# Chapter 1550: The Mantis Stalks the Cicada, Unaware of the Oriole Behind
A terrifying and bizarre power surged from the lightning talisman. In an instant, within the purple formation, the sacred souls of all cultivators were frozen in place.
"Could that be... a Soul-Suppressing Talisman?"
Mu Lingxi, Su Qingling, and Wen Shusheng felt as if the sacred souls within their bodies were about to be crushed. Their bodies were completely immobilized, and their heads throbbed with excruciating pain.
Clearly, that lightning talisman was an indiscriminate attack. Therefore, Tianshu and Tianmiao were also suffering. They quickly withdrew their Ten-Thousand Pattern Sacred Artifacts, circulated the sacred qi within their bodies, and used all their strength to resist the power emanating from the talisman.
Zhang Ruochen's sacred soul was also suppressed, and the sacred qi within his body was nearly stagnant.
"A fifty-sixth-level Spiritual Power Saint King is truly this terrifying."
Zhang Ruochen's face was pale. He looked ahead and saw the black soul body holding the lightning talisman with both hands, walking toward him step by step, as if death itself were approaching.
"My sacred soul is different from ordinary people's. It has already split into six parts, each fused into the four major sacred sources, the Time Sacred Phase, and the Space Sacred Phase. Even if he truly used the legendary Soul-Suppressing Talisman, it could at most suppress the sacred souls within the four sacred sources. The Time Sacred Phase and Space Sacred Phase are not something he can suppress."
Zhang Ruochen forced himself to remain calm, took a long deep breath, mobilized his spiritual power, and secretly communicated with the Time Sacred Phase and Space Sacred Phase in his qi sea.
Seeing Zhang Ruochen completely unable to move, the black soul body let out a hoarse laugh: "Zhang Ruochen, today this king will take over your body. From now on, this king will inherit your identity as the Heir of Time and Space."
The black soul body walked up to Zhang Ruochen, examining his body as if appraising a work of art. It nodded with satisfaction. "Supreme Perfect Physique, plus the identity of the Heir of Time and Space. This should be one of the most top-tier bodies in the entire universe. Haha, this king's luck is truly extraordinary."
"Zhang Ruochen..."
In the distance, Mu Lingxi's ten fingers turned into sharp claws. She gritted her teeth, her eyes icy cold, and recklessly activated the inheritance power of the Ice Fire Phoenix. The pair of phoenix wings on her back burst forth with dazzling radiance, and a vast Great Saint power erupted.
The inheritance power of the Ice Fire Phoenix was within the phoenix wings. Over time, it had been continuously fusing into Mu Lingxi's body.
If she paid a certain price, she could unleash that inheritance power and explode with unparalleled combat strength. However, because Mu Lingxi's body was still too weak, it simply could not withstand the power of a Great Saint. If she rashly activated the inheritance power, even if she didn't die from self-destruction, her meridians and sacred veins might all shatter, turning her into a cripple.
Seeing that Zhang Ruochen was about to be taken over, Mu Lingxi couldn't care about anything else. She had to desperately activate the inheritance power.
But before the inheritance power could fully erupt, the brilliant star above the purple formation once again scattered dazzling starlight, landing on Mu Lingxi and suppressing the inheritance power.
"Pfft."
Suffering backlash from the inheritance power, Mu Lingxi spat out a mouthful of blood and collapsed to the ground, barely breathing.
The black soul body let out a mocking laugh: "With the Merit Divine Seal suspended in the sky, the sacred phases and inheritance powers on your bodies cannot exert their strength at all. However, this king has made a surprising discovery. In the Ancestral Spirit Realm, the Rakshasa Clan and the saints of the Seven Worlds fought rivers of blood, all vying for the Ice Fire Phoenix's inheritance. Yet I never expected the lucky one to be you. Not bad, not bad."
"Your relationship with Zhang Ruochen seems quite unusual, and your appearance is extremely beautiful. Well then, after this king takes over Zhang Ruochen's body, the first step will definitely be to conquer this little phoenix."
The black soul body said no more and extended a hand that looked like ink.
Gradually, that black soul hand became sharper and sharper, like a awl, stabbing toward Zhang Ruochen's brow.
Suddenly, Zhang Ruochen's eyes regained their luster, shooting out two extremely sharp beams of light filled with killing intent. "You're seeking death!"
Behind him, the Time Sacred Phase and Space Sacred Phase manifested, appearing as two formless vortices, crashing toward the black soul body.
"How is this possible?"
The black soul body let out a cry of alarm, sensing danger. It immediately sent the lightning talisman flying out to block the Time Sacred Phase and Space Sacred Phase.
At the same time, it transformed into a gust of dark wind and rapidly retreated backward.
Knowing that the lightning talisman was extremely powerful, Zhang Ruochen did not let the Time Sacred Phase and Space Sacred Phase clash with it. Instead, he took out a Heavenly Firmament Purple Fire Talisman, pinched it between two fingers, and pressed it forward.
"Boom."
The two talismans collided, producing an earth-shattering explosion.
Gu Songzi's combat strength was not strong, but his spiritual power was terrifyingly powerful. The Heavenly Firmament Purple Fire Talisman he refined naturally possessed extraordinary power. In an instant, it tore the lightning talisman apart.
Purple flames turned into scorching waves of fire, crashing onto the black soul body.
Immediately, the black soul body let out a miserable scream that echoed through the space. It desperately rushed toward its physical body, trying to return to it.
The power unleashed by the two talismans was equivalent to a clash between experts above the Third Step Saint King. One could imagine how terrifying that destructive force was.
Zhang Ruochen was very close and bore the brunt of it. He was sent flying backward. After falling to the ground, he felt as if his five viscera and six organs were all dislocated. Blood beads oozed from his entire body. He couldn't straighten his body and could only maintain a half-kneeling posture.
"How could that old fellow Gu Songzi's Heavenly Firmament Purple Fire Talisman be so abnormal? It's almost comparable to a full-force strike from a Fourth Step Saint King. If I had known earlier, I should have used the talisman from the very beginning. I wouldn't have had to fight so hard." Zhang Ruochen felt somewhat frustrated.
In the Kunlun Realm, Zhang Ruochen had also seen Gu Songzi use the Heavenly Firmament Purple Fire Talisman. Although it was also strong, its power could only be used to deal with a First Step Saint King.
Therefore, Zhang Ruochen had always treated the three Heavenly Firmament Purple Fire Talismans as a means to buy time when escaping.
But Zhang Ruochen didn't know that Gu Songzi wasn't incapable of refining powerful Heavenly Firmament Purple Fire Talismans. It was because he was too poor and didn't have enough sacred stones to buy top-tier talisman refining materials. The Heavenly Firmament Purple Fire Talismans he refined in the Kunlun Realm all used mid-to-high-grade materials. Those materials simply couldn't withstand some powerful talisman inscriptions, so Gu Songzi's room for creativity was very limited.
For Zhang Ruochen to have him refine a higher-grade Heavenly Firmament Purple Fire Talisman, he spared no expense, throwing in all the sacred stones from the entire Yuanxu Peak Holy Land and some of his own sacred stones to buy the most top-tier materials.
As a result, the power of the Heavenly Firmament Purple Fire Talisman was completely different.
Zhang Ruochen had also misjudged its power, so he ended up injuring himself severely.
Not only that, the power unleashed by the Heavenly Firmament Purple Fire Talisman also sent Tianshu and Tianmiao flying. Even though they activated their protective talismans, they were still heavily injured, lying on the ground and continuously spitting blood.
The flames unleashed by the Heavenly Firmament Purple Fire Talisman burned the black soul body, making it increasingly transparent. Finally, at the last moment, the black soul body escaped back into its physical body.
That half-human, half-soul body suddenly raised the White Bone Saint Staff.
"Whoosh."
The skull at the top of the White Bone Saint Staff immediately spat out a patch of purple light, forming a barrier that blocked the impact of the purple flames.
The two forces remained deadlocked for a full quarter of an hour before gradually subsiding.
Hun Wang's sacred soul had suffered severe damage. He also half-knelt on the ground, using the White Bone Saint Staff to support his body, which trembled slightly. He gritted his teeth and said, "Zhang Ruochen, since you had such a powerful talisman, why didn't you use it from the beginning? Did you save it until the end specifically to scheme against this king?"
Zhang Ruochen felt somewhat speechless but naturally wouldn't reveal the real reason. He laughed and said, "Refining one consumes too many resources, and... I only had one. Once used, it's gone. Naturally, I was reluctant to use it until the last moment."
Tianshu and Tianmiao were quite angry but didn't doubt Zhang Ruochen's words. Because with their financial resources, they also couldn't afford that level of attack talisman.
Using one talisman was equivalent to throwing away a small mountain of sacred stones.
Refining a talisman, buying top-tier materials was only part of the expense. The greater expense was hiring a talisman master to help refine it. A top-tier talisman master at the Saint King level was rarer than a Great Saint.
At this moment, everyone present was severely injured. However, Zhang Ruochen still had one trump card left—his parasitic plant, the Devouring Sacred Flower.
Zhang Ruochen was about to summon the Devouring Sacred Flower to end today's battle. Suddenly, he sensed something and looked toward the large palm-shaped pit in the distance, revealing a puzzled expression.
"Haha."
A laugh came from within that large pit.
Hun Wang, Tianshu, and Tianmiao all became alert and looked toward the direction of the laughter.
Gradually, a disheveled figure walked out from the bottom of the palm-shaped pit, appearing in everyone's view.
It was Wu Hao, who had been slapped into the bottom of the palm-shaped pit by Zhang Ruochen earlier.
But at this moment, Wu Hao had no injuries on him. Apart from having bloodstains on his body and looking quite disheveled, his spirit was extremely full, and a smile hung on his face: "Impressive, Zhang Ruochen. You are indeed very strong. With your strength alone, you severely wounded the four great experts under Shang Zihong's command, far exceeding my expectations."
"You're not dead?" Zhang Ruochen's eyes narrowed.
Wu Hao clasped his hands behind his back and let out a long laugh, an air of arrogance on his face as if he were commanding the world. He looked at Zhang Ruochen, Hun Wang, Tianshu, Tianmiao, and the others as if they were ants. "How could I possibly die? The one you killed with your palm was merely a puppet substitute I had refined into my body. The ones who are truly going to die are you."
Tianmiao sensed something was wrong and immediately said, "Wu Hao, why don't you kill Zhang Ruochen immediately?"
Wu Hao's gaze darkened. He walked up to Tianmiao, grabbed her neck, lifted her from the ground, and held her above his head. He said coldly, "A dog like you, serving at Shang Zihong's side, dares to order this Realm Son around? Shang Zihong wanted to use me to deal with Zhang Ruochen, but didn't I also want to use him to deal with Zhang Ruochen?"
The veins on Wu Hao's face bulged. His arm suddenly exerted force, slamming Tianmiao heavily onto the ground with a loud "bang," causing her to writhe in pain on the ground.