I am, so how can he kill me? Haha."
The King possessed the Heaven-Breaking Dao Talisman and had no fear of Manjian the Great Saint, so he laughed without restraint.
...
...
At noon, Wu Hao, Su Qingling, Wen Shusheng, Mu Lingxi, Ling Mi, and the two One-Step Saint Kings left Yuanxu Peak Sacred Land.
Manjian the Great Saint sent a strand of his holy thought to accompany them, ensuring their safety.
Until they left the Crimson Dragon Sacred Domain, the expert from the Soul Realm never appeared.
"It seems the target is very clear—they want to kill Zhang Ruochen and have no interest in Wu Hao or Su Qingling." Manjian the Great Saint withdrew his holy thought and did not continue following.
After leaving the Crimson Dragon Sacred Domain and entering another sacred domain, Wu Hao and the others quickened their pace, wanting to return as soon as possible.
Suddenly, a white mist rose from beneath the ground ahead. In just a few breaths, the fog enveloped the mountain ridges and the sky.
"Everyone be careful, this white mist is strange."
Wu Hao activated his saint qi and shouted.
"Everyone be careful, this white mist is strange."
"This white mist is strange."
"Strange..."
A series of echoes came from around him, but there was no response from Su Qingling, Wen Shusheng, or the others. Wu Hao's expression changed drastically as he realized he had stumbled into a very peculiar area.
"This is bad."
Wu Hao quickly stopped, circulating his saint qi faster. His pupils blazed with dazzling holy light, and he struck a palm strike to his right.
"Boom."
The palm print flew only ten zhang before being blocked by a layer of water curtain. A whirlpool appeared on the water curtain, swallowing his palm strike.
Wu Hao's eyes grew heavy with caution as he scanned his surroundings. His voice was firm and sharp: "Who are you? If you have the skill, show yourselves and fight me openly."
From within the white mist came a series of mocking laughs: "Haha, with your third-rate strength, you were played like a pitiful monkey before Zhang Ruochen, unable to fight back at all. And you still want to fight me? You overestimate yourself too much."
Hearing this, Wu Hao's face turned pale. He gritted his teeth, flames flickering in his eyes.
"What, not convinced? Can you defeat Zhang Ruochen? I'm afraid even if Zhang Ruochen fought you with one hand, you wouldn't be his match." The laughter rang out again.
Before Zhang Ruochen appeared, Wu Hao had always been a proud son of heaven, worshipped and admired by countless cultivators. When had he ever been so humiliated?
Wu Hao opened all one hundred and forty-four orifices, unleashing one hundred and forty-four pillars of saint qi. He stomped heavily on the ground, causing heaven and earth to tremble violently.
"Come out!" Wu Hao roared.
"Ah, since you're not convinced, I'll reluctantly make a move and let you deeply understand what it means to know your place."
From within the white mist, a piercing sound of breaking air came from behind Wu Hao.
Wu Hao's reaction was as fast as lightning. He formed a palm seal, and six fire serpents appeared in his palm, transforming into six torrents of flame that blasted toward the direction behind him.
"Too slow!"
The voice changed direction, appearing behind Wu Hao.
"Bang."
Before Wu Hao could change his move, a dark blade light slashed across the back of his left leg, cutting through the gap in his holy armor into the flesh, sending a spray of holy blood flying.
The saintly meridians and muscles of his left leg were severed.
Such an injury was nothing to a saint, but a surge of blade qi rushed into Wu Hao's body from the wound, icy cold, numbing half of his left leg.
"What terrifying blade technique. With that incredible speed and the precise angle of the strike, he must have integrated blade dao rules into his technique to achieve that level." Wu Hao was shocked.
"At least you're a perfect physique, but why are you so weak? Could it be that the top techniques and sacred arts of the Guanghan Realm have all been snatched by other worlds, so they can't cultivate a decent expert?" The voice from the white mist seemed to be talking to itself or deliberately mocking Wu Hao.
"Damn it."
Wu Hao's eyes blazed with fury. He clasped his hands together, about to activate the souls of the ten ancestors.
But the blade light flew over first, slicing across the back of Wu Hao's right leg, drawing another spray of blood.
A sharp pain shot through his leg, and Wu Hao let out a muffled groan, his face twisted in agony. In the next moment, both his legs went numb and began to tremble uncontrollably.
Yet Wu Hao struggled to support himself, maintaining a standing posture.
"Your cultivation is far above mine. Even if you kill me, what does it prove? If we were at the same level, I wouldn't lose to you."
Sweat beaded on Wu Hao's face. A large amount of holy blood flowed from the backs of his legs, pooling into a bloody puddle at his feet, but he still refused to admit defeat.
Finally, the figure appeared, standing ten zhang away from Wu Hao. Shrouded in mist, his form was somewhat blurry.
In the figure's hand was a blade curved like a crescent moon. "You're at the Half-Step Saint King realm, and so am I. How is that not the same level?"
"Impossible. If you're at the Half-Step Saint King realm, how could your strength be so great?"
Wu Hao refused to believe it. After all, he was the realm son of the Guanghan Realm, the most powerful figure among the saints of a major world. If they were at the same level, how could he not even see the opponent's figure before having his leg meridians severed?
It was impossible.
"It's not that I'm too strong; it's that you're too weak."
"Tap, tap."
The figure stepped forward, walking toward Wu Hao one step at a time.
Gradually, Wu Hao finally saw his face clearly. His expression grew more and more shocked, as if he couldn't breathe. After a long while, he squeezed out a sentence: "You are... ranked seventh on the 'Sacred Merit Ranking'... Wang Xu..."
"Oh, you recognized me!"
Wang Xu let out a laugh, then walked up to Wu Hao, placed a hand on his shoulder, and said, "Why are you still struggling? What's the point? If you want to kneel to me, then kneel!"
Wang Xu's finger tapped lightly on Wu Hao's shoulder, unleashing a tremendous force like a divine mountain pressing down.
Wu Hao's bones cracked and popped. With a "bang," he fell heavily to his knees, crushing a large area of the ground beneath him.
This kneeling completely shattered Wu Hao's pride and backbone.
This kneeling also utterly collapsed Wu Hao's state of mind.