Chapter 1563: Death Halo
“I couldn’t kill him.”
Zhang Ruochen stood opposite the Foreign King, a trace of regret in his eyes.
Even a spatial rift had failed to kill him.
Zhang Ruochen pressed his palm against his chest, feeling a scorching pain in his internal organs. Clearly, the direct clash with the Foreign King earlier had left him injured.
Zhang Ruochen and the Foreign King faced off, neither making a rash move.
The dozen or so surviving Guanghan Realm experts exchanged bewildered glances. Even the Foreign King himself had suffered a loss at Zhang Ruochen’s hands.
“No wonder he managed to gather over four hundred million merit points and storm to the top of the Sacred Merit Ranking. Zhang Ruochen’s strength is truly formidable,” they all thought.
The Foreign King’s Indestructible Vajra Body had been cultivated by devouring millions of living beings and refining their essence blood. It was a defensive sacred art on par with a mid-rank sacred art.
By continuously consuming living beings, the Indestructible Vajra Body could grow even stronger, potentially reaching the level of a high-rank sacred art.
“Sizzle.”
The wound on the Foreign King’s left shoulder glowed with golden light as it slowly healed. His expression turned serious as he said, “Zhang Ruochen, if you’ve exhausted all your trump cards, then I advise you to flee the Mirror Fragrance Cliff Dojo immediately. Otherwise, your death awaits.”
Zhang Ruochen cycled the Nine Heavens Bright Emperor Scripture once, recovering most of his internal injuries. His aura sharpened as he said, “It seems you still have stronger moves.”
“Naturally. Do you think I’ve only cultivated one mid-rank sacred art?” the Foreign King replied.
Ling Feiyu sensed more and more cultivators gathering outside the Mirror Fragrance Cliff Dojo. Her cold, clear voice rang out, “Zhang Ruochen, there’s no need to keep entangled with him. Let’s join forces and finish this quickly, before more Guanghan Realm cultivators arrive. That would be troublesome.”
The Guanghan Realm was a powerful realm with many dojos in the Truth Heaven Domain.
If they learned that the Mirror Fragrance Cliff Dojo was under attack, cultivators from other Guanghan Realm dojos would surely come to reinforce. Delaying further could reverse the situation, putting Zhang Ruochen and his group at a disadvantage.
Zhang Ruochen wasn’t one to stubbornly cling to pride. He nodded and said, “Alright, let’s join forces and finish this quickly.”
With that, Zhang Ruochen took out a wineskin and gulped down the Dragon Spirit Mad Bull Wine, which was as scalding as lava. As it entered his stomach, the sacred qi within him surged like billions of mad bulls charging.
Mu Lingxi, Su Qingling, Wen Shusheng, and Ling Mi each took out a wineskin and drank a mouthful of the Dragon Spirit Mad Bull Wine.
Knowing that the wine was more precious than many sacred pills and priceless, they drank sparingly, unlike Zhang Ruochen’s reckless gulping.
Zhang Ruochen also summoned Mo Yin and instructed, “Join Lingxi and the others. Make sure none of the Guanghan Realm cultivators escape. They dared to occupy the Guanghan Realm’s dojo—they must pay a heavy price.”
“I want to drink too.”
Mo Yin’s eyes were seductive as she lightly licked her red lips.
Zhang Ruochen took out a wineskin and tossed it to her.
Knowing Mo Yin’s fondness for alcohol, Zhang Ruochen warned, “Drink sparingly. Each mouthful of this Dragon Spirit Mad Bull Wine is worth a sacred pill.”
Mo Yin giggled, opened the wineskin’s lid, tilted her long, snow-white neck, and took a long drink.
The Guanghan Realm cultivators were deliberately stalling, waiting for reinforcements from other dojos. So, seeing Zhang Ruochen and the others drinking, they didn’t attack but secretly laughed.
The Foreign King was the first to notice something wrong. He sensed the sacred dao aura of Zhang Ruochen and his group surging rapidly, growing stronger.
“The wine they’re drinking is a sacred wine that boosts combat power. Everyone, be careful,” the Foreign King shouted, making the Guanghan Realm cultivators drop their contempt.
Any treasure that could boost combat power—whether sacred pills, sacred medicines, or sacred wine—was incredibly expensive and beyond the reach of ordinary cultivators.
Moreover, such treasures often came with side effects.
The greater the boost, the worse the side effects.
Thus, unless it was a life-or-death battle, no one would casually consume such items.
A treasure like the Dragon Spirit Mad Bull Wine, which doubled combat power without any side effects, was extremely rare and coveted by every cultivator.
“They’re already drinking sacred wine to boost their power. It seems the Guanghan Realm cultivators are ready to fight to the death.”
“Everyone, use all your trump cards. If we can hold them off a little longer, a large number of Guanghan Realm experts will arrive.”
The Guanghan Realm experts took sacred pills to amplify their combat power, pulled out offensive talismans, and prepared to form battle formations.
The desperate battle was about to erupt.
Zhang Ruochen pulled the purple divine mountain out of the ground. His skin turned slightly red, and blood surged through his veins like a mad lion king as he charged at the Foreign King.
Ling Feiyu didn’t drink the Dragon Spirit Mad Bull Wine. As a sword cultivator, she needed to maintain the clearest mental state to execute her sword techniques with the utmost precision.
Drinking the wine might not make her stronger.
Perhaps the biggest drawback of the Dragon Spirit Mad Bull Wine was that after drinking it, one’s mental state became frenzied. Though reason could still be maintained, it inevitably had some impact.
The Foreign King mobilized truth rules and continuously struck out palm seals, but his power was only slightly stronger than Zhang Ruochen’s, unable to suppress him.
Just as the Foreign King clashed with Zhang Ruochen, his old strength exhausted and new strength not yet born, Ling Feiyu’s figure turned into a streak of purple lightning, shifting out from behind Zhang Ruochen. The Burial Heaven Sword in her hand traced a circle.
“Whoosh—”
The sword circle enveloped the Foreign King.
A sword dao profound energy shot out from the center of the sword circle, like a white rainbow piercing the sun, striking the Foreign King’s chest.
With a sound of metal clashing, the Burial Heaven Sword pierced the Foreign King’s Indestructible Vajra Body, the sword tip entering his flesh. The Foreign King grabbed the sword’s edge with both hands while rapidly retreating, trying to neutralize Ling Feiyu’s sword momentum.
“Sword dao profound energy… formidable…”
The Foreign King gritted his teeth, his sacred power flowing rapidly, surging toward his arms and chest.
Earlier, Zhang Ruochen had used a spatial rift to break the Foreign King’s Indestructible Vajra Body, weakening its defense. Now, it couldn’t withstand the unstoppable sword dao profound energy.
While Ling Feiyu suppressed the Foreign King, Zhang Ruochen held the purple divine mountain with one hand, leaped up from behind her, and smashed it down toward the Foreign King’s head.
Ling Feiyu’s sword momentum didn’t diminish, ready to pierce through the Foreign King’s body at any moment.
Zhang Ruochen’s attack was no small matter—if it hit, it would severely wound the Foreign King.
The Foreign King was caught in a double crisis, almost a dead end.
“Fight!”
The Foreign King roared, tensed his legs, and lowered his center of gravity, forcing himself to stop. Instead of grabbing the Burial Heaven Sword, he mobilized sacred dao rules and condensed the Yin-Yang Thousand Thunder Hands.
“Sizzle.”
The Burial Heaven Sword pierced into the Foreign King’s chest, and a large amount of sacred blood gushed out like a red spring.
The Foreign King’s face twisted in a grimace, as if he felt no pain. He stepped forward, dodging the purple divine mountain descending from above, and struck the Yin-Yang Thousand Thunder Hands toward Ling Feiyu’s face.
The Burial Heaven Sword completely pierced through the Foreign King’s body, and the sharp sword qi severely wounded him.
“A clever move—risking death to survive.”
Ling Feiyu’s vision was filled with fierce lightning. Just as she was about to be struck dead by the Foreign King’s palm, she abandoned the Burial Heaven Sword, activated the power of the Lightning Mother Purple Garment, and unleashed hundreds of lightning bolts.
“Boom, rumble.”
Ling Feiyu, having not yet comprehended truth rules, was at a disadvantage in this exchange. She retreated repeatedly before fully neutralizing the Foreign King’s palm power.
The Foreign King hadn’t expected that his full-powered palm strike would only push her back.
“Are you wearing a divine garment?”
The Foreign King glared at Ling Feiyu, his heart burning with jealousy.
If that purple garment were on him, the power of his Yin-Yang Thousand Thunder Hands would be unimaginable.
Ling Feiyu only gave him a cold glance in return. She extended her hand forward, releasing the intent of her sword soul. The Burial Heaven Sword, still embedded in the Foreign King’s body, let out a sword cry, shifting its blade upward to tear apart the Foreign King’s flesh.
The Foreign King quickly bent his legs into a horse stance and clasped his hands together. Centered on his chest, he condensed a vortex-shaped golden sacred dao power, forcing the Burial Heaven Sword to fly out.
Ling Feiyu caught the Burial Heaven Sword again, holding it horizontally, and said, “Not bad strength.”
“If not for the suppression of equality among all beings, killing you would take me less than a second hand,” the Foreign King said darkly.
“Boom.”
Zhang Ruochen grabbed the purple divine mountain and landed behind the Foreign King, his robes fluttering and his hair like tough grass in the wind. He shouted, “Got any more tricks? Use them all. Otherwise, your death is next.”
With Zhang Ruochen and Ling Feiyu joining forces, they had severely wounded the Foreign King in just a few exchanges.
One more wave of attacks would be enough to crush him.
“Junior, you’re far too arrogant.”
The Foreign King said no more. He pressed his finger to his brow, and a golden halo burst from his head.
The halo spun and grew larger, accompanied by a rumbling, muffled roar. A full thirty-two sacred dao rules merged into the halo, making it immense.
A ring of light shot out from the halo, encircling the entire Mirror Fragrance Cliff Dojo.
Earlier, the Foreign King’s Yin-Yang Thousand Thunder Hands, though a mid-rank sacred art, had only incorporated eighteen sacred dao rules. The more sacred dao rules merged, the more powerful the mid-rank sacred art.
Outside the dojo, the watching cultivators were astonished to see the halo enveloping Mirror Fragrance Cliff.
“That’s a mid-rank sacred art—Death Halo.”
“Can a half-step Saint King cultivate a mid-rank sacred art like Death Halo?”
“There must be a Saint King—a powerful being from the Guanghan Realm—inside the Mirror Fragrance Cliff Dojo.”