Chapter 1598: Severed Heads
At the level of status, position, and cultivation that Golden Peng Prince had reached, what beautiful woman had he not seen?
The reason he had put so much effort into pursuing the Hundred Flowers Fairy was partly because he had truly fallen in love with her at first sight, his soul entangled with thoughts of her. However, the more important reason was that the Hundred Flowers Fairy possessed not only beauty but also the identity of the young generation's leader of the Thousand Stamen Realm, the potential to become a god, the powerful backing of the Mandala Flower God, and the heaven-defying ability to make sacred medicines grow ten times faster.
Golden Peng Prince was a top-tier prodigy of the Golden Winged Great Peng Clan, the grandson of a god, and the son of a Great Saint, holding an exalted status.
Yet, the bloodline of the Golden Winged Great Peng Clan was powerful, giving birth to many formidable divine sons and princes, three to five of whom were not weaker than Golden Peng Prince in strength.
If he could win the Hundred Flowers Fairy, his divine grandfather would value him more, granting him more resources, allowing him to surpass the others and become the future ruler of the Golden Winged Great Peng Clan.
Having a powerful wife would elevate his status and position even further.
But now, years of relentless pursuit had all turned to ashes in an instant.
Golden Peng Prince's thoughts raced, and then a flash of surprise lit up his face. He said, "So it's you, Fairy. How wonderful, now I can rest easy! I was about to spend all my sacred stones to rescue Dan Ling Wang and send her back to the Hundred Flowers Palace. Haha, it seems I was overthinking things."
"Is that so? You would send my senior sister back to the Hundred Flowers Palace?" Ji Fanxin asked.
Golden Peng Prince put on a solemn expression and said, "Of course. I have long known that Dan Ling Wang is like a sister to you, Fairy. Even if it costs me my life, I would save her."
In truth, because he had never been able to win Ji Fanxin, Golden Peng Prince had wanted to buy Dan Ling Wang as a substitute to satisfy his desires.
Sending Dan Ling Wang to the Hundred Flowers Palace to please Ji Fanxin was something he had never even considered. Doing so would not only offend the Yin Yang Hall but also leave a bad impression on Ji Fanxin for visiting such a place.
It was a loss with no gain.
Now, however, he had no choice but to say this.
Ji Fanxin naturally did not believe him. Coldly, she said, "Yet I heard you say you are a regular at the Yin Yang Hall."
Golden Peng Prince was momentarily at a loss for words, unable to come up with an excuse.
Ji Fanxin continued, "My senior sister has been missing for several months. You must have known for a while, right? Why didn't you rescue her earlier? Why did you never tell me, leaving her to suffer so long inside?"
Golden Peng Prince finally realized he could not deceive Ji Fanxin today and stopped pretending. He said, "Since the Fairy does not appreciate my goodwill, I have nothing more to say. But if word gets out that the Fairy joined forces with Zhang Ruochen to raid the Yin Yang Hall, I fear the Hundred Flowers Palace and the Thousand Stamen Realm will not know peace."
This statement carried a strong threat.
Though Golden Peng Prince was domineering and arrogant, he was not foolish. From their earlier exchange, he had already guessed Zhang Ruochen's identity with eighty to ninety percent certainty.
At the heights of Golden Peng Prince and Ji Fanxin, they naturally knew some inside information. They understood that Zhang Ruochen was a troublesome figure, and the enemies he would face were terrifyingly powerful. Anyone who got too close to Zhang Ruochen would bring great disaster upon themselves.
Golden Peng Prince intended to use this to threaten Ji Fanxin, perhaps even using the opportunity to win her over.
Ji Fanxin fell silent, her eyes fixed on Golden Peng Prince hovering in midair.
Golden Peng Prince smiled inwardly, feeling a fifty percent chance that Ji Fanxin might compromise.
But what came instead was a surge of overwhelming killing intent. A powerful wave of sacred energy rolled toward him like layers of water.
"Not good, Ji Fanxin wants to kill me to silence me."
Golden Peng Prince flapped his wings, unleashing his top speed as he transformed into a golden light and fled into the distance.
He was fast, but Ji Fanxin was even faster. She struck with a Ten-Thousand Pattern Sacred Artifact, which erupted with three layers of sacred light waves in purple, blue, and green, as if three flames enveloped the artifact.
The might radiating from the Ten-Thousand Pattern Sacred Artifact weighed down the air ten thousand times, making it hard for Zhang Ruochen to breathe.
"Such terrifying cultivation! In an instant, she activated the Three Radiance Perfect Power of a Ten-Thousand Pattern Sacred Artifact." Zhang Ruochen gained a deeper understanding of Ji Fanxin's strength.
To put it in perspective, even Zhang Ruochen, at his current cultivation, would need half a breath to activate the One Radiance Perfect Power of the Abyssal Ancient Sword. To activate the Two Radiance Perfect Power would take dozens of breaths.
In battle, who would give you dozens of breaths to gather power?
Even using half a breath to unleash the One Radiance Perfect Power required seizing the right moment.
But Ji Fanxin could instantly activate the Three Radiance Perfect Power. The gap between their cultivations was immense.
"Ten-Thousand Pattern Sacred Artifact, Three Radiance Perfect Power activated so quickly..."
Golden Peng Prince's face changed drastically.
He had always known Ji Fanxin was strong, but he never imagined she was this overwhelmingly powerful, far surpassing him.
If only he hadn't threatened her, if he had just pretended not to know Zhang Ruochen's identity, relying on his past efforts to win her over, he might have avoided this deadly disaster.
But regret came too late.
Golden Peng Prince took out a ring-shaped Ten-Thousand Pattern Sacred Artifact, instantly activating its Two Radiance Perfect Power to block the hairpin-like Ten-Thousand Pattern Sacred Artifact flying from behind.
"Boom!"
At the first contact, the ring-shaped artifact was sent flying, and his hands were torn apart by the sacred power of the hairpin, drenched in blood.
"Crash!" The hairpin struck Golden Peng Prince's chest.
Just as he was about to be killed, divine patterns surfaced on his skin, blocking the hairpin's power. He was only knocked back, suffering minor injuries.
"I have divine inscriptions carved on my body to protect me. You cannot kill me. Once I escape, you'll be the one begging me. Haha!"
Golden Peng Prince laughed wildly, spread his wings, and fled into the distance.
"Whoosh!"
Suddenly, blinding divine light illuminated the world, piercing Golden Peng Prince's eyes and causing blood to flow from them. The terrifying heat made the sacred energy in the air boil.
Golden Peng Prince endured the pain in his eyes and looked down. Beneath him, a massive fire lotus was blooming.
"Is this Ji Fanxin's true body, the Divine Illumination Lotus?"
Golden Peng Prince felt a chill of fear and flew at his fastest speed.
But no matter how far he flew, even possibly beyond the Heavenly Capital Mountain, the fire lotus below did not disappear. The lotus seemed infinitely vast, stretching to the horizon, impossible to escape.
Soon, the divine patterns on Golden Peng Prince's body grew dimmer under the flames of the fire lotus, eventually vanishing entirely.
Without the protection of the divine patterns, how could Golden Peng Prince stand against Ji Fanxin?
The Divine Illumination Lotus merely shook gently, and the power it released shattered Golden Peng Prince into pieces, scattering him as a rain of blood.
Having done this, Ji Fanxin let out a slight sigh of relief and turned her gaze toward Zhang Ruochen.
But where was Zhang Ruochen?
While she was dealing with Golden Peng Prince, Zhang Ruochen had used a space rift to break through the spatial blockade here, escaping the area.
Clearly, the treasure Golden Peng Prince had used to seal the space was far inferior to the Glazed Heaven Sealing Cover.
Zhang Ruochen naturally had to leave immediately.
Because Ji Fanxin might very well kill him to silence him as well.
Only by killing Zhang Ruochen could she sever all ties with him and prevent him from using today's events to threaten her in the future.
Perhaps Ji Fanxin was not the type to burn bridges, but Zhang Ruochen had to be cautious and not let his life rest in her hands.
After Ji Fanxin left, Zhang Ruochen circled back and approached the Yin Yang Hall again.
"The Yin Yang Hall is powerful, well-organized, and filled with experts. With my current cultivation, attacking it would be a near-certain death. I should wait until I break through to the Saint King Realm and fully comprehend the three meditation diagrams of the Truth Temple. When I am better prepared, I will return to settle the score with these heretical masters."
Attacking the Yin Yang Hall was inevitable.
But he only had one life, and he had to be careful.
Zhang Ruochen transformed into a different appearance, donned a loose black robe, and strode toward the Yin Yang Hall, planning to retrieve Xiao Hei and then immediately leave the Heavenly Capital Sacred Market, returning to the Mirror Fragrance Cliff Dojo.
Before he even reached the Yin Yang Hall's gate, a black shadow rushed out from the entrance.
It was Xiao Hei.
"Oh? Xiao Hei, how did you get out first?"
Zhang Ruochen used his spiritual power to call out to Xiao Hei.
Xiao Hei recognized Zhang Ruochen in his loose black robe and showed a look of joy. He quickly said, "Zhang Ruochen, come with me. Leave now, right now."
"You haven't answered my question yet," Zhang Ruochen said, finding Xiao Hei's behavior unusual.
"Leave the Heavenly Capital Sacred Market with me, and I'll tell you."
Xiao Hei, afraid Zhang Ruochen would stay, wrapped a black wing around him, trying to force him to leave.
This only made Zhang Ruochen more suspicious. He said sternly, "What happened? Did you learn something inside the Yin Yang Hall?"
"Listen to me. Leave now. Have I ever led you astray?" Xiao Hei's eyes were red with urgency.
Just then, a series of footsteps came from inside the Yin Yang Hall. A dozen or so heretical masters walked out, each carrying a bloody head. Using chains with iron hooks, they pierced the lips of the heads and hung more than ten of them above the Yin Yang Hall's gate.
Seeing those heads, Zhang Ruochen's mind exploded with a deafening roar, as if struck by a divine thunderbolt. His eyes widened in shock.
"Second Senior Brother, Third Senior Brother, Fifth Senior Sister, Bai Su..."
Those heads belonged to Xuanji Sword Saint's second disciple, Zhu Hongtao; third disciple, Wan Ke; fifth disciple, Lingshu; and Zhang Ruochen's maid from eight hundred years ago, Bai Su Granny...
The other heads were all old subordinates of the Sacred Bright Central Empire, each a Saint. They had once fought alongside Zhang Ruochen in the campaign against the Demon Sect's headquarters at Wuding Mountain, the most loyal cultivators to Zhang Ruochen.